WARNER ROBINS, Ga. — Warner Robins Police Officer John Tyler Harvey was sentenced Thursday in a drug investigation in which he tried to get a woman to help officers by allowing her to sell methamphetamine.
Harvey is one of six Warner Robins Police Department Narcotics Investigation Unit officers who were put on paid leave in a possible misconduct investigation. Four of the officers were cleared on April 25.
According to a release from the Houston County District Attorney's Office, on March 31, Warner Robins Police Department Narcotics Investigations Unit officers made a traffic stop on a car with two people who were believed to have a gallon zip-lock bag of methamphetamine. Officers found fentanyl on the passenger, but no methamphetamine.
The two passengers were taken back to the police department to be booked. Harvey took one person to be a confidential informant in exchange for leniency on the citations. The release says Harvey told the informant to "conduct business as usual," knowing that they still had methamphetamine in possession and owed the dealer about $1,500. Evidence showed that Harvey was going to go after the dealer and told the informant to continue to sell the drugs in order to make money and pay the dealer off.
On April 11, the informant was brought in to answer for a violation of probation. The informant said that Harvey forced them to continue selling the meth. The DA’s Office received a call from a third party that evening about the allegations.
The next day, investigators from the DA’s office recovered text messages from the informant's phone that showed messages from Harvey's work phone asking about the amount of meth they had and how much they owed the dealer, and then telling the informant to buy fentanyl and meth.
Harvey was charged Thursday on one count of Violation of Oath by a Public Officer. He will serve a 5-year probated sentence. Harvey must also voluntarily give up his POST Certification and may not hold any position of public trust during his sentence. This negotiated plea agreement was a result of a month-long investigation conducted by the Houston County District Attorney’s Office with assistance from the GBI.
According to a news release from the Warner Robins Police Department, Harvey resigned from the department Thursday.
The release says Harvey "displayed poor judgement while carrying out his duties as an NIU officer," which led to the sentencing.
“While his intentions may have been without malice, his actions were contrary to the principles and responsibilities we uphold as law enforcement officers,” said Interim Police Chief Roy Whitehead.
This case is still under investigation.