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Written by A. Smith
Published July 31, 2025 @ 9:34 AM ET
Update: A former Camden County Sheriff’s Office corporal was sentenced Tuesday to 16 months in federal prison for assaulting a detainee in custody.
Ryan Robert Biegel, 27, pleaded guilty earlier this year to a federal civil rights violation for using excessive force during a September 2022 incident at the Camden County Jail.
Prosecutors said Biegel and two other correctional officers entered the holding cell of a pretrial detainee, identified in court records as J.H. While the other two officers restrained J.H. against a wall, Biegel admitted to punching the detainee in the back of the head five times, even though it was not necessary or justified. He then struck the man 22 more times using his fists and knees.
The sentence, handed down by U.S. District Judge Lisa G. Wood, also includes three years of supervised release.
The FBI’s Brunswick office and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation handled the case. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer J. Kirkland and Civil Rights Division Trial Attorney Alec Ward.
Camden County (November 22, 2022) – After a video of correctional officers beating an inmate inside the Camden County jail went viral, the GBI was contacted to conduct an investigation into the incident. As a result of the investigation, three Camden County officers have been fired and charged with the assault.
On September 3, Jarrett Jarrod Hobbs was arrested during a traffic stop on charges of drug possession, five counts of willful obstruction of law enforcement, driving on a suspended license, speeding, aggravated battery, simple battery against a police officer, and simple assault.
While being booked into jail, officers noted that Hobbs became verbally and passively resistant. He refused to get off his cell phone. As a result, Hobbs was placed in an isolation cell.
On November 15, the Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office requested the GBI to investigate after a video surfaced online of officers beating Hobbs inside the jail after his arrest. The GBI determined that when officers attempted to take Hobbs back out of the jail cell, three correctional officers struck him multiple times, causing injury to Hobbs. The violent attack was captured on video.
As a result of the investigation, the GBI has arrested and charged three officers with battery and violation of oath of public office: Camden County deputies Ryan Biegel, 24, and Braxton Massey, 21, both from Kingsland, Georgia as well as Camden County Corporal Correction Officer Mason Garrick, 23, of Bryceville, Florida.
This investigation is active and ongoing. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the GBI Kingsland Office at 912-729-6198. You may also report tips anonymously by calling 1-800-597-8477.
Once the investigation is complete, it will be turned over to the Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office for prosecution.