Lavonia Police Officer Receives Award

A Lavonia Police officer is being commended for his efforts that landed a phony veteran, who faked her way into becoming the Lavonia VFW Post Commander, behind bars.  On Wednesday, 31-year-old Gabrielle Beutler of Bowersville, plead guilty to a number of charges. 

Officer Jonathan Merck with the Lavonia Police Department was recently recognized for his efforts, which led to her conviction.  He received the Meritorious Performance Medal from the police department.  According to Lavonia Police Chief Bruce Carlisle, it all started this Summer when Merck, who is a veteran himself, first met Beutler at the VFW.  Upon talking with her, Merck soon became suspicious that the commander was not really what she claimed to be. 

“He listened to some of her stories that she would tell about her time in the military, and she just wasn’t talking military lingo.  And she wasn’t sharing information that was accurate.  Or she would just avoid talking about things all together saying they were too traumatic for her to talk about, when you know you’re sitting there talking to real Purple Heart recipients.”      

After doing some further research including looking at her DD-214’s, Merck came to his superiors and presented his findings.  At that point, Lavonia Police turned the investigation over to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.  Beutler was ultimately arrested on August 16.

Merck says while he is proud of the award, he recognizes it was a team effort in putting her behind bars.

“I appreciate the command staff and the city recognizing me for this.  And there were a lot of other people that took part in this that were critical to the success of this case.  And I wasn’t the only person that took part in it.  And there were several other people within our agency, other agencies, and the veteran community that took part in this to make it a success.  So it wasn’t  something I single handedly did.  It wasn’t a ‘Jonathan Merck Show’ by myself.”

 Officer Merck already has several other awards including lifesaving awards and a Purple Heart.