Deputy fired, arrested following FOX 5 I-Team Investigation

MONROE COUNTY, Ga. - Agents with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation arrested and charged a Monroe County Sheriff’s Deputy Thursday, 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 a public officer, which is a felony.

The arrest came after the Sheriff’s Office fired Miller following an internal investigation.

The probe started after the FOX 5 I-Team approached the department with their findings August 24.

FOX I-Team Reporter Randy Travis who broke the story about the investigation 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 and 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."

MORE: Secret recording catches deputy in blackmail, request for sexual favors

Monroe County Interim Sheriff Al Shackelford placed Miller on paid administrative leave on August 24 and called in the GBI and FBI to investigate.

"We are shocked and disappointed," Sheriff Shackelford said at the time. "Law enforcement should be held to a higher standard."

Miller joined the department in April and he's been a Georgia law enforcement officer since 2014.