Press Releases

McRae-Helena, GA (May 31, 2022) – On Friday, May 27, 2022, Telfair County Sheriff’s Office Deputy John Warren Degolyer, age 35, of Lumber City, GA, was arrested for one count of tampering with evidence, one count for violation of oath of office, and one count of pandering. 

Columbus, GA (May 29, 2022) – The GBI is investigating an officer involved shooting in Columbus, GA. The Columbus Police Department requested the GBI to conduct an independent investigation on Sunday, May 29, 2022. One man was shot. No officers were injured.

Tift County, GA (May 27, 2022) – On Friday, May 20, 2022, members of the GBI Southwestern Regional Drug Enforcement Office, Tift County Sheriff’s Office, Georgia State Patrol, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) arrested Jose Luis Pena-Ferraras, age 35 and Ismil Rodriguez-Aybar, age 43, both of Lawrenceville, GA, after the seizure of five kilograms of methamphetamine, one kilogram of heroin, and a handgun. 

Augusta, GA. – The GBI is investigating an officer involved shooting in Augusta, GA.  The Richmond County Sheriff’s Office asked the GBI to conduct an independent investigation on Thursday, May 26, 2022.

At 3:58 p.m., Ladeeje Harvey, 25, of Augusta, shot Richmond County Sheriff’s Office Deputy John A. Tarpley during a traffic stop at Charlestown South Apartments located at 2119 Lumpkin Road in Augusta.  Deputy Tarpley had stopped a car with Harvey and a male driver in it.  While Deputy Tarpley was speaking with the driver, Harvey began walking away from the car with her 5-year-old son. Deputy Tarpley asked Harvey to stay in the car, but she refused to stay in the car. Harvey was walking towards her home when Deputy Tarpley asked Deputy Dontavion Jones to detain Harvey.

Decatur, GA (May 26, 2022) – On Friday, May 20, 2022, Geoffrey Jerome Heine, age 29, previously of Conyers, GA, and currently residing in Virginia Beach, VA, was arrested by the Virginia Beach Police Department on behalf of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes (CEACC) Unit. The GBI CEACC Unit began an investigation into Heine’s online activity after receiving multiple cybertips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) regarding the online possession of images depicting child sexual abuse material (CSAM). The investigation led to a search warrant at Heine’s residence in Conyers, GA, where electronic devices were seized for forensic processing.  Evidence obtained from Heine’s devices led to the obtaining of five arrest warrants for Heine, for the Sexual Exploitation of Children. By the time the arrest warrants were obtained for Heine, he had relocated to Virginia Beach, Virginia. The arrest warrants were provided to the Virginia Beach Police Department, who took Heine into custody and transported him to Virginia Beach Correctional. Heine is currently awaiting extradition to Georgia.

Fayetteville, GA (May 26, 2022) – The GBI is investigating an officer involved shooting in Fayetteville, GA. The Fayette County Sheriff’s Office requested the GBI to conduct an independent investigation on Wednesday, May 25, 2022. One minor female was shot. No officers were injured.

Canton, GA (May 25, 2022) – The GBI is investigating an officer involved shooting in Canton, GA. The Canton Police Department asked the GBI to conduct an independent investigation on Wednesday, May 25, 2022. One man was shot and is deceased. No officers were injured during the incident.

Columbus, GA (May 24, 2022) – On Saturday, May 21, 2022, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes (CEACC) Unit, with the assistance of the Muscogee County Sheriff’s Office, and the GBI Columbus field office, executed a residential search warrant pertaining to an ongoing sexual exploitation of children investigation. The investigation began after the GBI CEACC Unit received information from the Cyber Crimes Unit of the Bergen County, New Jersey Prosecutor’s Office involving a subject in Muscogee County, GA, possessing, manufacturing, and/or distributing explicit child sexual abuse material, commonly referred to as child pornography.

As a result of the search warrant execution, the following individual was arrested:

Townes Ward Borum, age 37, of Columbus, GA, was charged with Sexual Exploitation of Children (Possession of Child Pornography), Sexual Exploitation of Children (Distribution of Child Pornography), Sexual Exploitation of Children (Production of Child Pornography), and Trafficking of a Person for Sexual Servitude. 

Borum was taken to the Muscogee County Jail.

Lawrenceville, GA (May 24, 2022) – The GBI is investigating an officer involved shooting in Lawrenceville, Gwinnett County, GA. The Gwinnett County Police Department requested the GBI conduct an independent investigation after a shooting occurred in the area of Pine Lane and Pine Arbor Lane in Lawrenceville, GA. One man was shot and is being treated at Northside Gwinnett Hospital in critical condition. One K-9 officer was shot and is in stable condition.  

Preliminary information indicates that at approximately 10:17 p.m. on May 23, officers were dispatched to an aggravated battery call at 617 Pine Lane, Lawrenceville. Levi Bryan, age 17, of Oakwood, entered the home with a gun and threatened the individuals inside, to include his girlfriend. Bryan was made to leave the home prior to officers’ arrival and was seen walking behind houses close by. When officers encountered Bryan in the woods behind houses on Pine Lane, Bryan fired his gun, shooting a K-9 officer. Officers returned fire, striking Bryan.

Macon, GA (May 23, 2022) – On Tuesday, May 17, 2022, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes (CEACC) Unit, with the assistance of the Jones County Sheriff’s Office, the GBI Milledgeville field office, and the GBI Middle Georgia Gang Task Force, executed a residential search warrant pertaining to an ongoing sexual exploitation of children investigation. The investigation began after the GBI CEACC Unit received multiple cybertips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). The cybertips involved the possession and/or distribution of explicit child sexual abuse material, commonly referred to as child pornography, which resolved to Jones County, GA.