Clayton County Sheriff Victor Hill timeline

March 20, 2017 Atlanta: Channel 2's Mark Winne reported that the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council has put Clayton County Sheriff Victor Hill's certification on probation for two years following an accidental shooting that injured a woman. The council voted to place his certification on probation for a period of 24 months. Authorities said Hill shot friend, Gwenevere McCord, at a model home in Gwinnett County in 2015. He pleaded no contest to the shooting. 

Here - Clayton County Sheriff Victor Hill on the scene Friday, March 17, 2017 where two Clayton County girls missing since Thursday night were found Friday, just after Noon. The girls were found near a house on Flint River Road, about a half mile from where they went missing. Yes they were found safe but cold, police say. Clayton County police set up crime scene tape at 100 Flint River Road and investigators began processing an area in the back yard where the doghouse and wooden pen were. A Mattie's Call was issued for 3-year-old Imani Turner and 11-year-old Adormi Harris, who were last seen about 11 p.m. Thursday at the home in the 100 block of Sterling Ridge Drive. Although investigators didn't suspect foul play, the girls' disappearance launched an hours-long, door-to-door search using police dogs, Deputy Chief Joseph Woodall said.  Because it was so dark, authorities briefly suspended search efforts just after 6 a.m. Officials resumed the search shortly after daybreak.  Adormi's mother told police she went to check on the girls about midnight after putting them to bed about 11 p.m. She later discovered her purse, two cellphones, car keys and tablet had been taken, Sgt. Ashanti Marbury said. She also noticed a stop stick in place to secure the door had been removed and placed to the side.  Adormi suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and insomnia, police said. "Apparently, the 11-year-old was recently involved in some house fire at a previous location," Woodall said. "So that

Credit: JOHN SPINK / AJC

Credit: JOHN SPINK / AJC

March 20, 2017 Atlanta: Channel 2's Mark Winne reported that the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council has put Clayton County Sheriff Victor Hill's certification on probation for two years following an accidental shooting that injured a woman. The council voted to place his certification on probation for a period of 24 months. Authorities said Hill shot friend, Gwenevere McCord, at a model home in Gwinnett County in 2015. He pleaded no contest to the shooting. Here - Clayton County Sheriff Victor Hill on the scene Friday, March 17, 2017 where two Clayton County girls missing since Thursday night were found Friday, just after Noon. The girls were found near a house on Flint River Road, about a half mile from where they went missing. Yes they were found safe but cold, police say. Clayton County police set up crime scene tape at 100 Flint River Road and investigators began processing an area in the back yard where the doghouse and wooden pen were. A Mattie's Call was issued for 3-year-old Imani Turner and 11-year-old Adormi Harris, who were last seen about 11 p.m. Thursday at the home in the 100 block of Sterling Ridge Drive. Although investigators didn't suspect foul play, the girls' disappearance launched an hours-long, door-to-door search using police dogs, Deputy Chief Joseph Woodall said. Because it was so dark, authorities briefly suspended search efforts just after 6 a.m. Officials resumed the search shortly after daybreak. Adormi's mother told police she went to check on the girls about midnight after putting them to bed about 11 p.m. She later discovered her purse, two cellphones, car keys and tablet had been taken, Sgt. Ashanti Marbury said. She also noticed a stop stick in place to secure the door had been removed and placed to the side. Adormi suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and insomnia, police said. "Apparently, the 11-year-old was recently involved in some house fire at a previous location," Woodall said. "So that

Jan. 1, 2005: Assumed the office of Clayton County sheriff. Terminated 27 employees and had them escorted from the building with snipers posted on the roof. ORIGINAL STORY

Aug. 5, 2008: Hill lost the Democratic primary to Kem Kimbrough, taking 49 percent, or 12,335 votes, to the 13,107 cast for Kimbrough. Hill stops coming to the office.

Dec. 30, 2008: Hill files for bankruptcy, listing as debts judgments owed as a result of lawsuits brought by employees and others. He leaves office the next day.

Jan. 18, 2012: Hill is indicted on four counts of racketeering, 29 counts of theft by taking, two counts of making a false statement and one count each of violation of oath of a public officer and influencing a witness. Prosecutors say he used his office and his campaign money for himself and not the intended purposes. ORIGINAL STORY

Aug. 21, 2012: Hill defeats Kimbrough in the Democratic primary runoff, taking almost 13,000 votes, 54 percent. ORIGINAL STORY

July 10, 2019  Atlanta : Clayton County Sheriff, Victor Hill leaves the scene where Atlanta police, Clayton County sheriff deputies along with the Clayton County Police Department investigated the scene on Griffin Street in northwest Atlanta after a wanted man killed himself on Wednesday July 10, 2019. A jilted Clayton County husband who confessed to his wife’s shooting on social media killed himself Wednesday when he was approached by officers in northwest Atlanta, authorities said. Atlanta police and Clayton County sheriff’s deputies tracked Orlando Rodriguez Otero’s vehicle to the area of Griffin Street around 5 a.m. With the help of a K-9, they found him standing in a grassy area outside an apartment complex at the corner of Griffin and North Avenue, Atlanta police Capt. William Ricker told AJC.com. “When the officers spotted him, he had a firearm and a phone in his hand,” Ricker said. “Shortly thereafter, he put the gun to his head and shot himself.” Clayton County authorities had been looking for Otero since he allegedly shot his wife at their Morrow Road apartment late Tuesday night.  According to the sheriff’s office, Otero’s son called 911 from inside a locked bathroom to report his father and mother were fighting. The child also told dispatchers he heard gunshots. When police got to the apartment, Otero was gone. They found the woman shot three times in the face, head and stomach, a sheriff’s spokesman said in a news release. She remains in critical condition and is “fighting for her life.” “Clayton County police detectives found that the shooting suspect, who they identified as Orlando Rodriguez Otero, shot his wife after an argument and left the scene saying that she would be all right,” the spokesman said. “... Otero then made a live social media post confessing to shooting his wife over another man.” Atlanta police were processing the suicide scene Wednesday morning. Clayton County Sheriff Victor Hill was also on scene.

Credit: JOHN SPINK / AJC

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Credit: JOHN SPINK / AJC

Oct. 16, 2012: Clayton judge Albert Collier dismisses five of 37 felony charges against Hill, writing that it is unclear who owns the 2008 campaign funds so Hill cannot be charged with improperly spending them. ORIGINAL STORY

Nov. 6, 2012: Hill wins the general election. ORIGINAL STORY

Nov. 26, 2012: Hill’s trial delayed until the Georgia Court of Appeals determines if the trial judge was correct when he dismissed five of the original 37 charges. ORIGINAL STORY

Jan. 3, 2013: Gov. Nathan Deal says state law does not allow him to suspend Hill while his criminal charges are pending because the sheriff was not in office when he was indicted. ORIGINAL STORY

Feb. 12, 2013: Georgia Court of Appeals hears arguments based on the decision to dismiss five of the original 37 felony counts. Ruling is pending.

May 2013: The Court of Appeals rules in Hill’s favor, dismissing five of the original 37 felony cases against him.

August 8, 2013: Testimony begins in Hill’s trial. Charges against him include racketeering and theft, with allegations that he used his county-issued vehicle and credit card for personal benefit. Prosecutors urged jurors to send a message that elected officials must be held accountable for breaking faith with voters and using their public offices for personal gain. Defense attorney Drew Findling countered that Hill has earned the trust of voters and is being persecuted by political enemies. ORIGINAL STORY

August 15, 2013: After one day of deliberations, jurors clear Hill on all counts. He resumes his duties as Clayton sheriff. ORIGINAL STORY

September 2013: Three current and former employees of the Clayton Sheriff’s Office sue Hill for allegedly retaliating against them because, in 2005, they were successful in lawsuits against him. The county would eventually paid the plaintiffs $750,000 as part of a settlement deal. ORIGINAL STORY

For file use anytime. Clayton County Sheriff Victor Hill talk at Clayton County's Annual State of the County Address Wednesday March 30, 2016 at the Clayton State University Student Activities Center. BRANT SANDERLIN/ AJC FILE

Credit: Brant Sanderlin

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Credit: Brant Sanderlin

May 2015: Hill calls 911 in Gwinnett County to say he shot a woman in the abdomen. Hill said he had accidentally shot McCord while he was practicing “police tactics,” Gwinnett DA Danny Porter said. But the statements Hill made about the position of McCord’s body and the location of the weapons found at the model home where McCord worked did not match what police found, Porter said Hill was charged with reckless conduct. McCord, 43, told authorities the shooting was an accident. ORIGINAL STORY

August 2016: Hill pleads no contest to the reckless conduct charge. “It’s like it never happened,” said his attorney, Mike Puglise, noting that, under Georgia’s First Offender Act, Hill maintained a clean criminal record. But soon after, Hill’s Peace Officers Standard and Training Council certification was suspended for two years. Hill remained sheriff. ORIGINAL STORY

September 2016: Hill wins the Democratic primary with 63 percent of the vote. In November, he was re-elected to his third term. ORIGINAL STORY

July 2017: An AJC investigation reveals chaplains in Hill’s office were required to attend one funeral every week, during which they hand-delivered a form letter offering condolences signed by Hill In one email, he wrote, “This is a priority to me. Criminals in jail are not.” ORIGINAL STORY

August 2018: An ex-Clayton County deputy who planned to run against Sheriff Victor Hill in 2020 turns himself into police after his former boss issued warrants for his arrest. Robert Hawes was charged with filing false documentation and violation of oath of office. One week earlier, Hawes’ wife, Gerrian, was arrested over several emails she sent Hill. The sheriff said the emails were harassing and that Gerrian Hawes refused to discontinue the communication even after he asked her to stop. ORIGINAL STORY

July 2019: Mitzi Bickers, indicted in connection with a federal bribery probe at Atlanta City Hall, receives a promotion in her job with the Clayton sheriff. She’s now the county’s chief chaplain. She had previously worked as a campaign adviser. ORIGINAL STORY

November 2019: Hill fires two deputies for “cowardly behavior” after they allegedly ran from gunfire that left one man dead. ORIGINAL STORY

July 2020: In a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Hill is accused by several civil rights groups of an indifferent reaction to the global pandemic. According to the suit, Hill did not provide masks for inmates, and instead of practicing social distancing, the Clayton jail has, in some cases, put three people in cells meant for two. ORIGINAL STORY

Clayton County Sheriff Victor Hill visiting with "America's Toughest Sheriff" Joe Arpaio in Arizona a few years ago.

Credit: Joe Arpaio's office

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Credit: Joe Arpaio's office

November 2020: Hill is re-elected to a fourth term.

April 2021: Hill indicted on federal charges for allegedly violating the civil rights of jail detainees. ORIGINAL STORY

May 2021: Gov. Brian Kemp appoints a three-person panel to investigate whether Hill should be suspended from his job as he faces federal charges of violating the civil rights of jail detainees. ORIGINAL STORY

June 2021: Kemp suspends Hill from his duties as sheriff during his indictment. ORIGINAL STORY

August 2021: Federal authorities file a superseding indictment, adding a fifth detainee alleged to have had his civil rights violated by Sheriff Hill. Hill pleads not guilty to the charges.

October 2021: Clayton County Jail attorney Alan Parker and Matthew Tucker, an attorney working for a group supporting Hill, ask Gov. Kemp to lift the sheriff’s suspension.

November 2021: Hill asks U.S. Magistrate Judge Christopher Bly to dismiss indictment.

December 2021: Fulton Superior Court denies Hill request to be go back to work as Clayton County sheriff.

— Audience Specialist Mandi Albright assisted with this story