A Gwinnett County sheriff’s deputy is behind bars, facing charges she gave an inmate a cell phone and brought a loaded gun into the jail, a department release says.
Natalie Crawford, 48, of Decatur, has been charged with violation of oath by a public officer and giving prohibited items to inmates. She was fired from the sheriff’s office due to the investigation, Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Shannon Volkadov said.
READ | Police ID 2 teen boys killed in Gwinnett shooting
The department would not elaborate on the charges, citing an ongoing investigation. A warrant says Crawford gave her personal cell phone to an inmate on Dec. 27 and the inmate used it to text a cell phone belonging to someone in the department’s Investigative Services Unit, Channel 2 Action News reported.
Fellow deputies also found that Crawford had a loaded gun on her inside the Gwinnett County Detention Center when she was arrested, the sheriff’s office said. Deputies who work as jail guards are not allowed to bring firearms into the jail.
Crawford is being held without bond.
Like Gwinnett County News on Facebook | Follow us on Twitter and Instagram
Stay up to the minute with breaking news on Channel 2 Action News This Morning
About the Author
