Hart Co Commissioner Ricky Carter and Son Indicted on 11 Counts

Hart County Commissioner Ricky Carter and his son Jake have been indicted by a Hart County Grand Jury in connection with an assault on Carter’s brother-in-law in March.

On Monday, the Grand Jury returned a True Bill with 11 counts.

Ricky Carter was indicted on two counts of Aggravated Assault, and two counts of Possession of a Firearm during the Commission of Felony.

Jake Carter was indicted on one count of Aggravated Assault, and two counts of Possession of a Firearm during the Commission of a Felony.

Both Ricky Carter and Jake Carter were indicted on one count each of Aggravated Battery, and three counts of Cruelty to Children in the Third Degree.

In Tuesday’s Primary, Carter lost his seat on the Hart County Board of Commissioners to challenger Jeff Brown with Brown receiving 74.68% of the vote to Carter’s 25.32%.

Carter was first elected to the Hart County Board of Commissioners in 2012 and has been re-elected twice since then.

Even though he lost his County Commission seat to Brown Tuesday, Carter is still the District 4 County Commissioner until the end of the year unless he is suspended or removed from office by the Governor or chooses to resign.

Carter was arrested in March and as with the 2019 arrest of former Hart County Commissioner RC Oglesby on Racketeering charges, Carter was still eligible to run for re-election.

Now that he has been indicted, the process to remove him from office could begin in the Governor’s office.

In 2019, the attorney for Hart County, Walter Gordon spoke to WLHR News about that process shortly after Oglesby’s arrest.

“There is a state process that can deal with an elected official charged with a crime,” Gordon said.“That process, however, is triggered upon felony indictment, not arrest. The Governor then appoints a three-person panel, consisting of the Attorney General of the State or his designate and two county commissioners from other counties. They would then become a panel of inquiry and would examine the circumstances. I’ve never been to one so I don’t the exact procedure they follow. They would then make a recommendation to the Governor whether to suspend temporarily or permanently or declare the office vacant.

It’s not yet known if the Governor will appoint a panel to review Carter’s case.

According to Hart County Sheriff Mike Cleveland, Carter, and his son 34-year-old Jake Elliott Carter, went to the home of Ricky Carter’s brother-in-law, identified as Jack Williford on Highway 77 around midnight the night of March 19, 2022, after a dispute with Williford involving Carter’s grandsons.

When deputies arrived they found that Ricky Carter’s son, Jake had allegedly assaulted his uncle, beating him and causing serious injuries.

Sheriff Cleveland told WLHR News that as Carter’s son was attacking Williford, a neighbor tried to intervene by pulling Jake Carter off of Williford as Williford’s three grandchildren watched from a window.

That’s why they were both indicted on three counts of Cruelty to Children.

The two counts of possession of a firearm stem from both Ricky Carter and his son pointing guns and threatening the neighbor who tried to intervene, as well as the victim, Jack Willford.

Both Ricky and Jake Carter were released on $30,000 bond each in April.