The controversy over replacing a terminated police deputy in the local city of Blythe took yet another twist when the mayor proposed two replacement candidates without consulting either the police chief or council members.
One candidate intends to run for Richmond County Sheriff in the next election, and the other is a person of interest in a murder investigation. Randy Clewis and Alphonso Forrest, respectively, were the finalists for the job.
The Blythe City Council recently fired deputy Gabriel Mendez for allegedly lying on his resume, a claim that was debunked by Blythe Police Chief Rick Worman. Mendez claimed he was being fired for not tearing up tickets he had written to friends and family of the Mayor Phillip Stewart.
According to Councilwoman Judy Cordova, the mayor circumvented the police chief and decided to conduct the search for a replacement on his own. Chief Worman agreed and contended that the mayor went over his head to select patrol officers to almost disastrous results.
“I’m responsible for all the people I hire and all the actions they take on the job. It should be up to me,” Worman said.
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Alphonso Forrest, one of the two finalists Stewart picked, was recently fired by the Snellville Police Department after he was compelled to take a polygraph test in connection with the slaying of transgender social media influencer Felycya Harris, which occured in Augusta. Snellville is a small town near Atlanta.
Harris’ murder occurred in October of 2020. Shortly after, Forrest, who worked as a sheriff’s deputy resigned from his job as a Richmond County Sheriff’s Deputy and applied to the Snellville police. Snellville is a small town near Atlanta.
Forrest said in an interview that he only knew the victim somewhat, but he also was familiar with information about the case that was not available to the public. Forrest was not an investigator on the case. He has been named as a person of interest in the case. A person of interest is considered someone who might have information important to solving a case.
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After the Snellville polygraph, police records revealed that Forrest admitted he had failed to disclose previous police investigations of him involving child abuse as an adult and having an inappropriate relationship with his underage niece.
Both cases against Forrest were dismissed as unfounded, but the Snellville Police Department ruled that not disclosing that accusations on his application was reason enough to terminate his employment.
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Cordova, a former board member of the Blythe Police Commission, said Mayor Stewart has no known law enforcement experience and should have allowed the police chief to have been involved in the recruitment process.
“It was a bad decision for (Stewart) to lead this search on his own. He basically nominated a person who is clearly troubled, and he didn’t disclose any of this on his application to us,” Cordova said.
According to Cordova, an interview was supposed to take place on Oct. 4, but Forrest canceled. He said he was in the hospital. A second interview was scheduled for Oct. 11. Two hours before the interview, Forrest removed his name from consideration.
The council deadlocked on Clewis, the other candidate, who currently works for the Richmond County school system police. Clewis, in a recent television interview, said his plans for the future include an eventual run for Sheriff of Richmond County.
Scott Hudson is the Senior Reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
