TOCCOA, GA –As part of the ongoing GBI investigation into the status of training records of the drug task force officer involved in the shooting death of Jonathan Ayers in Toccoa on September 1, 2009, agents have arrested the Training Coordinator for the Stephens County Sheriff’s Office.

Yesterday afternoon, agents with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s Athens Regional Office charged Lieutenant Edwin Wilson, 40, with one Felony Count of False Statements and Writings.  The charge stems from false statements Lieutenant Wilson made to agents on Friday, June 11, 2010, related to training records of Billy Shane Harrison, an officer with the local multi-jurisdictional drug task force, the Narcotics Criminal Investigation and Suppression Team (NCIS).

On March 26, Mountain Judicial Circuit District Attorney Brian Rickman requested the GBI to investigate discrepancies in Harrison’s Peace Officer Standards and Training Council (POST) certification and arrest powers status. The investigation is being conducted by the Athens GBI Regional Office, separate from the investigation of the shooting which was conducted by the Cleveland GBI Regional Office.

Stephens County Sheriff Randy Shirley and his department, as well as members of the Narcotics Criminal Investigation and Suppression Team (NCIS) including Harrison, are cooperating fully with the investigation and there are no indications that anyone else was involved in the actions of Wilson that led to his arrest.

Wilson was booked and processed at the Stephens County Jail and later released on bond.


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Contact Information:

John Bankhead-404-270-8330; Mountain Judicial Circuit District Attorney Brian M. Rickman-706/886-7920