Former Lavonia Assistant Fire Chief Facing Charges in Habersham County

A former Lavonia Assistant Fire Chief is facing charges in Habersham County.

Shane Bentley was charged on February 2 with theft by taking and first-degree forgery after an investigation by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

According to Rob Moore with the Habersham County Sheriff’s office Bentley turned himself in to Clarkesville Police on February 2 and is out on $3,500.

WLHR News reached out to the GBI regarding details of the arrest and is waiting to hear back.

Bentley was the Assistant Fire Chief for the Lavonia Fire Department when he was arrested in June, 2020.

Former Lavonia Police Chief Bruce Carlisle requested the Athens GBI office investigate the matter after city officials discovered unusually high expenditures by the Lavonia Volunteer Fire Department.

Their investigation resulted in Bentley being charged with four counts of felony theft by taking.

Jesse Maddox, GBI Agent in Charge for the Athens office, said the investigation centered on unauthorized purchases made with Lavonia city funds.

He said Bentley allegedly purchased several equipment items that were not for the use of the Volunteer Fire Department.

Those expenditures allegedly took place over the course of several months.

Maddox added that their investigation found that several of those purchases were unaccounted for and not made specifically for the fire department.

Bentley later turned himself in to the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office and was arrested without incident.  He later pled not guilty and was indicted in June, 2021.

Bentley is out on a $16,000 bond from the Franklin County charges.

At the time of that arrest, Bentley was the Assistant Fire Chief for the Cornelia Fire Department.

He was later fired from that position in September 2022, according to a report on NowHabersham.com and no other details on his termination have been released.

So far, Bentley’s case in Franklin County has not gone to trial.

WLHR News will continue to follow this story and bring you more information as it becomes available.