5 Houston County Detention Center Workers Disciplined in Separate Incidents

PERRY, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – Five workers at the Houston County Sheriff’s Office Detention Facility were disciplined in three separate incidents.

Deputy Richard Griffin was terminated after admitting to taking a Houston County inmate to visit his girlfriend.

In February, Griffin took a Houston County inmate that was on work detail, to the girlfriend’s home in Kathleen. According to Major Alan Everidge with the detention center, a neighbor spotted the inmate and filed a complaint with the sheriff’s office. At first, Griffin denied the incident and later admitted to it. He also admitted to doing the same thing on another occasion. Griffin requested an appeal but his appeal was denied and he was terminated.

Corporal Charles Gleason, a supervisor in the detention center warehouse, resigned on February 25. He was suspended and pending termination after attempting to get an inmate to purchase a remote control device. Gleason told the inmate he would be given work detail in exchange for the purchase. The inmate never purchased the device and was never reassigned to work detail. Everidge said an investigation revealed Gleason wasn’t being truthful about the incident.

Lieutenant John James, a night shift commander, resigned on March 4, after firing a soft weapon simulator in the detention center around inmates. An investigation revealed that two other employees knew of the incident and failed to report it. Sergeant Shaun Westbrook and Deputy Crag Pearce were both suspended and placed on disciplinary probation.