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Politics & Government

Police Investigator Eyes Oconee Sheriff's Office

Trey Downs has 13 years experience in law enforcement as a jailer, patrol officer and investigator. Now the Oconee County native is gunning for the office of the Oconee County Sheriff.

From investigating murders and child molestation cases to arresting members of a Mexican drug cartel, Trey Downs has handled some of the most serious of offenders as a detective corporal in the personal crimes division of the .

Now Downs, 32, wants to fulfill a long-held dream of protecting the citizens of his home county as the next Oconee County Sheriff.

“I've lived in Oconee County my whole life,” said Downs, a 1998 graduate. “And growing up in a county with a good school system and good folks, I just wanted to find a way to give back to the community, and what better way ... than by serving as Sheriff? I believe that's the ultimate public servant.” 

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Downs will go up against longtime Sheriff Scott Berry and a third candidate, Patrick Holl, an investigator for the Madison County Sheriff's office, in the July Republican Primary.

As sheriff, Downs would be in charge of 88 officers, a jail that currently holds an average of 59 prisoners, and a $4 million budget funded entirely by local taxpayers. Although the current sheriff makes $93,300, new sheriffs will be paid a base salary of $65,000, plus an $8,600 local supplement, according to Malinda Smith, human resources director for Oconee County Board of Comissioners.

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Downs' experience in law enforcement spans 13 years and includes work as a jailer and patrol officer in Barrow County, and as lieutenant for the Jefferson police department in Jackson County. There he supervised two night shifts each of two sergeants and six patrol officers.

Throughout his career, Downs has investigated crimes against children, murder, rape, armed robbery and theft.

In Jefferson, he was enthusiastic about his job, but stayed true to his morals, said Sgt. Lee New, who joined the police department as a patrol officer at the same time as Downs in 2001.

“He never compromised his values,” New said. “I've never met a more admirable young man than he was. He had a desire to be a police officer, he had a desire to do it right and he was ethical. And, for a young man, he wasn't swayed by his peers in any way.”

Downs' conscience was soon put to the test when both he and New noticed what they thought were questionable actions and requests from other officers and their chief at the time, Darren Glenn.

In 2005, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation launched an investigation into alleged corruption within the department, and both Downs and New voiced their concerns with investigators, New said.

"We were forthright and truthful during their investgation, and in essence we were whisltebolowers," Downs said. "It was a defining moment in my career because I stood up against the corruption. Not just for me, but for Sgt. New and the other officers I felt were officers with integrity and good morals and in the end, I had to make a decision to leave.”

The Jefferson City Council fired Glenn in June 2006, and in 2007, Glenn was indicted on 30 counts of computer theft and invasion of privacy charges. The indictments were later dismissed because Glenn was not permitted to testify before the grand jury that indicted him. A different grand jury voted against indicting him after he was given a chance to testify. 

Downs left the Jefferson department in 2007 for the Gwinnett County Drug Task force, where he and other law enforcement officers unraveled a series of drug stash houses using a variety of electronic surveilliance and wire tapping tools to identify and arrest multiple members of the Mexican cartel.

In 2009, he worked as a lead investigator to find the evidence he needed to link Joanna Hayes, who shot and killed her own daughter-in-law while disguised as a man in front of a Target, to the crime.

“It was very complicated, all circumstantial evidence, but he worked very hard for a period of time to develop the evidence we needed to get us that conviction,” Snellville Police Chief Roy Whitehead said. “He did a great job with collecting the fiber evidence, working on that and working on identifications to show she was the person involved...but that's just one example.”

Outside of his routine duties, Downs leads Snellville's citizens police academy, Whitehead said.

“It's one of the best things we do to interact with the community,” Whitehead said. “He's done an excellent job.”

When he's not working, Downs enjoys spending time with his wife and five children and is an avid Georgia Bulldogs fan. His family ties run deep in Oconee County, as he can trace his family tree back seven generations. His grandfather, Bill Holley, was a license examiner for the Georgia State Patrol and his uncle, B.J. Holley, was a trooper for the Georgia State Patrol.

His parents, Buddy and Holly Downs, opened off Mars Hill Road in 1984 and retired in 2006.

Downs began campaigning for sheriff in September and has about crime and safety, he said.

Downs said building greater communication with the community and cracking down on property crime are two of the most important issues facing the Sheriff's Office. 

To protect citizens against property theft, Downs wants to conduct more patrols with a crime supression unit to "saturate" areas in the county where citizens have reported burglary, theft and other kinds of criminal activity. He also wants hire a full-time drug investigator and establish voluntary advisory boards with community members to address citizens' concerns and learn how to do a better job of deterring crime.  

“When you partner with the community, and you have a department that's more easily accessible for the citizens, than you are more likely to solve crimes,” Downs said. “I think we have to build that bridge and form a very close relationship with the community.”

(Editor's Note: This article first appeared on Oconee Patch. It is part of a series on candidates for the Oconee County sheriff. Candidate qualifying takes places May 23-25.)

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