Candidate for sheriff jailed by sheriff's office
CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. - A Clayton County Magistrate Judge set bond Tuesday for a candidate for Clayton County Sheriff on charges filed by the sheriff’s office.
The judge set bond at $26,000 for sheriff’s candidate and former Deputy Robert Hawes.
His wife told FOX 5 he plans on bonding out of the Clayton County Jail Tuesday.
The sheriff’s office issued warrants for Hawes Monday on charges of filing false documents and violation of oath.
The arrest is the latest development in a public battle between Hawes and current Sheriff Victor Hill.
Hawes charged Sheriff Hill crossed the line when he had deputies arrest his wife Gerrian at the couple’s home earlier this month.
Sheriff Hill’s office issued a news release Monday about the warrant against Robert Hawes, who they contend resigned from the Sheriff’s Office last year in lieu of termination for allegedly lying during an investigation about missing weapons.
According to the release, the sheriff’s office issued a fraud warrant on July 30 for Hawes’ son who is suspected in two missing weapons from the sheriff’s office.
The release states deputies went to the Hawes’ home the following day to arrest the son, but he was not home.
According to the release, a lieutenant was demoted to sergeant and another was fired on August 9th for allegedly tipping Hawes off about the arrest of his son.
The release states Gerrian Hawes started e-mailing the sheriff on August 10 about “love and fear”, and continued to do so even though the sheriff asked her to stop.
Hawes recorded the Aug. 15 arrest of his wife from his Jonesboro home on Facebook Live.
The Hawes contend Hill used the law as a personal tool to carry out vendettas against people he is angry with.
"My wife responded to him with an email saying ‘Where there is love, fear cannot exist.’ He took that as harassment. He took the email and got a warrant for harassing communication," Mr. Hawes complained
FOX 5 News obtained a copy of the misdemeanor arrest warrant for Gerrian Hawes. It stated the wife and mother emailed Sheriff Hill three times and he requested she stop. The documents also state the subject of the emails was her husband's Dec. 17, 2017 termination, not blessings and love.
The judge granted Gerrian Hawes bond on Aug. 16 with the stipulation she have no contact with Sheriff Hill.
FOX 5 News contacted Sheriff Hill after the arrest of Gerrian Hawes about the very public arrest and the allegation it was motivated by politics, but Clayton County’s top cop did not respond.
At the time, Robert Hawes told FOX 5’s Aungelique Proctor he is frustrated.
"Victor Hill uses the law as his personal tool for vendettas and we have to stop this. It has to stop. It has to stop!" an exacerbated Hawes exclaimed.
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