This browser does not support the Video element.
FORSYTH, Ga. - Agents with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation arrested and charged a Monroe County Sheriff’s deputy Thursday, two days after a FOX 5 I-Team investigation revealed a secret recording of him trying to blackmail a suspect into having sex.
Agents charged deputy Bill Miller with violation of oath of public officer, which is a felony.
The arrest came as the Sheriff’s Department fired Miller following an internal investigation.
The probe started August 24 when the FOX 5 I-Team approached the department with their findings.
FOX I-Team Reporter Randy Travis broke the story about the investigation. He reports Miller still faces a federal investigation and the likely end of his law enforcement career.
The case stems from graphic comments secretly recorded on August 14th by Ashlie Roberts.
In July, Miller arrested the 34-year-old Union City woman for suspected drunk driving and possession of meth.
She made bond and a few weeks later said she got a call from Miller to meet her in a parking lot late at night.
Roberts told internal affairs investigators the same story she told the FOX 5 I-Team: Miller put her in his personal Dodge Ram pickup, handed her a Coors Light, and drove them to a dirt trail off Freeman Road.
"I didn't think I had to record anything until I got to that dirt road," she explained. "After I turned on that dirt road, that's when I knew something was fishy."
Monroe County Interim Sheriff Al Shackelford placed Miller on paid administrative leave on August 24 and called in the GBI and FBI to investigate.
"He failed the law enforcement community," Shackelford said. "He failed this office."
Miller joined the department in April. He's been a Georgia law enforcement officer since 2014 and has worked for four law enforcement agencies in Georgia. All four said there are no civilian complaints in his personnel file.
Miller posted a $3500 bond. Meanwhile, the woman who secretly taped him remains in jail. Her probation was revoked Monday after her probation officer learned of her DUI arrest.
No word on how Miller's arrest might affect that DUI case.