Jailbreaks by Classic City Bonding

Jackson County Government offices will be closed April 3, 2020 through April 13, 2020 in order to comply with the shelter in place order the Governor is expecte...d to sign today. County departments deemed to be essential functions during this time will remain operational. Those departments include E911, EMA, EMS, Sheriff, Jail, Correctional Institute, Senior Citizen meals, Solid Waste Transfer Station and Compactor Sites. Animal Control is closed to the public but staff will continue to care for the animals in the shelter and provide services on an emergency basis only. See more

When looking at any action taken by law enforcement it is important to put it in context and to understand the totality of the circumstances to determine if act...ions were appropriate. There is a recent video going around on social media that has raised some questions. I will provide the context. Deputies were responding to a call for a white Impala being taken by a juvenile. They had information that the juvenile was going towards Sandy Cross and had a documented history of drugs. The deputies responded. Sgt. Brooks was one of them. He went to check the area where the video was shot. Good deputies know what goes on where in our community. This location is a well documented open air drug market. This past year we have had over 20 incidents of drugs being sold at this location. The majority of High School students that have told us where they bought drugs from was from this location. To include prescription pills and hard drugs. Two Fridays ago a search warrant was executed this location. The following drugs were found within 30 feet from where the video was made. In that search warrant 10 lbs of marijuana, a trafficking amount of cocaine, heroin (currently unknown if it contained fentanyl until tested) and numerous prescription pills. So the question is if you were looking for a juvenile possibly in a drug area in Sandy Cross is it reasonable to look for him there. Sgt. Brooks did go to the location looking for the Impala. When he pulled on to the shared driveway/easement there was an Impala there. It turned out to be a silver one. Next Brooks exited the car and said hey fellas I am looking for a white Impala , can you help me. When he exited his car he smelled green marijuana. At this point Sgt. Brooks had a choice. He could ignore the smell of drugs and go on about his business or he could choose to address the issue before him. In the law there is something called plain smell doctrine. Which basically states if an officer smells marijuana it gives him probable cause to search that individual or a car if that is where the smell is coming from. Or lockdown a house and get a search warrant if it is a residence. It has recently been upheld in a Georgia Supreme Court case in Caffee v. State. Brooks being Brooks chose to address the odor. Morris Hill was the individual to the left that was making all the comments wearing a black jacket and hat. Morris has stated that he has never been in any trouble on social media. However that is not true. Mr. Hill is on parole. He also has a fourth amendment waiver. Which means as part of his agreement to be paroled he is subject to search of his person and property at any time. Normally this is only done when they are found in suspicious circumstances. Being in a location that smells like weed would be one of those situations. Additionally he may be further violating his parole by being with Sheltravious six pack Watkins who made the video. Six pack is currently out on bail for drug sales and is awaiting trial. Given where the odor was coming from the scope of the search would have been each individuals person. Additionally a second deputy arrived and verified the strong odor of drugs coming from the individuals, especially Watkins. Sgt. Brooks conducted pat downs and searches of each of the individuals. Once the probable cause was exhausted and nothing was found he did what he should have. Concluded the contact and leave. In reviewing the situation the first question would be if this was legal. It was. Sgt. Brooks was on a shared driveway making a consensual encounter when he smelled drugs. Plain smell doctrine gives the probable cause to conduct the search. After there was no longer probable cause he left. The second question would be what could have been done better. We always try to improve. In this situation there could have been more narrative on what was going on to help inform the individuals and obviously the public what was going on. Drugs are well ingrained in certain parts of our community. When people are selling drugs to our kids we are going to pay extra close attention. We are taking additional steps to try to eradicate this from our community. After giving fair warning about allowing people to sell drugs at their residences we are now holding the homeowner responsible for keeping a disorderly house. Hopefully this puts what you saw in perspective. I invite you to put yourself in the deputies shoes knowing what you know now and determine if it was reasonable. It may also be noted that over a minute of video was removed from the public video.

A day in the life........ Some people may wonder what a Sheriff does from day to day. I can tell you it is different everyday. Some days are longer than others.... Today I was supposed to go to the Capital to speak with the Governor and some of the State Representatives and State Senators about some upcoming bills that will have an impact on our communities we are sworn to protect. Sheriffs need to have good communication skills because their effectiveness as a resource for the State Lawmakers and your ability to communicate your concerns to them depends on it. All together the Georgia Sheriff’s have thousands of years of experience, knowledge and wisdom on the application of laws and what some of the unintended consequences may be. So obviously I went to bed early, 10 pm. I set my alarm and planned on getting some rest. The radio is always on in my home. A call comes across that a person off Wolfskin Rd who ran from GSP earlier in a stolen car was at his mothers house armed with a knife. His mother was locked in a bathroom. When deputies arrived he had ran out the backdoor. The K-9 unit was called. We had 2 deputies working. Sounded like they needed some more help. Up I go, get dressed and headed to the call. Sleep will have to wait. When I arrived on scene we searched under beds, closets, attics and crawl spaces both full of cobwebs. House cleared so it’s time to track. Walking 4 miles at midnight is all part of the job. I am sure it was in the job application somewhere. Clearly this guy is moving when we are moving. Finally we leave and wait. Sure enough, he comes out of the woods and is arrested. Great, job done. Home we go. Back to bed at 1:30 am. Wake up at 6 am. Put on my going to town clothes and head to hotlanta. After a 2 hour and 45 minute car ride sitting for extended times parked on I-85 I arrive at the gold dome. The day gets better. We have a chance to interact with our legislators answering their questions for us and expressing our concerns or support for certain pieces of legislation. Drop by and meet with the Governor and then on to the world of appropriations and subcommittees. Leave around 2 pm to go by an attorney’s office to discuss the finer points of the Americans with Disabilities Acts and several other points of interest. 5 pm and time to get back to Oglethorpe. Attend a presentation on how to help secure and prevent accidents with children and firearms. Next, drop by the High School for the last part of the basketball game. Boys played hard and I am proud of them. Then back home. Time to catch up on FB and answer questions that have been posed. What does tomorrow hold. Who knows but you have to be ready for everything.