Name:
Garner, Jimmy Russell
Date of Booking:
04/28/2023
Reason(s) For Booking:
Kidnapping
Criminal Damage To Property – 2nd Degree
Reckless Conduct
Officer’s Narrative:
[Please note: The following is a direct transcription from the official initial incident report. The Georgia Gazette does not fix any spelling or grammatical errors that may exist. Any changes or redactions made by our staff are placed inside brackets. Some errors may exist. All subjects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The topics discussed may be sensitive to some readers. Discretion is advised.]
On Friday, April 28, 2023, I was acting as the on-call investigator for the Spalding County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigation Division. I was notified of a possible kidnapping at [2100 BLOCK] Hollonville Road, Spading County, Georgia. Lt. Gilbert with the Meriweather County Sheriff’s Office notified me that they received a call for service in reference to a black in color Ford F-250 that was towing a white in color trailer, which had a female in the rear of the trailer.
The female was Mrs. [VICTIM #1]. Mrs. [VICTIM #1] was able to notify 911 of her location via cell phone while she was in the rear of the camper. The black in color F-250 along with the white in color camper were located by Meriweather County Deputies at Joe Kurz WMA in Meriwether County. Lt. Gilbert advised me that Mrs. [VICTIM #1] informed him that the kidnapping occurred at [2100 BLOCK] Hollonville Road, Spalding County, Georgia.
I coordinated with other investigators in CID and directed Sgt. Belcher to respond to Meriweather County where the victim, [VICTIM #1], was on scene. Sgt. Belcher arrived on scene and began to speak with Mrs. [VICTIM #1]. According to Mrs. [VICTIM #1], she was staying on the property at [2100 BLOCK] Hollonville Road inside her camper. The residence at [2100 BLOCK] Hollonville Road belonged to Mr. Jimmy Garner.
According to Mrs. [VICTIM #1], at approximately 1321 hours, Jimmy Garner advised Mrs. [VICTIM #1] that she needed to vacate the property with her camper. Mrs. [VICTIM #1] advised Mr. Garner that she was not able to hook up the camper to her truck at the time and that she was going to wait for her boyfriend to return to the residence. At this time, Mrs. [VICTIM #1] returned inside the camper and closed the door.
Mrs. [VICTIM #1] then advised that Mr. Garner then started Mrs. [VICTIM #1]’s black in color F-250 and hooked up the camper and drove erratically to a Joe Kurz WMA. When the camper arrived at the campsite, Mr. Jimmy Garner fled the scene. Mr. Garner was later apprehended by Meriweather County Sheriff’s Deputies on a nearby dirt road.
According to Sgt. Belcher, the camper appeared to have damage to the utility hoses and floor jacks, suggesting that the camper was towed without proper disconnects and possibly in haste from [2100 BLOCK] Hollonville Road.
I directed deputies to respond to [2100 BLOCK] Hollonville Road in order to secure the possible crime scene. Lt. Storey along with Crime Scene Investigator C. Waddell arrived at the [2100 BLOCK] Hollonville location and observed what appeared to be the location in which the camper was sitting prior to the incident.
CSI Waddell also advised me of cameras that were located on the front of the household. Due to the possibility of the incident being captured on security footage, I applied for and obtained a search warrant for the [2100 BLOCK] Hollonville location. A copy of the search warrant will be attached and made available to this case file.
CSI Waddell was able to view footage of the apparent incident from the security cameras. It should be noted CSI Waddell advised that the footage shows Mr. Garner walking up to the camper and exchanging words with Mrs. [VICTIM #1]. Mrs. [VICTIM #1] then returns inside the camper, to which Mr. Garner proceeds to attach Mrs. [VICTIM #1]’s Ford F-250 to the Camper and then drives away with the camper in tow. CSI Waddell collected the DVR to the camera system, along with unsecured firearms that were left in plain view.
Once Meriweather County advised that Mr. Garner was in custody, Deputy Lowe with the Spalding County Sheriff’s Office arrived on scene in Meriweather County and transported Mr. Jimmy Garner back to the Spalding County Sheriff’s Office to be interviewed. Deputy Lowe arrived at the Sheriff’s Office at approximately 1745 hours and escorted Mr. Garner to the interview room located in the Criminal Investigation Division.
Prior to the interview beginning, I secured my county issued firearm in a lock box located in the Criminal Investigation Division. The lock boxes are bolted to the wall and can only be opened by a singular key assigned to each specific box. The key is retained on the person after the box is closed and secured.
I started the camera system located in the Criminal Investigation Division so that the interview could be video, and audio recorded. It should be known that the camera system can be remotely viewed in a nearby room so that additional investigators can view the interview and intervene if a security issue arises.
Mr. Jimmy Garner was brought into the interview room and placed in the red in color chair located on the left-hand side of the interview room. Mr. Garner remained in handcuffs until I entered the room to begin the interview. Upon entering the interview room, I started my digital recorder to ensure the interview was audio recorded. This action was done to ensure the interview was documented if the primary camera system failed or malfunctioned.
Prior to the questioning about the incident, I advised Mr. Garner of his Constitutional Rights (also known as Miranda Rights). As I was reading the Miranda Form to Mr. Garner, I asked him if he was under the influence of any alcohol or drugs, to which he replied “yes”. Mr. Garner explained that while he was in the woods, he was drinking a bottle of whiskey that he had in his back pocket while he was in the woods. Mr. Garner explained that it had been approximaimatly two hours since he stopped drinking.
Due to Mr. Garner possible being under the influence of alcohol, I immediately stopped the interview and left the room. I shortly returned to the interview room and advised Mr. Garner that due to him possibly being under the influence of alcohol, the interview was going to be postponed until Monday, May 1, 2023.
I then advised Mr. Garner that he was being placed under arrest for kidnapping and that another interview would be held on Monday morning. Captain Dix and I transported Mr. Garner to the Spalding County Jail without incident. Mr. Garner was then turned over to Detention Deputies.
Pictures were taken of Mr. Garner showing that he was not harmed while he was in custody. It should be noted that Mr. Garner’s clothes and boots appeared to be wet and muddy, suggesting that he was traveling though the woods. Mr. Garner also appeared to have cuts along his arms that appeared to have come from briars in the woods.
Based on the information gained through Investigators at [2100 BLOCK] Hollonville Road, along with Investigators on scene in Meriweather County, I obtained an arrest warrant for Jimmy Garner for the offense of Kidnapping.
– Kidnapping (F) Warrant No. 23-EW-002496
This concluded the investigative acts for April 28, 2023.
On Monday, May 1, 2023, Lt. Smith, and I interviewed Mr. Garner. Prior to the interview beginning, I secured my county issued firearm in a lock box located in the Criminal Investigation Division. The lock boxes are bolted to the wall and can only be opened by a singular key assigned to each specific box. The key is retained on the person after the box is closed and secured.
I started the camera system located in the Criminal Investigation Division so that the interview could be video, and audio recorded. It should be known that the camera system can be remotely viewed in a nearby room so that additional investigators can view the interview and intervene if a security issue arises.
Mr. Jimmy Garner was brought into the interview room and placed in the black in color chair located on the right-hand side of the interview room. Mr. Garner remained in handcuffs until I entered the room to begin the interview.
Prior to the questioning about the incident, I advised Mr. Garner of his Constitutional Rights (also known as Miranda Rights). Mr. Garner signed the Miranda form acknowledging that he understood his constitutional rights and agreed to discuss the incident with investigators.
I asked Mr. Garner to explain the incident by starting at the time he awoke, Friday, April 28, 2023. Mr. Garner explained that he woke up to the sound of [VICTIM #1] and her boyfriend, [REDACTED], arguing over something. Shortly after the arguing ended, Mr. Garner explained that [REDACTED] started to knock on the front door of his house. According to Mr. Garner, Mr. [REDACTED] asked him if he could give him a ride to Locust Grove. Mr. Garner agreed to give [REDACTED] a ride to Locust Grove.
According to Mr. Garner, when he returned to [2100 BLOCK] Hollonville Road, he approached Mrs. [VICTIM #1] and asked her to leave the property. Mrs. [VICTIM #1] explained that she did not know how to hook up the camper and that her vehicle was out of gas. Mr. Garner told [VICTIM #1] that he would do it for her and proceeded to get into [VICTIM #1]’s, black in color, Ford F-250, GA TAG# [REDACTED].
Mr. Garner then backed the vehicle up and attached [VICTIM #1]’s white in color, Keystone Camper, GA TAG# [REDACTED]. Mr. Garner then proceeded to pull the camper off the property and drove to a rural area off of Mt. Carmel Road in Meriweather County. Mr. Garner explained that he thought [VICTIM #1] was aware that he was going to move the camper away from the property. Mr. Garner did, however, state that he was aware that [VICTIM #1] was inside the camper when he began to drive away.
Mr. Garner explained that [VICTIM #1] had been staying at his house for months. According to Mr. Garner, Mrs. [VICTIM #1] originally asked to stay on the property for a couple of weeks. Mr. Garner further explained that he was not receiving any assistance with the bills associated with the property. I asked Mr. Garner if he had applied for an eviction for Mrs. [VICTIM #1] and Mr. Garner advised that Mrs. [VICTIM #1] would have appealed the eviction on the 29th day and she would remain on the property.
Due to the details provided by Mr. Garner in his interview, Investigator Gregory felt that Kidnapping was not the adequate charge for the offense. Investigator Gregory and Major Morris conducted the DA’s Office and spoke with ADA [REDACTED].
After sharing the facts of the case, it was determined that it was not Mr. Garner’s intent to kidnap Mrs. [VICTIM #1] but rather remove her from the property, similar to an illegal eviction. Investigator Gregory dismissed the Kidnapping Warrant# 23-EW-002496.
Additional Arrest Warrants were obtained for Mr. Garner including:
– Criminal Damage to Property Family Violence (F) Warrant No. 23-EW-002519
– Reckless Conduct (M) Warrant No. 23-EW-002520
The criminal damage offense is for the damage caused to the undercarriage of the Keystone Camper. The reckless conduct offense is for driving the truck and camper to Meriweather County, while knowing Mrs. [VICTIM #1] was in the rear of the camper.
[End of Narrative]