GBI Arrests Two Barrow County Detention Officers

Two Barrow County Detention Officers are behind bars charged with multiple crimes involving inmates after an investigation by agents with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

According to GBI spokeswoman Natalie Ammons, on June 24, 2022, the Barrow County Sheriff asked the GBI to investigate suspected criminal misconduct of 21-year-old Hunter Lewis Perkins, who was employed as a detention officer assigned to the Barrow County Detention Center.

The investigation concluded that Perkins illegally brought contraband into the jail and distributed that contraband to inmates.

It also that Perkins, as well as another detention officer identified as 28-year-old Xavier Jamal McWhorter were getting paid to smuggle contraband into the jail to distribute to inmates.

Both men are charged with Bribery, Trading with Inmates without Consent of the Warden or Superintendent, Items Prohibited for Possession by Inmates, and Violation of Oath of a Public Officer.

Perkins and McWhorter turned themselves into the Barrow County Sheriff’s Office and have been booked at the Barrow County Detention Center.