Richmond County sheriff's lieutenant, investigator, and deputy misused Flock database for 100+ personal searches; fired, charged

On July 20, 2026, the Richmond County (Augusta, Georgia) Sheriff's Office fired and arrested Lt. John McKenzie, Investigator Curtis Hoskins, and Deputy Joshua Johnson after a criminal investigation found each had misused the agency's Flock license-plate-reader system. Investigators determined that each of the three made more than 100 unauthorized searches of the Flock database for reasons unrelated to any criminal investigation, call for service, intelligence gathering, or other legitimate law-enforcement activity. McKenzie supervised the Fleet Division, Hoskins was assigned to the U.S. Marshals Task Force and was a 14-year veteran of the agency, and Johnson served as a patrol deputy. All three were fired the same morning and turned themselves in at the Charles B. Webster Detention Center, where each was charged with misuse of license plate readers and violation of oath of office.

The arrests grew out of the same Flock audit that led to the June 25, 2026 firing and arrest of former Deputy Jaquarius Yarbrough, who investigators said searched a woman's license plate 1,639 times to track her movements after their relationship ended. Reviewing records further after Yarbrough's arrest, investigators uncovered the additional misuse by McKenzie, Hoskins, and Johnson. The Sheriff's Office has not released the specific searches each of the three conducted or named the individuals targeted; multiple sources familiar with the investigation told The Augusta Press that some of the unauthorized searches involved tracking women.

In a public statement, the Richmond County Sheriff's Office said access to the Flock system and other criminal-justice information systems is authorized only for official law-enforcement duties, and that "any personal use or unauthorized access is strictly prohibited and will not be tolerated." Capt. Danny Whitehead, an agency spokesperson, said the investigation remains open and that further arrests have not been ruled out, and that the office has since restricted access to the system and is strengthening oversight. The case is part of a broader pattern of Flock-audit-driven firings across Georgia law enforcement in mid-2026, including five former Albany police officers arrested by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and firings in Greene County and Fayetteville.

Updates

2026-07 — Sheriff detailed new Flock access safeguards after arrests [3]

Following the arrests, Sheriff Eugene Brantley said the office had tightened access to its Flock license-plate-reader system, now requiring a case number, badge number, and stated reason before each search; had adopted a new AI auditing tool to flag searches for review; and had deputies sign updated policy acknowledgments, while noting the internal investigation remained active.