DAWSONVILLE, Ga. – The arrest last week of Charles Daniel Hamrick, a Pickens County deputy and deputy commander of the Zell Miller Mountain Parkway Drug Task Force, could lead Dawson Count District Attorney Lee Darragh to drop the charges against some criminal defendants where Hamrick’s testimony is critical.

Hamrick was arrested on July 24 on a warrant that charges he used his position as a peace officer to convince a female to send him nude or semi-nude photos of herself.

The warrant alleges Hamrick convinced the woman, whose name has been redacted, that she was a confidential informant and that she could have potential criminal charges brought against her. He then allegedly told her he had destroyed her confidential informant file in return for the photos.

Hamrick turned himself in to Pickens County authorities but was released in less than one hour after he paid a $1,000 bond.

The two felony charges against Hamrick are violation of oath of office by a deputy with the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office and violation of oath of office as deputy commander of the Zell Miller Mountain Parkway Drug Task Force.

In an email to Fetch Your News, Darragh said, “Our office did not learn of any pending charges against Hamrick until after his arrest. We will evaluate all cases in which he had any involvement to determine on an individual basis as to which can be proven without any further involvement from him and would go forward without him. In those cases where his continued involvement would be necessary, we will determine which may be so significant that we must proceed to ensure justice for victims. In other such cases (in which his involvement as a witness would be necessary) we may decide not to go forward at all, again, depending on their significance.”

Fetch Your News will continue to follow this story in an effort to see how many cases may be negatively impacted by Hamrick’s arrest and how many cases may lead the charges being dismissed.

Prior to moving to Pickens County, Hamrick worked in the Dawson County Sheriff’s Office under Sheriff Jeff Johnson.

 

 

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