Elections board member and Water Authority member Garvin Haynes was arrested and charged with battery misdemeanor Friday morning.
He reportedly turned himself in to the Rockdale County Sheriff’s office with his attorney and received a pre-set bond on the same day for $1000 plus fees.
Haynes told the News, “The accusations against me are spurious. I’m confident that that will be shown when the investigation is complete.” He declined to elaborate further.
According to an RCSO incident report, Haynes got into an altercation with a roommate over work issues on the evening of Oct. 6 at a Conyers property owned by Haynes. The verbal argument turned into an alleged physical assault.
“Mr. Haynes began to chase (the roommate) around the yard, finally tackling him and punching him in the face two or three times,” wrote the reporting deputy.
Haynes’ husband was able to pull Haynes away and ended up driving the roommate to the Veteran’s Administration hospital in Atlanta, where the roommate was treated for a broken nose and cuts to the hand.
The roommate and Haynes’ husband reported the incident to the sheriff’s office on Oct. 9. They reportedly described to the deputy that “Mr. Haynes has become aggressive over the last several months but this is the first time that physical violence has occurred.” According to the incident report, they also described a history of alcohol and substance abuse, including abuse of prescriptions for depression.
“(They) stated that they wanted to get Mr. Haynes help with his anger and abuse issues but they advised that Mr. Haynes grows angry when they bring the subject up or try to intervene. Both parties stated that although they do not want charges pressed, they are fearful that if something is not done and Mr. Haynes does not get the help they think he needs, that the situation will grow worse.”
Haynes is the appointed member from the local Democratic party to the Rockdale County elections board and has served on the Water and Sewer Authority board since it was reinstituted in 2009.
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(Oct. 21, 11:10 a.m.) IN BRIEF: Elections board member and Water Authority member Garvin Haynes reportedly turned himself in Friday morning to the Rockdale County Sheriff's Office for a charge of battery misdemeanor. He reportedly came to the jail with his attorney and bonded out the same day for $1000.
Check back for more on this developing story.
