Embattled Georgia sheriff faces new criminal charges, 2nd arrest in months

But all of this has happened to Henderson before — just months ago, in 2025.

The sheriff, an elected constitutional officer, was suspended in October by Kemp after a committee of other Georgia sheriffs reviewed allegations of misconduct. A suspension is an accountability measure under the governor’s authority, typically used when officials are suspected of violating their oath of office.

Henderson was also indicted in October on seven charges, including false imprisonment, simple battery and violating his oath of office, records show. His suspension was set to be until the “final disposition of the case or until the expiration of his term of office, whichever occurs first,” the order says.

But that case was later withdrawn by the prosecutor, Frank Wood, due to an error with the grand jury formation. It was formally reindicted in May, according to an Atlanta Journal-Constitution review of court documents. Wood is the district attorney of the neighboring Appalachian Judicial Circuit and was appointed to handle the case to avoid any conflict of interest in the sheriff’s home Enotah Judicial Circuit, records show. Wood did not respond to a request for comment.

Under Georgia law, suspended officers shall be immediately reinstated if a case is withdrawn, as Henderson’s was before it was refiled this year. Kemp suspended him again for 60 days as of June 28.

An Atlanta News First investigation first revealed details of Henderson’s alleged misconduct and reported that the charges stemmed from an altercation between Henderson and a city of Hiawassee police officer, Jose Carvajal. Atlanta News First obtained the footage from “sources,” not through open records requests, due to the pending investigation, the TV station reported.

The AJC’s open records request for the footage was denied by the city of Hiawassee Police Department, citing the open investigation.

In the indictment, Henderson is accused of falsely imprisoning Carvajal while the police officer was on duty in a December 2024 incident. Under the simple battery charges, the indictment says he “did intentionally make physical contact of an insulting and provoking nature to the person of Jose Carvajal,” by “placing his hands on said officer, grasping said officer, and pushing said officer.”

Carvajal, who declined a request to interview for this story, filed a federal lawsuit against Henderson and Towns County alleging violations of his constitutional rights. The complaint, which details the incident between Carvajal and Henderson, was filed in 2025 and subsequently placed on hold while the criminal case is still open, according to court records reviewed by the AJC.

In the lawsuit, Carvajal says he was on duty as a Hiawassee police officer and responded to an incident involving a Towns County deputy who had been shot. Amid the scene, Carvajal picked up the deputy’s weapon by mistake instead of his own.

When Henderson discovered Carvajal had picked up the deputy’s weapon, he ordered him to place it down, but the officer wanted to wait until the GBI arrived, according to the suit. Henderson “began yelling at Officer Carvajal and started questioning his training.”

Carvajal walked away, but the sheriff followed, “grabbed Officer Carvajal by the front of his uniform and attempted to push him back into the side of a patrol vehicle” before he “put up both of his fists as an invitation to engage in a fight” and was held back by his own deputies, according to the suit.

Henderson then placed Carvajal under arrest and in the back of a squad car in handcuffs. The officer was released a short while later and did not face charges.

In a legal filing in response to the lawsuit, Henderson and Towns County deny all of the allegations. All parties agreed to stay the case until the criminal case was resolved, court records show.

The day after the Atlanta News First investigation published the bodycam footage in September, the Georgia Sheriffs’ Association requested Kemp appoint a committee to investigate Henderson, which he did the same day, according to the executive order.

“I don’t know of any sheriff that would think that that response on camera was professional,” said Terry Norris, the association’s executive director. “Misconduct is a broad concept, and it’s not defined, but it’s one of the things — you kind of know it when you see it.”

Kemp declined to comment through a spokesperson who cited the ongoing investigation and referred back to the executive orders.

Shortly after, Henderson responded to the accusations in a public Facebook post dated Sept. 22 in which he said Carvajal’s “interjection of himself into the investigation was unlawful and unwarranted.”

“Carvajal contaminated the crime scene, tampered with the most significant evidence, and obstructed our investigation by continuing to refuse to hand over the gun (to) the officer in charge, and was defiant, obstinate and combative,” the sheriff said in the post.

Henderson was arraigned last week and has filed motions seeking to quash the indictment, records show.

Amid his ongoing court case, Henderson now faces new charges and was arrested again last week for an alleged theft, the GBI said. An audit of the Towns County annual budget led to an investigation by the GBI upon the local prosecutor’s request, the GBI said in a news release.

“During the investigation, it was determined that a check was written to Henderson from one of the Towns County Sheriff’s Office bank accounts,” the GBI said.

He was booked into his own jail July 2, according to online booking records.

Henderson’s defense attorney Jeff Wolff, reached via email Sunday, did not comment on the pending court case but said the new charges stem from a “transaction made, devoid of deceit or corruption, intended to benefit the Sheriff’s Department and the citizens of Towns County, with no financial gain to Sheriff Henderson.”

“It seems that one or more persons in interest have weaponized the GBI to dig up something against the elected Sheriff,” he added.

Wolff said the sheriff sold an ATV to the department that is used in search and rescue operations, and that Henderson actually lost money in the sale.

“None of these allegations were presented to Sheriff Henderson or his defense team until after we demanded his reinstatement based on the statutory provisions relied on for his original suspension,” he said.

The state Peace Officer Standards and Training Council has also suspended Henderson’s law enforcement certification, POST records show, which means he no longer has arresting powers in Georgia.

Three other elected officials across Georgia have been suspended by Kemp this year. In 2025, eight officeholders, including Henderson and also some at the city level, were suspended after allegations of wrongdoing. Kemp issued six suspensions in 2024.

Henderson was first elected Towns County Sheriff in 2021 and was reelected in 2024. Before that, he served as the director of the Young Harris College Department of Public Safety for 30 years, according to POST records.