RealFastNews.MOBi
[ home ]
FCSO Deputy Terminated for Multiple Policy Violations


NOTE: THE VIDEO & AUDIO QUALITY MAY BE BETTER ON A PC AT RealFastNews.com - DEADSPOTS IN THE AUDIO ARE WHERE THE FCSO HAD NAMES REMOVED. SEE DETAILED TEXT & FB MESSAGE TRANSCRIPTS BETWEEN DUKE, THE 17 YR OLD GIRL & HER MOTHER ALONG WITH MUCH MORE BACKSTORY INFO BELOW

See the ongoing conversation about this >> HERE

LATEST UPDATE 7.8.16 According to court document information obtained by RFN on 7.8.16, 41 yr old Jerry Duke was scheduled to appear in court again & plead guilty to one of two additional counts of stalking after restraining orders were issued by a then 17 yr old girl's parents. The count he pled guilty to was misdemeanor stalking & the two others that were both for felony aggravated stalking with a fourth count for misdemeanor violation of family violence were all dismissed. The judge imposed 12 months of probation, a $300 fine, 80 hrs of community service & Duke also forfeited his POST certification (Peace Officer Standards & Training) as a law enforcement officer which means he cannot serve as an officer in the future. He also has to pay $44 per month for probation monitoring. Back in May of 2014, Mr Duke was ordered by a superior court judge to not make any contact with the then 17 year old girl but he defied the judge multiple times in various ways as well noted below & was promptly arrested. He served several months in the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta waiting for his next court appearance. See the ENTIRE dramatic backstory & wrap sheet along with the complete text message conversation transcript between the then 39 yr old man & the 17 yr old girl below.

8.11.14 - RFN has officially confirmed that 39 yr old previously jailed former Floyd Sheriff's Deputy, Jerry Duke, married just recently turned-18 yr old Jessica Bennett, now Jessica Duke on Friday around noon. Floyd court clerk's office records indicate that Duke requested finalized divorce papers from his previous marriage on Friday & Bartow County marriage records indicate the two showed up at the courthouse in Cartersville & were married by Margaret St Phillips. It is not known where they will reside.

8.8.14 - According to documents filed & approved in the Floyd County Court clerk's office, Jerry Duke's former wife Christina filed a Temporary Restraining Order against him. Scroll down for more.

8.7.14 - After serving 75+ days in jail, Floyd DA Leigh Patterson has confirmed to RFN that the fired former FCSO deputy, Jerry Duke, was granted a $10K conditional bond by Superior Court Judge Jack Niedrach this morning based on an early release note in the previous order issued by Judge Mathews effective only after the girl turned 18. The bond's conditions are no violent or harassing contact with any of those involved. She also confirmed that the now-18 yr old girl had moved into Duke's residence recently prior to his bond approval & that a Floyd Grand Jury was struck from the schedule with a possible future meeting if further legal action for prior activity is necessary. Additional conditions still in effect are that Duke may have absolutely no contact with the girl's parents.

6.7.14 - VIEW EXCLUSIVE VIDEO ABOVE SHOWING THE ENTIRE 25 MINUTE FCSO INTERNAL INVESTIGATION INTERVIEW OF FORMER FLOYD DEPUTY JERRY DUKE. BY NOW, YOU'VE PROBABLY SEEN THE MULTIPLE STORIES & UPDATES ON RFN & OTHER SITES WITH TEXT & PICTURES. BUT THIS VIDEO ALLOWS YOU TO NOT ONLY SEE BUT ALSO HEAR THE VERY COOPERATIVE BUT APPARENT CAVALIER TONE OF JERRY DUKE AS HE ANSWERS QUESTIONS & INCLUDES DETAILS ABOUT HIS SUSPENSION IN EARLY FALL OF 2013 WHILE IN A BRIEF LOVE TRIANGLE (ALSO DESCRIBED BELOW) NOT MENTIONED IN HIS PERSONAL WRITTEN STATEMENT (POSTED BELOW) OF THE EVENTS LEADING UP TO HIS EVENTUAL TERMINATION & ARREST. SCROLL DOWN FOR MUCH MORE INFO.


6.3.14 - SCROLL ALL THE WAY DOWN TO SEE THE 4.5 PAGE PERSONAL STATEMENT WRITTEN BY JERRY DUKE WHICH WAS INCLUDED IN THE FCSO INTERNAL INVESTIGATION.

6.2.14 - Duke was denied bond at a hearing held before Superior Court Judge Niedrach on 6.2.14 & may spend weeks or as much as three months in jail until his next hearing. Check back for further updates.

EXCLUSIVE 2 Friday 5.30.14 - Scroll all the way down BELOW THE TEXT MESSAGE MARATHON to see the private Facebook messages between the 39 yr old Jerry Duke & the 17 yr old girl's mother as he apparently tries to convince her of the possible fallout if she notifies Duke's employer and/or the media if the relationship between him & her 17 yr old daughter continues.

EXCLUSIVE 1 Tuesday 5.27.14 - Scroll all the way down to see the lengthy text communications between the 39 yr old fired Floyd Sheriff's deputy housed for at least a week in Atlanta's >> Fulton County Jail & the 17 yr old girl he was ordered to avoid by a superior court judge.

5.24.14 - The fired Floyd deputy was arrested for aggravated stalking & had a 2nd court appearance. He was then transported to Atlanta's >> Fulton County Jail - In this second court appearance, it was revealed that Jerry Duke had violated the judge's order the same day it was issued & provided a cellphone to the 17 yr old girl to conduct secret communications between them. Apparently, Duke was allegedly using his own 12 yr old daughter's SnapChat and KIK accounts in an attempt to cover his tracks while communicating with the 17 yr old girl. See the RNT link below for the backstory of this incident.

>> FLOYD ARREST IMAGE

>> ARREST CHARGES

>> FULTON COUNTY BOOKING IMAGE

Check RFN for still more info as fast as the rules allow.

RFN UPDATE 1 A superior court judge ordered recently fired Floyd Sheriff's deputy Jerry Duke to stay away from a 17 yr old girl and her family, at least until she turns 18. See the RNT link below for the backstory of this incident.

FCSO Chief Deputy Caldwell confirmed that Duke had visited the girl at various locations but it was when Duke showed up at her place of work at a restaurant that it caught the attention of the restaurant's manager that thought it didn't look quite right. The manager notified the FCSO and made a report which started the second internal investigation on Duke with the third triggered by the mother's eventual restraining order. After a confrontational meeting between Duke & the girl's father in an E Rome restaurant's parking lot, Duke had a warrant issued for him also claiming that the girl's father had been following him but he later cancelled that warrant.

RFN UPDATE 2 RFN was provided with new details explaining the events that led to the suspension without pay involving Jerry Duke and an FCPD trainee months ago. According to FCSO Chief Deputy Caldwell, back in the fall of 2013, Mr Duke was having a relationship with a female FCPD officer trainee in her twenties. At some point, Mr Duke suspected or was made aware that another male FCPD officer trainee was also having relations with the same female officer trainee and Duke was not happy about it. When the trainees returned from a training day, Mr Duke confronted the male officer trainee in the parking lot of the jail while he was on duty but it was neutralized before it escalated into a physical brawl. Mr Duke was then suspended without pay for five days and was required to undergo a fitness-for-duty evaluation by the jail's contract psychologist and the involved FCPD officer trainees were terminated. Additionally, Mr Duke was required to personally apologize to FCPD Chief Shiflett and the Floyd County Police Department. See the RNT link below for the backstory of this incident.

RFN UPDATE 3 Back in March of 2013 during a countywide raid on local stores that were operating illegal gambling machines, RFN had asked Deputy Chief Caldwell how an Atlanta tv station was on the scene so quickly to cover it shortly after it had begun. According to Caldwell, it was discovered that Mr Duke had alerted an Atlanta TV news station about that raid, however, he indicated the operation was not jeopardized by Duke's action but that Duke had blatantly violated a known policy about not discussing an ongoing investigation with the media. Shortly after the FCSO release about Duke's termination, RFN learned from Caldwell that Duke had violated that policy again by speaking with the media about the internal investigation being conducted on himself. Upon his attorney's advice, the deputy informed the Rome newspaper about the incident providing them with the information anyway to ensure that his side of the story was told.

Caldwell also noted that these and other accumulated incidents led to the final decision for Duke's termination.

It should also be noted that before Mr Duke became a deputy, he was the owner/operator of RomeNewswire.com & occasionally provided information to Atlanta tv news stations for free in exchange for his site to be mentioned on their air. It is not known if he is still associated with or has a financial interest in that website.

MEDIA RELEASE: The Floyd County Sheriff's Office has terminated the employment of 3-year veteran Deputy Sheriff Jerry Duke, Accreditation Manager.

Mr. Duke has been the subject of a week long investigation into allegations of misconduct related to complaints made against him by a Floyd County Couple about their teenaged daughter.

Mr. Duke was found to be in violation of Sheriff's Office policies for Code of Ethics, Conduct Unbecoming a Deputy, Immoral Conduct, Unsatisfactory Performance, Insubordination, Truthfulness and violations of sheriff's office policy related to Off Duty/Extra Duty Employment.

"We take these allegations very seriously and on a personal level it's very disappointing to me that our public safety community, of which I am proud to be a member, has to suffer another black eye because of one person's misconduct." said Chief Deputy Tom Caldwell. "I can assure our community that the totality of our work is not reflected in this type of behavior".

Mr. Duke has ten days to file an appeal of this action to the Floyd County Personnel Board.

Jerry Duke was arrested on a felony Aggravated Stalking & Misdemeanor charge >> RNT BACKSTORY

A superior court judge ordered recently fired Floyd Sheriff's deputy Jerry Duke to stay away from a 17 yr old girl and her family, at least until she turns 18 >> RNT BACKSTORY

A 39 yr old Floyd Sheriff's deputy was placed on leave during an internal investigation involving a 17 yr old girl & appeared in court for a restraining order hearing on 5.9.14 >> RNT BACKSTORY

Jerry Duke vowed to appeal his termination >> RNT BACKSTORY

This same deputy was suspended earlier for an altercation with an FCPD officer trainee at the jail months ago >> RNT BACKSTORY

The following information is a transcript obtained through an open records request from the Floyd County court clerk's office containing text communications between 39 yr old Jerry Duke & a 17 yr old girl that were provided along with court restraining order documents filed by the girl's mother. The conversation describes Duke's concerns about the young girl's parents' strong disapproval of their relationship and about him losing his job at the Sheriff's office. It also shows Duke mentioning a secret phone used to conduct their communications. The entire conversation contains all original spelling, grammatical & punctuation errors as they appeared in the actual report. The heart icon was also an original component of the communication.
- - START OF TEXT MESSAGES - -

Sunday April 27, 2014

Duke    Baby, I love you

Duke    ? Baby

Monday April 28, 2014

Duke    Baby, I love you so very much!!!

Me (teen)   I love you baby  

Duke  


Me (teen)   (BLANK)

Duke    You hung up - Lol - I miss you bad

Me (teen)  When did I hang up? And I miss you

Duke    I love you!'m

Me (teen)  I love you

Duke    U just wake up?

Me (teen)  I'm going back to sleep and my dad just got up. I love you so very much!

Duke    I love you beautiful! So much! Have you been awake this whole time? I love you

Me (teen)  I'm not sure what's going on right now. They keep saying they don't want me to leave. They are talking right now. I'm not sure what they are talking about. They won't tell me.

Duke    Baby. Please let me tell her one more thing. I think it's important for them to know. What did you tell them?

Me (teen)  They don't want to talk or see me. I think it's best that they not talk to you.

Duke    Did they take your other phone?

Me (teen)  I said I wasn't leaving you. No, I have it but I'm texting you off this one right now. You. She said she's calling tomorrow. And if that doesn't work, she'll do whatever it takes.

Duke    If they call my job I'll have to resign.

Me (teen)  Well do you want to leave me? Because if so you need to say so. I'm pretty much ruining my relationship with them.

Duke    No I will not leave you.

Me (teen)  I love you and I'm not going to let this come between us.

Duke    I'll find a job!

Me (teen)  I already said we weren't going to stop seeing each other. She said if I wanted to leave I would have to leave the car because I still owe her money.

Duke    Baby... I think they need to hear this... If they are going to call... At least let me try one last thing.. It can't hurt.

Me (teen)  No. I don't want ya'll to talk. I want to leave.

Duke    Do you want me to come and get you? Baby. Read the txt on your other phone! Baby? Is everything okay? Baby please at least text me and let me know you are okay. Baby. Please text me and let me know you are okay.

Me (teen)  I said I wasn't leaving you.

Duke    I love you. They say something else? Call me when you can. I love you with ally heart and I will be here no matter what! I'd just like to know if she was actually going to call my work. If so, I wanna call the chief and tell him first. Baby... I have never been more sure about how much I love and care for you! I would be lost without you! If I agreed to stop seeing you just to avoid all of what your mom threatened, I would have been miserable for the rest of my life knowing that I had given up on the one person I love more than anything else! I will not give up on us! I love you so very much! Baby. Have they said anything else? Please call me tonight! Always and forever!

Me (teen)  She is going to call. I love you.

Duke    Can you call me baby? I love you.

Me (teen)  I just hope you mean what you are saying.

Duke    More than anything.

Me (teen)  Well she is threatening that if I leave she'll hunt me down.

Duke    As long as I have you... Everything else will be okay. She can't hunt you down. If she does that, she could be criminally charged. Do you want me to come and get you?

Me (teen)  No

Duke    She still talking to you?

Me (teen)  No. She just stopped.

Duke    Can I call you? I need to talk to you.

Me (teen)  Not right now. I'm getting in the shower. Text me.

Duke    We need each other right now... I know I need you.

Me (teen)  I know.

Duke    So what if they hear... Please call for just a second.

Me (teen)  I'm literally in the shower. Just text me.

Duke    Lol... when you get out.

Me (teen)  Baby

Duke    Baby... I gotta talk to you! I hate texting stuff like this!

Me (teen)  Just text me. Please.

Duke    I'm not gonna stop texting... But this is a life changing moment! I am committed to you! I love you! But please... For me baby... I have to talk to you about this... I need to hear your voice!

Me (teen)  I will call you when I call.

Duke    If they hear so what... They are already gonna do the worst thing they possibly could... They can't hurt us anymore.

Me (teen)  I just kept saying that I wasn't leaving you and they kept saying after what happens tomorrow he is going to leave you. He won't stick around and you're crazy to think so.

Duke    I'm not going anywhere.

Me (teen)  Promise? I need your support. I'm losing my family and I need you to support me.

Duke    They can make my life hell but once they do it... That's it... There is only so much they can do. I need you too baby.

Me (teen)  They want you and me to suffer as much as possible. They will do whatever they can. What are you going to say to the chief tomorrow?

Duke    I am probably going to lose my job.. But I'll find another job. O only want you.

Me (teen)  I don't know what to do.

Duke    Without you nothing else matters.

Me (teen)  I do not want to leave you but I don't want you to lose everything. It's all my fault. All of this.

Duke    Baby... If you leave me... That's the only way I'll lose everything.

Me (teen)  What about your job? The kids? Christina? Your family? The house?

Duke    Call me. It's too much to type. I just wanna hear your voice.

Me (teen)  I can't right now.

Duke    Why? What are they gonna do?

Me (teen)  I'm in the shower and I don't want them to listen. Period.

Duke    They can't do anything else.

Me (teen)  Please just text it. Please.

Duke    Promise you will text in a minute? Call. Not text.

Me (teen)  I will try but no promises.

Duke    Baby... Please. I gotta talk to you. I have to.

Me (teen)  I'm not going to give them the satisfaction of hearing of what we are going to do.

Duke    Just listen and whisper... I have to! I'm not kidding. I sent two of my friends at the Rome News a text. If she said she was gonna go to them... I wanna make sure it won't be a story. Which it won't be because the fact that the parents don't like me dating their daughter is not news.

Me (teen)  What did you say to them?

Duke    Hang on... He just texted back. We are going to prove your parents wrong baby! We have been through so much... This will only make us stronger.

Me (teen)  Hey baby.

Duke    Hey honey. Did you call me on the other phone?

Me (teen)  I accidentally did. I was reaching for the iPhone and hit call.

Duke    Ahh. Can you call me now then?

Me (teen)  Yeah

Duke  

Me (teen)  I was saying yeah to you saying ahh lol

Duke    Can you not call?

Me (teen)  Not yet.

Duke    Who cares if they hear baby? Do they think we are not seeing each other?

Me (teen)  They know we are together.

Duke    Did they ask you again tonight?

Me (teen)  Kinda.

Duke    If they do, then to hell with them... Call me! Did your mom say how I supposedly threatened her?

Me (teen)  No she didn't.

Duke    Okay... I'm going to call you... And I want the girl I love with everything to answer...

Me (teen)  Nope.

Duke    Baby... this is frustrating. They know we are together.. They are even lying about me and I still can't even talk to you when I need you so very badly!:-( I'm calling... please answer my love.

Me (teen)  I'll call you in a few. Chill.

Duke    I'm seriously not kidding when I tell you that breaks my heart... :-( Baby I love you. I miss you so much.

Me (teen)  Baby.

Duke    Yes baby?

Me (teen)  I love you.

Duke    I love you more than anything?

Duke    Baby?

  you are my everything and I know I couldn't and would not want to live without you. Please let me know you are okay. Baby... Your mom answered the phone... What's going on? I feel like I'm going to throw up I'm so worried! Please tell me this was all to appease your mother and that you still love me! I love you. J * * * * * *, I feel so lost right now... Please tell me you didn't mean all that. Please tell me you still love me! Baby. I love you!

- - END OF TEXT MESSAGES - -

The following information is a transcript obtained through an open records request from the Floyd County Sheriff's office containing Facebook private message communications between 39 yr old Jerry Duke & a 17 yr old girl's mother. The messages between them apparently show Duke's attempt to convince the mother of the possible fallout if she notifies Duke's employer and/or the media if the relationship between him & her 17 yr old daughter continues. Below the Facebook messages is a 4.5 page personal statement of events composed by Jerry Duke that was included in the FCSO internal investigation conducted on him. Some names were removed by the Floyd Sheriff's office prior to delivery to RFN.

- - START OF FACEBOOK PRIVATE MESSAGES - -


Duke  Before you try to get me fired, I'd like to talk to you... (REDACTED)

Just please know... I love your daughter and could never just abandon her even though you have the ability to ruin both of our lives and the lives of my babies by doing what you threatened.

Mrs. (REDACTED), I have 4 sweet little babies that depend on me... 4 little ones who also love (REDACTED) as much as I do. If you want to hurt me and them, you certainly have that ability... I pray that you don't! I just ask that you give me a chance. I don't want you to ruin the relationship with your daughter and I don't want you to ruin the lives of me and my babies...

Duke  I'm willing to talk to you, I'm willing to tell you anything you want to know.

Duke  Mrs. (REDACTED), I love (REDACTED). I can't just abandon her just because I'm afraid I'll lose everything if I don't... I've prayed about this all night and I just wanted to ask you one more time... Please don't do this... I will be fired because the sheriff's office is political and they can't fire me for any of this... But they will look for any other reason and accomplish it that way to avoid any conflict. I'm just asking you... Please don't.

Duke  Is there anything I can do to change your mind?

(REDACTED)  I am at work so you can leave me the hell alone. You will be hearing from someone soon enough.

- - END OF FACEBOOK PRIVATE MESSAGES - -

- - START OF DUKE PERSONAL STATEMENT - -

"In the first part of December, I went into Steak N Shake & met a waitress named J * * * * * *. At first meeting, I thought she was older than she was. Not until a short time after did I find out she was 17. Shortly after that, I was notified by FCSO that there had been a complaint that I was too old for her, that was made by her work manager. I was contacted by Cpl Hampton and notified there was an inquiry. I immediately contacted my atty Wade Hoyt III and explained the situation to him.

He said it was perfectly legal and that I shouldn't worry. After a couple weeks I believe, I was called to Chief Deputy's office and notified that I could possibly be in trouble for seeing her. Chief said I was going to be on "secret" probation. I notified my atty who told me that was odd and advised me to keep our relationship under the radar but ultimately FCSO could not tell me that I could not see her. He said it was a consentual legal relationship. So I did that. We have been together for 5 months. I see her almost daily. She knows my family & my kids & they love her. I have known her aunt for a couple of months & I had been asking her to tell her parents about us for some time because I told her it would be better for them to find out from her. We have progressively stopped trying to hide our relationship. We go out to eat, shop & whatever without worry. We have plans to be married in August 2014.

This past Monday (I think Monday) she was at my house when her mom called and told her to come home. Apparently someone had seen us together and made a comment to her mom. She asked (REDACTED) & since I had been asking her to be honest, she told her everything (she said). Later that night, (REDACTED) & her parents called me on speakerphone. Her parents were upset & her mom told me that she would give me one chance to say that I would never see her again or she would "get me fired, call the newspaper, contact my ex wife & have my children taken away". I told her that I respected that she was upset but I had told (REDACTED) that I loved her & would always be there for her, that what kind of person would I be if I abandoned her when things got tough. The conversation continued & they continued to yell & at some point I asked (REDACTED) to speak to me off speakerphone. At that point, she said she loved me & was not going to leave me. I told her I loved her & we hung up. We texted and spoke again later that night about general things.

That next morning, I sent her mom a message with my number asking to talk to her. I also tried to reason with her because I knew, legal or not, the FCSO would look for a reason to terminate me should she complain. She told me to leave her alone & I did. All of my interaction with her was very respectful.

At some point, I found out Capt Pearson & Nathan Blanton were going to interview (REDACTED) @ 1800 on Wednesday. I saw her that morning. At lunch, she and I visited our atty Wade Hoyt III & I saw her again shortly after 3 p.m.. She texted me about 5 p.m. & told me she loved me.

I didn't hear back, even after several texts until about 7 p.m.. When I called, her mom answered & hung up. Shortly after, she called back sounding very forced and told me it was best we didn't see each other. I was shocked & she repeated it. Then her father screamed something & her mom told him to be quiet that she wanted to hear more because she was "enjoying this". At this time, I knew I was on speakerphone and I told her I loved her & we disconnected.

I and my 12 yr old daughter received a text shortly after saying that we were never to text "that phone" again. My 12 yr old, not knowing that anything was wrong, replied "what's wrong . . . Love you". (REDACTED)'s phone replied back "don't text again or we will have your dad arrested". I don't recall the other texts but can supply if needed, but they were hateful to my daughter.

(REDACTED) had another phone that I had given her month's back. I messaged that & once to her Facebook hoping to get an explanation free from her parents' influence. No response.

I was worried all night & did not sleep. This morning, 5.1.14, I received a call from a number I did not recognize. I answered and it was (REDACTED). She said her parents had forced her to call me last night & that texts coming from her phone was her mom. She said she did not have access to Facebook or anything, that her mom had both her phone and the iPhone and was not allowing her to drive. She said she loved me and that she would contact me when she could. I told her that I loved her.

* I forgot to mention that Tuesday evening when I met her, she called her mom on speakerphone & her mom told her I had threatened her via the messages I sent on Facebook."

Signed Jerry Duke   1407

- - END OF DUKE PERSONAL STATEMENT - -
[ TOP ]
[ home ]