A former Habersham County sheriff's deputy is set to face trial on Monday on charges she intentionally misled a judge in order to get a "no-knock" arrest warrant for a drug raid that left a toddler severely injured.
Nikki Autry has pleaded not guilty to charges that she relied on untested informants to get the special warrant before the disastrous May 2014 police raid that left nineteen-month-old Bounkham "Bou Bou" Phonesavanh with severe injuries to his face and chest and possible brain damage after a stun grenade landed in his playpen.
Federal prosecutors say Autry relied on untested informants who purchased crystal meth from Wanis Thonetheva outside his mother’s house, where Bou Bou, his siblings and parents were temporarily residing. One informant claimed there was unusual foot traffic around the house.
Acting U.S. Attorney John Horn said without Autry’s statements, “there was no probable cause to search the premises for drugs or to make the arrest.” And prosecutors said the claims of heavy traffic were never verified.
The toddler’s family have called for stiff penalties. The boy’s mother, Alecia Phonesavanh, said Autrey “ruined our family’s life by not doing her job properly.”
Autry resigned from the sheriff’s office after a Habersham grand jury criticized the raid as “hurried and sloppy.”
Bou Bou has undergone at least a dozen surgeries since the raid. The family was awarded $964,000 in a settlement reached with Habersham's Board of County Commissioners and has civil suits pending against the other counties in the multi-agency task force.
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