A newly elected Georgia state representative, Danny Rampey, will be going from the State House to the Hoosgow after being arrested for stealing drugs from a nursing home. The 67-year-old Statham, Georgia resident was arrested on Thursday and charged with multiple felony counts, including theft, exploiting an elder, burglary, and drug possession.
Rampey, who ran unopposed in the November 2022 midterms, was arrested at the assisted living facility he’s managed for almost four decades.
According to Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith, authorities were alerted two weeks ago after reports of missing narcotics. Rampey is alleged to have stolen vital medication from elderly and disabled residents of the Magnolia Estates of Winder, CBS News reported.
Thankfully, his egregious actions were captured on tape.
“We had a couple of instances of him on video taking the items, and today we had one as well,” Sheriff Smith told the Athens Banner-Herald. “We actually filmed him going into the residence and taking the items.”
The Sheriff’s office executed search warrants at the home and business of Rampey after discovering that a villa on the grounds of Magnolia Estates had been burglarized.
Rampey was taken into custody after leaving a vacant unit on the property.
In March, Rampey, the former chair of the Barrow County Chamber of Commerce, announced his run to replace Georgia District 119th’s outgoing representative, Marcus Wiedower (R- GA-119).
District 119 covers parts of Athens and Oconee counties. Wiedower who ran on what could be considered a progressive platform for a district that went 66% for Donald Trump, won reelection in 2020 with a resounding 72% of the vote, Henry Queen of The Red & Black wrote.
Rampey won this year’s contest with an overwhelming 83% of the vote.
Investigators searched both the Magnolia Estates office and the Statham, Georgia home of the Representative-elect on Thursday. Rampey is now facing 19 felony charges as a result, the Athens Banner-Herald reported.
There have been no confirmed reports as to whether the conservative politician will be sworn in as scheduled in January 2023.
Rampey was released on a $111,000 bond.
Original reporting by Wayne Ford at The Athens Banner-Herald.
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