MACON, Ga. — Macon's district attorney says Bibb County Sheriff David Davis waited more than a year to fire an investigator who gave false testimony to a grand jury.
On Thursday, Davis told 13WMAZ it took him months to get all the documents and records he needed to decide.
But District Attorney Anita Howard says she told Davis everything he needed to know in October 2023.
Nicholas Denny worked with the sheriff's office for 14 years. He was Deputy of the Year in 2022 and Investigator of the Year in 2023.
Now he could face criminal charges.
Davis fired Denny in October after an investigation by Howard's office and the GBI.
They concluded that Denny lied when he told a grand jury in 2023 that former deputy Kendrell Daniely gave a gun to his brother, who was a gang member.
Howard's office dropped the charges against Daniely last year, after concluding that Denny made false statements. Her office will no longer prosecute cases that rely solely on Denny's testimony, based on concerns about his credibility.
Davis says every step he took in the past year — from gathering transcripts to comparing evidence and eventually bringing in the GBI — was essential to make the final decision to fire Denny.
"I'm given all the evidence, and then I have to make a decision based on what policies we have here at the sheriff's office," Davis said. "The way the system works is, there's an arrest made, then that case is forwarded to the DA's office. Then it is put on the grand jury docket. [It was] shortly after that testimony, and a couple of weeks afterward that (District Attorney Anita) Howard reached out to me."
Howard says Davis didn't need to wait to act. According to her statement, Davis had all the evidence he needed to evaluate Denny more than a year ago.
"The sheriff's office was first informed about my concerns within two days following Mr. Denny's testimony before the grand jury on Oct. 23, 2023...if he was eager to get his own investigation completed, he could have had Denny’s interviews transcribed himself (he provided the recording to us) instead of waiting for me to have it done."
She says her office informed Davis and his staff, including Denny's supervisor, Lt. Jason Batchelor. She says they had access to all the "essential evidence," including the incident report, supplemental report, statement of facts and Denny's audio/video interview with the other officer.
All that was missing, she said, was a copy of Denny's grand jury testimony.
Howard wrote: "Sheriff Davis and his team had access to sufficient information immediately upon notification of our concerns to make an informed disciplinary decision regarding Mr. Denny...The Sheriff did not need to wait for my investigation or for any of my documentation."
Davis disagrees: "It takes time to get all of the things together that we need to make an informed decision," Davis said. "So, to say that we had all this a year ago, when we had parts of it...no matter who a person is, they are entitled for us to make sure that we have all of the facts, particularly because I know that these cases can be appealed."
Howard says personally spoke to Davis about her concerns on Oct. 26, 2023.
According to the District Attorney's office, Batchelor responded on Oct. 27, 2023, writing that he'd concluded there was either "an intentional or unintentional misrepresentation of fact." He wrote that Denny "will be disciplined" in accordance to policy.
A copy of Denny's personnel file obtained by 13WMAZ doesn't show any discipline in the past year. In fact, it doesn't show any new entries since 2019.
Davis said Denny served in a "modified role" over the past year and could not act as a lead investigator on any criminal case.
But the sheriff says he didn't look further into firing Denny until August 2024, after receiving those transcripts and a final letter detailing Howard's investigation. That's when he and Howard agreed to call in the GBI.
"The DA and myself thought it would be appropriate to have the GBI to come in and look at it and see if there was a grounds for criminal charges, and they determined that," Davis said. "There's still the question of the false statements from the grand jury to correlate back to the interview, and that was part of what we had the GBI involved in. There's some inquiry going on as far as that regard."
Davis confirmed Thursday that Denny has filed to appeal his firing, but Denny could still face criminal charges.
"It's kind of whatever the DA decides to do in conjunction with the sheriff's office if any criminal charges take place," Davis said. "The thing is that I have the most authority over his continued employment, which doesn't work here anymore. We will have to go through the appeals process with the civil service and see how that turns out."
Denny also faces two separate federal lawsuits including one filed by his former coworker, Kendrell Daniely. That lawsuit is filed against both Denny and Sheriff David Davis for damages related to his case.
Both lawsuits argue that Denny lied under oath.