By Beth Alston

AMERICUS — The Americus Times-Recorder received this letter, via email. from Sumter County Sheriff Pete Smith, on Dec. 1.
“The Sumter County Sheriff’s Office received a complaint about a possible criminal trespass at a location in the county.  “Upon investigating we found that three on duty deputies made entry into a location without the consent of the owner. All deputies involved along with their supervisor were immediately placed on suspension pending further review of the complaint.  “The victim did not want to press charges and I consulted with the District Attorney’s office about the incident to advise their office of the situation and that the victim didn’t want to press charges.
“The District Attorney’s office advised they would not pursue charges and would allow me to handle the situation internally.
“All involved as well as their supervisor was disciplined according to our policy and this behavior is totally unacceptable and will not be tolerated.
“I apologize to the citizens of Sumter County and want to insure the safety of them and their property.”
The Times-Recorder emailed a request on Friday for all records relative to this incident. The sheriff has three business days, under the Georgia Open Meetings and Records Act, to respond to this request.