DOUGLAS COUNTY, Ga. — A warrant indicates the Georgia Bureau of Investigation is launching an investigation into three Douglas County commissioners and the tax commissioner.
The GBI confirmed this is an active investigation; a judge signed off on a warrant to access the commissioners' emails dating back to 2018. The investigation centers on a contract the county awarded to D'Ville Solutions, which according to the company's website does tax returns, cleaning, and property management.
11Alive showed the warrant to an outside attorney, former federal prosecutor Bill Thomas, who said this involves allegations of bid rigging.
County Commissioners Henry Mitchell, Dr. Ramona Jackson Jones, and Kelly Robinson were mentioned in the warrant along with County Tax Commissioner Greg Baker. Authorities want to see emails they sent.
Thomas said the GBI is laying out a criminal case.
"Often search warrants provide other leads, they will follow those leads wherever they go," he said.
The two-page warrant, Thomas said, cites alleged bid rigging in a contract awarded to D'Ville Solutions in 2018 to clean the tax commissioner's office.
Thomas said it's difficult to know how long the investigation will take.
"That could be 10 emails, I've seen in a recent investigation we handled, there were thousands of emails. And that can be a daunting task. Someone will have to go through those emails, read those emails," he said.
An attorney for the county said he doesn't have any additional information about the investigation, but is confident the county commissioners and tax commissioner will cooperate.