Second Habersham County deputy misused Flock license-plate database for personal, non-law-enforcement searches; fired and arrested

The Habersham County Sheriff's Office announced August 24, 2026, that it had terminated and arrested Deputy Jonathan Thomas after an internal audit found he had accessed the agency's Flock Safety automated license-plate-reader (ALPR) system for a personal, non-law-enforcement purpose. Investigators determined the access involved an individual with whom Thomas had a personal relationship at the time. Thomas, who had worked for the Sheriff's Office since December 2, 2024, was booked into the Habersham County Detention Center on one felony count of violation of oath of office and two misdemeanor counts of misuse of license plate data; the case remains under investigation and will be referred to the District Attorney's Office for review and prosecution. [1, 2, 3]

Thomas is the second Habersham County deputy found to have misused the Flock system within a month. Then-Deputy Christian Brewer was fired and arrested on July 31, 2026, after a separate internal audit found he had accessed the same system for a personal, non-law-enforcement purpose connected to a different personal relationship; that case is recorded as its own entry. The Sheriff's Office said Thomas's misuse was discovered while it continued auditing Flock access in the wake of the Brewer case. [3, 4]

Sheriff Robin Krockum said the office would "continue to audit our system and hold those accountable who have abused this system." In response to the second case, the department strengthened its access policy to require a two-person approval process: a deputy seeking to search a license plate must first obtain documented supervisor approval, provide a case number, and contact the dispatch center by radio to log the search. The office reduced the number of employees authorized to enter and search license-plate data from 39 to 23 supervisors. [1, 2, 3]