Though a disciplinary board recommended they be fired, two Newton County deputies involved in the arrest of a retired couple at their son's recently purchased Covington home will keep their jobs, according to documents obtained through an open records request.
The deputies' supervisor, Capt. C.M. Jones, overruled the board's suggestion, opting instead to suspend Sgt. Kenneth Kent and Deputy Darrell Odom for 30 days without pay and reduce their salaries by 5 percent for their role in the highly publicized April 19 arrest of Jean-Joseph and Angelica Kalonji. Kent also was demoted to deputy.
Attempts were being made Friday night to reach the two deputies for comment.
The Kalonjis were changing the locks on the doors of the home their son had just purchased when their new neighbors, thinking the couple were burglars, held them at gunpoint and contacted law enforcement. When the couple could not produce documents verifying ownership, neighbor Robert Canoles called 911.
Sheriff's deputies arrested the Kalonjis, charging them with loitering and prowling. They were jailed and forced to post bond even after their son, Bruno Kalonji, arrived with proof that he owned the modest bungalow on 11 acres in rural Newton County.
The Kalonji's attorney, Don Samuel, said Friday that he was disappointed the disciplinary board's decision was ignored.
"The notion that you can arrest someone without probable cause and then make no effort to figure out what's going on and get away with a slap on the wrist is very troubling," said Samuel, adding the Kalonjis are "pretty committed" to filing a civil suit in response to the wrongful arrest.
An internal affairs investigation into the deputies' actions cited them for lacking probable cause to charge the Kalonjis with loitering and prowling.
The report noted that the house was empty; the couple made no attempt to conceal themselves; they parked their car, which had a valid and current license plate and registration, in plain view, and they offered to have their son bring paperwork proving he owned the home.
"Deputy Odom and Sgt. Kent did not want to wait the 45 minutes for the papers to arrive," stated the report. The deputies also were chastised for letting Canoles and his son go free even though they "had no legal right to hold the Kalonjis at gunpoint or to demand that the Kalonjis explain their presence or produce documents as ‘proof of ownership.'"
Then, the report states, even after Bruno Kalonji arrived at the jail with proof that he owned the home on Lower River Road, Kent "failed to release [the couple] when it became apparent they committed no crime."
Charges against the Kalonjis were dismissed April 23 after they met with Sheriff Ezell Brown and Layla Zon, district attorney for the Alcovy Judicial Circuit. That night, the Canoles -- who say they were praised by deputies for their quick action forestalling a crime -- were arrested and charged with aggravated assault, false imprisonment and criminal trespass.
The Canoleses and Kalonjis have since made peace.
“We hope to be good neighbors a long time, and we can fish together,” Robert Canoles said to Jean-Joseph Kalonji last week at a news conference at their homes. “It was a big misunderstanding. [We] just got scared, didn’t know what to think that night.”
Meanwhile, the two deputies are serving out their suspensions, which began May 3. They will be reassigned to the detention division when they return, Newton Sheriff's Lt. Keith Crum said Friday. Kent has appealed his punishment, Crum said.
About the Author
