Fourth Bibb deputy arrested within year

The Macon Telegraph (Georgia)

BYLINE: Amy Leigh Womack,

Bibb County, GA

A Bibb County deputy has been charged with misdemeanor theft and felony violation of oath of office after he allegedly stole a cell phone from the property room where inmates  personal items are stored, according to a sheriff s office news release.

Bobby Rydale Cowart Jr., 25, was assigned to the corrections division before being terminated Wednesday. He was hired in September 2008, according to the release.

The cell phone was reported missing March 31 and results of an internal investigation led to Cowart s termination and arrest, according to the sheriff s office. Cowart, of Warner Robins, was arrested and booked into the jail Thursday. He is being held on $6,250 bond, ac-cording to the release. Cowart is the fourth Bibb County deputy arrested in the past year.

It s regrettable, but it goes to show we do police our agency,  said Lt. George Meadows, sheriff s office spokes-man. Meadows said applicants for deputy positions undergo a background check and polygraph test. References are interviewed and past work history is considered, he said.

Gregory Todd Bowden, 42, of Byron, was suspended following his Feb. 11 arrest on charges he used a computer to entice a child for sex. Meadows said Bowden, a patrol deputy at the time of his arrest, still is employed by the sheriff s office, but is sus-pended pending the outcome of his trial. Jiwana Daquare Green, 30, a corrections officer, was arrested June 12, 2008, on charges of misdemeanor marijuana possession following a traffic stop by the Macon police for a burned out headlight and cracked tail light.

Green was terminated following the incident, Meadows said. His case has not gone to trial, according to Bibb County State Court records. Robert Moran, 42, a corrections officer, was terminated on June 23, 2008, after being charged with theft from the Westside High School band program. He was president of the school s Band Boosters and is accused of taking $2,000.
His case has not gone to trial, according to Bibb County District Attorney s Office records.

To contact writer Amy Leigh Womack, call 744-4398.

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