By Emma Witman
Gainesville Times
GAINESVILLE, Ga. — The Hall County Sheriff’s Office is appealing a decision by the Hall County Civil Service Board to reinstate two deputies terminated after the escape of an inmate from the Hall County Courthouse in July.
The board met on Monday to hear the appeal of former deputies Jack Dodd and Randy Larry Henslee and decided to overturn the terminations, according to a statement from the sheriff’s office.
Efforts by The Times to obtain comments from members of the board were unsuccessful. A message left with Henslee was not returned and efforts to reach Dodd also were unsuccessful.
Both Dodd and Henslee were assigned to an inmate transport detail on July 16 when James Edward Cantrell, 46, escaped custody during transfer from the courthouse to a transport vehicle. Cantrell was among a group of inmates being escorted back to the Hall County Jail after court proceedings.
After the bus departed, Cantrell located a nearby work truck with the keys left inside and fled, evading custody for six days before being captured July 22 at a motel in Tucker by agents of the Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force.
Hall County Sheriff Gerald Couch fired Dodd and Henslee on July 23, and the two men filed an appeal the same day. The sheriff’s office will be appealing the board’s decision to the Hall County Superior Court.
“Unfortunately, the facts surrounding the case clearly warranted terminating both employees,” the sheriff’s office statement said. According to the July 22 letter of termination, signed by Couch, the deputies’ “negligence and inattention” resulted in Cantrell’s being able to walk away and hide in a breezeway.
Full story: Board overturns firing of deputies after inmate escaped