Fourteen in 14 months. That’s how many deputies Richmond County Sheriff Richard Roundtree said have been arrested and charged with a crime since January 2022.
The latest were deputy jailers Joshua Mack Jackson and Gerardo Sanchez Jr.
The pair were shown on video at Charles B. Webster Detention Center repeatedly punching, kicking and kneeing an 18-year-old convicted felon who Roundtree said had not provoked them.
In all, eight of the 14 deputies were charged for excessive use of force. The others are accused of domestic violence, supplying contraband at the jail, having sex with an inmate and stealing.
Roundtree asked the public at a news conference not to judge the department of some 700 by a few bad actors.
“I only ask that citizens of this county do not judge the loyalty and passion of that 99% by the selfish and misguided actions of a few individuals,” he said.
Use of force
Joshua Mack Jackson
Jackson, 21, had been a deputy since April 2022. He’s charged with simple battery and violating his oath of office. Jackson was arrested Feb. 28 but has since bonded out.
Gerardo Sanchez
Sanchez, 28, worked as a paralegal for the Army prior to taking a job as a deputy jailer in September. He is charged with simple battery and violating his oath of office. Sanchez was arrested Feb. 28 and remained in jail Friday.
Quincy Cannon
Cannon, 31, had been a road patrol deputy since 2018. He and deputy Andrew Acosta were arrested Dec. 15 for allegedly beating a handcuffed suspect after the man was arrested for allegedly shooting a deputy in the face. Cannon was charged with battery and violating his oath of office.
A GBI investigation revealed that Vernon Cratic Jr. was struck in the face and stomach while handcuffed in the elevator at the sheriff’s office. In addition, Cratic was slammed against an exterior wall of the sheriff’s office while handcuffed and being escorted into the building.
Andrew Acosta
Acosta, 25, had served on the road patrol since 2021. He was charged with simple battery and violating the oath of office.
Robert Wilson
Wilson, 45, had been a member of the road patrol since 2016. He was arrested for the same incident as Cannon and Acosta, but was charged only with violating his oath of office.
Michael Rivera
Rivera, 32, a jailer since July, was arrested along with deputy jailers Eric Donald and Arnold Verge Oct. 7 after an investigation into Rivera assaulting an inmate and striking the inmate with a writing pen. All three deputies were fired.
Rivera was charged with aggravated assault, terroristic threats and acts and violating the oath of office.
Eric Donald
Donald, hired in November 2021, was charged with violating his oath of office. Authorities said he and Verge were present when Rivera made the threats and failed to act to prevent the assault on the inmate.
Arnold Verge
Verge, a road patrol deputy since December 2017, was charged with violating the oath of office for his involvement in the incident with Rivera and Donald.
Domestic violence
Lamar Washington
Washington, 32, was hired in 2018 to serve on the road patrol. He was arrested Aug. 28 in Graniteville after allegedly assaulting his girlfriend, threatening suicide and fighting Aiken County officers while being arrested.
He reportedly told authorities that he “wanted to blow his brains out,” saying stress at work was the reason for his desire to die, the report said.
David Wilburn Jr.
Wilburn, a jailer since August, was arrested Sept. 21 for simple battery-family violence. He resigned from the force.
Police reports said Richmond County deputies were called to his home along Spring House Lane Sept. 20. The woman on scene said Wilburn went through her phone history and accused her of cheating, then began throwing property around while their infant son was present. The woman said Wilburn grabbed her and struck her in the face with his cell phone, cutting her.
Diane Maultsby
Maultsby, who was employed with the sheriff’s office since 2001, was a deputy jailer arrested Feb. 9 in relation to a domestic violence incident involving her juvenile son. She is accused of firing a gun twice in her bedroom on Melody Drive, striking the wall.
Other crimes
Jermaine Rockett
Rockett, 39, joined the sheriff’s road patrol in September 2021. Working as a deputy jailer, he was arrested Jan. 18 for allegedly bringing in contraband cell phones to inmates.
Dearieus Fluellen
Fluellen, 23, was hired in September 2021. He was arrested March 20, 2022 for allegedly engaging in sexual activity with a female inmate while he was on duty at the Charles B. Webster Detention Center.
Tyler Wood
A road patrol deputy since April 2021, Wood was arrested June 30 after an investigation revealed him using his department gas card to put gas in his personal vehicle.
Wood, 24, was charged with financial transaction card fraud and violating the oath of office.
Greg Rickabaugh is the Jail Report contributor for The Augusta Press. Reach him at greg.rickabaugh@theaugustapress.com
Susan McCord is a staff writer with The Augusta Press. Reach her at susan@theaugustapress.com
