A longtime McDuffie County bailiff and former fire lieutenant is accused of selling invalid CPR certification cards to daycare and adult care facility employees across Thomson, prompting a six-month state investigation and a handful of felony charges. James Ed Lewis, 66, turned himself in to law enforcement and was booked into the McDuffie County jail, facing three counts of filing false documents and one count of theft by taking.
According to Atlanta News First, several daycare and adult care businesses in Thomson paid Lewis to provide CPR certification courses, based on preliminary information gathered during the investigation. The Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning later told those businesses that the courses and certification cards Lewis issued were invalid, the outlet reported. Georgia state government requires CPR certification for daycare workers, a mandate that pushed providers to seek out instructors like Lewis in the first place.
Lewis spent years building trust in the community as a bailiff providing security at the McDuffie County government complex, and he previously served as a longtime firefighter and former lieutenant, as well as an employee of the McDuffie County Sheriff's Office. That standing appears to have carried weight with at least one daycare operator. Kakika Eubanks, who runs Lil Bo Peep Learning Center, told local station WRDW/WAGT, cited by Wand TV, that she had known Lewis since her childhood and had previously hired him for fire safety instruction before turning to him for CPR training.
Certificates Looked Official, But Weren't
Eubanks called Lewis to teach a CPR class, and he provided what appeared to be state certificates and training logs, per the Atlanta News First report. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said the CPR certification cards were fake, and that Lewis was not certified to issue CPR certifications or to teach as a CPR instructor when he ran the course, per the GBI. Eubanks said no one at her daycare ever had to use the CPR skills listed on the certificates, and she described the children at her daycare as being like her own children.
The distinction investigators have drawn is a narrow but critical one: Lewis did hold a personal certification in CPR, per documents, but he lacked the additional instructor-level accreditation required to teach classes or issue state-recognized completion cards, the same WRDW/WAGT reporting noted. Instructor credentials require separate training and oversight through official bodies such as the American Heart Association or Red Cross, a distinction that separates someone who knows CPR from someone authorized to certify others in it.
Law enforcement sources told Atlanta News First that fake cards were distributed at as many as three daycares, and that Thomson's First Methodist Church was among the locations where the cards turned up. Lewis informed McDuffie County that he would retire immediately from his bailiff position after being bonded out of jail, according to the outlet's reporting. Brandon Burton, the McDuffie County manager, is listed in connection with the county's handling of Lewis's abrupt retirement.
Why The Paperwork Mattered So Much
The stakes behind the invalid certificates go beyond paperwork. Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning regulations, updated effective July 1, 2025, require all direct-care daycare staff to complete pediatric CPR and first aid certification within 45 days of employment, down from a previous 90-day window, according to First Response Safety Training. State rules also mandate that at least one staff member with active, valid pediatric CPR and first aid training be physically present in every active classroom at all times, as well as during off-site field trips and transportation, according to Pulse CPR and First Aid School. Facilities that unknowingly relied on invalid cards faced the prospect of having to retrain staff immediately or risk state licensing citations.
The underlying life-safety concern is real even outside this case. CARES registry data from 2025 indicates that only 42.5% of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in the United States receive bystander CPR before emergency personnel arrive, even though immediate intervention can double or triple survival odds, per Pulse CPR and First Aid School. Georgia law under O.C.G.A. § 51-1-29 also provides Good Samaritan immunity to people who render emergency care in good faith, a policy meant to encourage bystander response, though it does not exempt facilities from mandatory staff certification, the same source notes.
Charges Carry Years of Potential Prison Time
Under Georgia Code § 16-10-20, knowingly making false statements or executing fraudulent documents in a matter within a government agency's jurisdiction is a felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $1,000, according to legal reference site FindLaw. Lewis faces three such counts tied to the filing of false documents. Separately, theft by taking under Georgia Code §§ 16-8-2 and 16-8-12 is graded as a misdemeanor for property valued at $1,500 or less, but becomes a felony punishable by one to five years in prison if the value stolen falls between $1,500.01 and $5,000, according to the Georgia Criminal Lawyer reference.
The Thomson Police Department formally asked the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to take over the case on March 24, 2026, roughly six months before charges were filed. Once the GBI's inquiry wraps up, the case file is expected to move to District Attorney Bill Doupé's office in the Toombs Judicial Circuit, which prosecutes felony cases across McDuffie, Glascock, Lincoln, Taliaferro, Warren and Wilkes counties, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. The investigation remains active and ongoing.
Anyone with information can reach the GBI's regional investigative office in Thomson at 706-595-2575, or submit an anonymous tip by calling 1-800-597-TIPS (8477).
