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Sheriff fires 4th deputy following Ga. jail death

Investigators found that one deputy had made fake entries in log books used to record inmate checks

By Russ Bynum
Associated Press

SAVANNAH, Ga. — A Georgia sheriff said Friday he has fired a fourth deputy for neglecting duties following the death of a jail inmate.

Chatham County Sheriff John Wilcher announced the latest firing in a statement the day after he said three other deputies had been terminated — including one who was charged with falsifying jail records.

The firings were prompted by an internal investigation into the death Sunday of 34-year-old Lee Michael Creely, who was found unresponsive in a cell. Creely had been jailed for a probation violation.

Wilcher said investigators determined deputies had failed to make required rounds to check on inmates every 30 minutes, and one of them had made fake entries in log books used to record those checks. That deputy, Terence Jamal Jackson, was arrested on a felony count of falsifying records.

The sheriff did not name the three deputies who were fired but not charged. He said the cause of Creely’s death remains unknown.

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