South Georgia county sheriff’s office rocked by chief deputy arrest

A former chief deputy arrested, charged with stealing guns. Allegations of misuse of funds. Excessive force accusations at the jail.

Not much news comes out of Thomasville, a city near the Florida border with a population of less than 20,000 as of the 2020 U.S. census, but in recent months, it’s been one thing after another for Sheriff Tim Watkins.

In late March, two men accused deputies at the local jail of using excessive force during an arrest. Sheriff Watkins said the men started shouting obscenities at the officers after entering the jail to bond out a friend, prompting the officers to arrest them. He says this led to an altercation where one of the men fell and suffered a head injury after one of the officers deployed a Taser.

The incident prompted an investigation, but Watkins said neither of the men involved, both of who faced charges stemming from the altercation, showed up to review the video.

Watkins said he tells all his deputies “to treat everyone with dignity and respect.”

“We’re a small town where everyone knows everyone,” he said.

The next month, former chief deputy Ron James was put on leave after an investigation into a “personnel issue,” Watkins said. And then more allegations began to fly.

Watkins brought the GBI into the loop on April 8, the statewide agency said, after Watkins’ office discovered some firearms were missing.

James was arrested in May, charged with theft by taking and violation of oath of office, according to a GBI news release. He was booked into the same jail he’d worked in as a jailer some 30 years before, the GBI said.

Watkins said the whole department was “shocked” to learn about the arrest, given James’ decades-long history with the department.

James resigned on April 29 pending the outcome of investigation, according to records from the Georgia Peace Officer and Standards Training Council. He was released on bond after being booked into the jail, Watkins said.

However, the theft case might not be the only wrongdoing the former chief deputy was involved in, according to Watkins.

In a separate incident, Lt. Jeff Brinson was found to have made an unauthorized personal purchase of a gym set with his county-issued credit card. Watkins said Brinson immediately tried to pay for the set with his own personal card afterward.

Watkins said Brinson told him that James authorized the purchase and confirmed James had that authority at the time, but he could not confirm Brinson’s statement that James did so.

Watkins said Brinson is currently on administrative leave.

“These are two isolated cases,” said Watkins.

The GBI said it is still investigating the firearms case against James.