Towns County's law enforcement saga took a sharp turn Friday when a judge set aside a seven-count grand jury indictment against Sheriff Kenneth Henderson after prosecutors discovered a likely problem with one of the jurors. The move, requested by the special prosecutor, wipes out the current criminal case against the sheriff for now and leaves the county's leadership hanging while prosecutors decide whether to go back to a grand jury.
According to Atlanta News First, the special prosecutor asked the court to vacate the indictment after learning that a member of the grand jury that returned the charges had been living in North Carolina instead of Towns County. The outlet reports that Henderson's defense attorney had already filed a motion to toss the indictments before the state raised the same issue.
The indictment had included three counts of violation of an oath by a public officer, two counts of false imprisonment under color of law, one count of simple battery on a police officer and one count of simple battery, according to FOX 5 Atlanta. Prosecutors say the charges stemmed from a December 2024 confrontation at the scene of a shooting that involved a Towns County deputy.
The episode began on Dec. 13, 2024, when deputies responded to a reported shooting and Hiawassee officer José Carvajal went to render aid. Reporting at the time described a tense on-scene clash, captured on body camera, between Carvajal and the sheriff. Gov. Brian Kemp later suspended Henderson and appointed a review commission while judges and prosecutors examined the matter, WSB-TV reported.
What happens next
After prosecutors asked the court to set the indictments aside, Atlanta News First reports that the dismissal triggered a minimum 21-day waiting period before the case can be presented to another grand jury. That built-in pause, along with the decision about whether to pursue the same charges again, leaves Towns County in a holding pattern while the legal process gears up for a possible second round.
Legal implications
Georgia law requires grand jurors to have lived in the county for at least six months before serving, and an ineligible juror can be grounds for a court to quash or set aside an indictment under O.C.G.A. § 15-12-60, according to the state code. Courts have sometimes declined to throw out indictments over a defect involving a single juror if no prejudice is shown, and that kind of precedent, along with commentary on grand jury practice, will factor into prosecutors' decision about whether to refile the case.
Local reaction
Local officials and residents have followed the case closely but have offered few public updates since the ruling, while the interim sheriff continues to oversee daily operations. Gov. Kemp previously named a review commission and the chief judge swore in an interim sheriff after Henderson's October indictment, according to reporting by AccessWDUN.
The court's latest move is a reminder that procedural rules can upend even a high-profile criminal case. Prosecutors now have to decide whether they want to restart the fight in front of a new grand jury while the rest of Towns County waits for the clock, and the courts, to run their course.
