Stephens County Humane Shelter Director Suspended After Arrest on GBI Charges

UPDATE: Late this morning (May 3), the Georgia Bureau of Investigation issued the following statement regarding the charges and investigation:

The GBI has arrested two in connection to an elder abuse investigation in Toccoa, GA. Agents arrested Daniel Bennett, age 58, of Toccoa, in February of 2024 and arrested Jeffrey Roberts, age 74, of Toccoa this month (May 2024). They are both charged with neglect to a disabled adult, elder person or resident. These arrests come after allegations of elder exploitation and neglect.
The investigation is active and ongoing. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Atkinson County Sheriff’s Office at (912) 422-3611 or the GBI Regional Investigative Office in Cleveland at (706) 348-4866. Anonymous tips can also be submitted by calling 1-800-597-TIPS (8477), online at https://gbi.georgia.gov/submit-tips-online, or by downloading the See Something, Send Something mobile app. Once the investigation is complete, it will be given to the Stephens County District Attorney’s Office for prosecution.
Jeff Roberts, director of the Stephens County Humane Shelter, has been placed on suspension, with pay, pending results of a Georgia Bureau of Investigation into a felony criminal charge unrelated to his position with the county. 

Stephens County Humane Shelter Board members met yesterday for a called meeting of the board. The meeting was announced Wednesday, May 1, at 10 a.m. and was held yesterday, May 2, at 11:30 a.m., complying with the required 24 hour open meeting notice.

Upon convening the meeting, the members immediately entered into executive session to discuss personnel matters. Upon reconvening the open meeting, Board member Angie Garland moved that Roberts be suspended with pay, until further information was received for the matter was resolved, and the motion was seconded. 

Prior to the vote, Humane Shelter Board Member Terry Carter, who is one of two Toccoa City Commission representatives on the Shelter Board, asked for discussion on the motion, saying he supported the suspension, but did not agree with continuing Roberts’ pay during his suspension. 

The motion to suspend Roberts, with pay, was approved, with board members Jerry Brown, Debbie Duncan, Susan West, Even Hellenga, Angie Garland, Tina Morris and Tara Simmons voting in favor of the motion. Carter, along with board member Chuck Wright, voted against the motion, with Carter repeating his stance that he was in favor of the suspension, but would not vote for continuing Roberts’ pay.

Following the meeting, WNEG News spoke with Wright, who is one of two representatives of the Stephens County Board of Commissioners on the Humane Shelter Board. He said that he was aligned with Carter, agreeing that he approved of the suspension, but saying that he did not believe it was fair for taxpayers to continue to pay Roberts during his suspension, when he could not do the work he was being paid to do. 

WNEG News obtained the warrant for Roberts’ arrest, stating the charge as a “Neglect to a disabled adult or elder person. According to the Georgia Code 16-5-101, referenced in the warrant, the charge is a felony charge punishable by imprisonment for not less than one nor more than 20 years, a fine of not more than $50,000.00, or both. According to court documents, Roberts was arrested and bonded out on his own recognizance on April 15. No court date has been set as of this point. According to warrant specifics, the charge resulted when Roberts “willfully deprived Rosemary Roberts, an elder person, of healthcare to the extent that the health and wellbeing of Rosemary Roberst was jeopardized. To wit, Jeffrey Hale Roberts failed to call emergency services for Rosemary Roberts.” The date of the incident is listed as November 20, 2023. 

WNEG News was advised by a Shelter Board member that Rosemary Roberts is Jeff Roberts’ wife. WNEG has requested case documents on the investigation from the GBI, and will follow up on this story as more information becomes available.