I-TEAM UPDATE: Public no longer pays this deputy to stay home

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) -The new year brings a new sheriff as Eugene Brantley officially takes over as Richmond County’s top cop.

The veteran lawman won the seat on a platform to make Augusta streets safer and to improve the culture of the sheriff’s office.

In the transition, one notable deputy will be out of a job.

Your I-TEAM was first to uncover that you the taxpayer, have been paying Deputy Brandon Keathley to sit at home for the past four years.

On Tuesday, we’ve confirmed the free ride is over.

Keathley is facing two felony charges for assaulting another deputy.

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A source shared exclusive body cam video of that night, showing Keathley striking deputy Nicholas Nunes in the head with a flashlight.

This happened back in February of 2020, as Nunes took over R on a teenager with a gunshot wound.

Keathley then hit Nunes on the back of the head with a flashlight.

Nunes: “Dude – did you just f------ hit me? Did you just f------ hit me with the flashlight, dude?”

Nunes’s injury required stitches and staples.

Deangelo Burns, 17, died on the scene.

Outgoing Sheriff Richard Roundtree suspended Keathley for 30 days and also gave Nunes a written reprimand.

Keathley continued to work as a deputy for 10 months. Then a grand jury indicted him on felony charges and he was arrested.

Keathley lost his certification as a law enforcement officer in Georgia, meaning he wasn’t even legally a deputy anymore.

But Roundtree did not fire him.

Instead, Roundtree put Keathley on paid istrative leave and ever since, you the taxpayer, have paid Keathley’s salary.

Just how much?

Keathley was booked into jail Dec. 2, 2020 – so that means he’s been on paid leave for 1,491 days now.

During that time, the I-TEAM uncovered he’s been given a raise.

By our calculations, that’s more than $181,000.

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Not only did he get paid for doing nothing, he received thousands of dollars in bonuses given to all deputies who, unlike Keathley were on the front lines risking their lives.

That brings his total for staying at home closer to likely $200,000.

Both incoming Sheriff Eugene Brantley and a member of his command staff confirmed to us that Keathley’s time with the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office ends now.

We asked if this technically meant he was fired, and Chief of Staff Lewis Blanchard said no.

Keathley can re-apply for a job – but that hinges on the outcome of his trial and whether his certification is restored.

Four years later, Keathley still doesn’t have a court date.

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