Former Towns County sheriff resigns, sentenced under plea deal
Ken Henderson. Courtesy of Towns County Sheriff's Office
TOWNS COUNTY, Ga. - Former Towns County Sheriff Kenneth Henderson resigned immediately Monday after pleading guilty to three charges under a negotiated plea agreement in Towns County Superior Court.
What we know:
Former Towns County Sheriff Kenneth Henderson entered a negotiated plea agreement Monday morning.
Appalachian Judicial Circuit District Attorney Frank Wood said Henderson pleaded guilty to simple battery against a police officer, violation of oath of office and sale of personal property.
Simple battery against a police officer is a high and aggravated misdemeanor.
Under the terms of the plea, Henderson agreed to resign as sheriff immediately. He is barred from running for any political office through the term of his sentence.
Judge-accepted conditions require Henderson to serve 10 years of probation and pay a $1,000 fine.
The simple battery and oath of office charges stem from a Dec. 13, 2024, incident where Henderson detained Hiawassee Police Officer José Carvajal at a crime scene after a deputy was shot in the leg. Officials later determined the deputy shot himself in the leg and arrested the deputy.
The personal property charge involves Henderson selling a personal item to the Towns County Sheriff's Office.
A grand jury previously indicted Henderson on the first case, and he was scheduled to go before a grand jury on the second case, but court acceptance of the plea agreement resolves both cases.
PREVIOUS STORIES
- New probe ordered into Towns County sheriff by Gov. Kemp
- Gov. Kemp orders probe into Towns County sheriff
- Towns County sheriff defends himself after governor orders investigation
- Gov. Kemp suspends Towns County sheriff after misconduct probe
- Ex-Towns County deputy arrested for false report after alleged shooting
- Suspended Towns County sheriff arrested by GBI
- Towns County sheriff indicted on multiple charges
What we don't know:
It remains unknown whether additional administrative action or internal reviews will follow within the department as a result of the court outcome.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from Appalachian Judicial Circuit District Attorney Frank Wood, who detailed the terms of the negotiated plea agreement, as well as previous FOX 5 Atlanta reporting.