‘Very, very thankful’: Jury clears deputy of disorderly conduct charge

Exonerated deputy Allen Crispin Fuentes stands by the statue of Lady Justice outside the Augusta Judicial Center after he was found not guilty of disorderly conduct. Photo courtesy Elise Crispin

Exonerated deputy Allen Crispin Fuentes stands by the statue of Lady Justice outside the Augusta Judicial Center after he was found not guilty of disorderly conduct. Photo courtesy Elise Crispin

Date: July 26, 2024

A Richmond County jury deliberated less than an hour before finding former sheriff’s investigator Allen Crispin Fuentes not guilty of disorderly conduct Thursday.

The six-person jury returned the verdict just after 1 p.m. after about a day of testimony from five Richmond County Sheriff’s Office deputies as well as Crispin and his wife, Elise.

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“I really haven’t fully processed everything. I think I need some time to gather myself,” Crispin said after the verdict was read.

He took a moment to praise the jury. “I’d like to thank the jury for their time and making the right decision today. I’m very, very thankful for that,” he said.

The charge stemmed from an encounter Crispin, then a Burke County sheriff’s investigator, had with Richmond County Sgt. Ty Hester at the March 25, 2023, Latin Spring Fest at the Augusta Common.

Attending the event with his family, Crispin testified he heard a “screech,” then observed an infant being abused and alerted Hester, who was working special duty at the festival. 

When the sergeant declined to do anything about the report, Crispin cursed at him, then found himself arrested by Hester.

Hester testified Wednesday that while he was wearing a body camera, there was no video because he’d inserted the wrong size memory card in the camera.

The Augusta Press requested the body cam video shortly after the incident. The sheriff’s office repeatedly claimed it was exempt from disclosure due to the ongoing investigation, not mentioning it did not exist. The Augusta Press maintains that body cam video is similar to an initial incident report and should be available immediately.

In her closing argument Thursday, Crispin’s defense attorney Tanya Jeffords poked holes in Deputy Assistant Solicitor Rebekah Joachim’s version of events.

Augusta’s disorderly conduct ordinance requires a victim to fear for the safety of their life, limbs or health, which was lacking in the evidence, she said. The ticket Hester wrote said he arrested Crispin for cursing in front of children and to “see notes” not provided to Crispin.

The undated notes, printed on sheriff’s office letterhead, could have been written at any time, but likely were compiled after Hester obtained a search warrant for Elise Crispin’s phone and dumped the entire contents, to make sure it did not include the incident, she said. 

A court later issued an injunction restricting access to the entirety of Elise Crispin’s affairs contained on her phone.

Parts of her video were shown at trial, but the video began only after Crispin was arrested. He appeared relatively calm, but continued to question why he was being arrested for alerting police to alleged child abuse.

Hester testified but did not mention in his report that he’d repeatedly asked Crispin to leave the event, which was ending around 8 p.m., then arrested him when he refused.

Crispin denied Hester repeatedly ordered him to leave and testified he and his family were already crossing Reynolds Street, headed to their vehicle, when Hester came across the street and arrested him.

Crispin said later Hester had not double-locked the handcuffs, which prevents them from continuously tightening, causing greater discomfort and potentially injuring the wearer. 

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The Author

Susan McCord is a veteran journalist and writer who began her career at publications in Asheville, N.C. She spent nearly a decade at newspapers across rural southwest Georgia, then returned to her Augusta hometown for a position at the print daily. She’s a graduate of the Academy of Richmond County and the University of Georgia. Susan is dedicated to transparency and ethics, both in her work and in the beats she covers. She is the recipient of multiple awards, including a Ravitch Fiscal Reporting Fellowship, first place for hard news writing from the Georgia Press Association and the Morris Communications Community Service Award.

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