New sheriff works to cut murder, guns and drugs in Augusta
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - In the last three years, more than 200 people have died as a result of violence in the CSRA.
Now, there’s a new sheriff in Augusta, and crime suppression units are working to crack down on guns in the community.
Richmond County Sheriff Eugene Brantley is already boasting some impressive numbers in the two months he’s been in office.
This is one element of Brantley’s larger approach to make Augusta safer.
The sheriff says they use the two crime suppression teams wherever they’re needed, like in high-crime areas. They also help out with traffic and with the narcotics detail.
All with the goal of keeping you and your family safe.
So far, in 2025, more than 130 guns have been seized in Richmond County. Sixty-seven in January and 64 in February.
This happening with the help of the reintroduced crime suppression teams at the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office
“We still have a high number of homicides. I think we have seven homicides thus far,” said Brantley. “So just to get the guns off the street is definitely gonna make a difference here in our community.”
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Two teams with five deputies each. The goal is to be visible in various areas across Richmond County.
“Anytime we receive a lot of complaints from different people and different constituents out in the community, we will try to make sure that their area of concentration is basically in those areas,” said Brantley.
With 100 new deputies added in January, the sheriff says that helps them put more boots on the ground.
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A midday brush fire brought a scare to neighbors in the Haynes Station community, which is across Gordon Highway from Fort Eisenhower.
So far this year, 187 arrests have been made by the crime suppression teams. The sheriff says 99 of those are felony cases.
“If we didn’t have crime suppression, then it would take up a lot of time from the road patrol and investigators out trying to help catch suspects when they need to be patrolling,” said Brantley.
The sheriff says he met with ATF agents and say they are going to bring more ATF officers to the area because of the amount of weapons they are taking off the streets that are tied to other crimes in other areas.
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