A Georgia sheriff’s chief deputy is accused of stealing department firearms to fuel a secret drug addiction, according to investigators.
Thomas County Sheriff’s Office (TCSO) Chief Deputy Ron James, 55, was first investigated after a meth pipe was found in his police vehicle — and he was then found to have taken and then traded multiple guns going back to 2018, according to new investigative documents obtained by WCTV.
The internal probe started in March when Sheriff Tim Watkins was alerted by a narcotics officer to a video that allegedly showed James, 55, using what appeared to be “a methamphetamine smoking device at his residence while off duty,” according to the documents.
Watkins confronted James — who claimed he was smoking marijuana, not meth, while confessing he had an addiction to adderall and needed an intervention, according to documents.
James was ordered to provide a urine sample, which tested positive for methamphetamines.
Police later discovered a “device commonly used for smoking methamphetamines” under the passenger seat of his department vehicle.
The device was sent to the crime lab and tested positive for the drug.
Days later, the sheriff learned that multiple firearms had been given by James to a former sheriff’s office employee.
Police were able to recover five guns that the former employee said he received from James in exchange for Adderall and alerted the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI).
James resigned in April before the GBI investigation was completed, according to Sheriff Watkins.
“Serving this community and this agency for the past 33 years has been one of the greatest honors of my life. Due to the circumstances surrounding recent events and their impact on my health, my family and my ability to continue serving effectively, I believe it is my best interest to step down,” James wrote in his notice.
James was arrested and booked in the county jail on nine counts of theft by taking and one count of violation of the office.
