A North Georgia Police officer was arrested after officials discovered he was a convicted felon.
After working for a year as a Rockmart police officer, Jedson Leist decided to apply for work as deputy sheriff in Haralson County. Officials there ran a background check, and found out Leist was a convicted felon in Colorado.
Assistant United States Attorney Bret Williams is prosecuting the case. Williams said he’s never seen anything like this.
“It struck me as an unusual case when you have someone who is a convicted felon, first of all, looking to get a job of all things, as a police officer, and then covering up their record using fake fingerprints,” said Williams.Williams said it was possible for Leist to become an officer because Rockmart Police allowed him to turn in his own background check, which unknown to them, he limited to the state of Georgia.
Officials suspect Leist had help from inside the Rockmart Police department because he used a fake fingerprint for the in-house background check.
Rockmart Police Chief Larry Harris took leave as a result of this investigation.
