Crime & Safety
Lithonia Cop Charged With Drug Offenses
Darrell Mathis has been a sworn deputy sheriff since December 2008.
A Newton County deputy sheriff from Lithonia has been charged with distributing marijuana and using a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense.
Darrell Mathis, 40, was arrested Sept. 19 during an undercover operation in which he tried to sell drugs to a federal agent from his squad car, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's office.
The FBI began investigating Mathis in April after an informant told an agent "he or she had seen a large amount of marijuana in Mathis' Lithonia apartment during a social visit," an article in the Huffington Post stated.
“My office is completely cooperating with the FBI in this investigation. Mr. Mathis has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation," said Newton County Sheriff Ezell Brown.
The U.S. Attorney's office says Mathis brought his badge, his firearm, and a pound of marijuana to a meeting in August in which he said to an undercover agent, whom he believed to be a drug dealer, "don't worry, I'm on your side."
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