Former DCSO deputies handed re-sentencing
Published 7:44 pm Tuesday, February 20, 2018
Former Decatur County Sheriff’s Office deputies Christopher Kines and Robert Wade Umbach were handed a re-sentencing by a Federal Court judge last Thursday for crimes they committed in 2012.
Kines and Umbach filed for appeal last year after they were federally charged in 2015 for tampering with evidence related to an incident at Bainbridge BikeFest 2012. The U.S. Court of Appeals denied the appeal after hearing oral arguments from their attorneys.
Judge W. Louis Sands re-sentenced Kines and Umbach to six months of imprisonment followed by two years of supervised release.
The two were originally sentenced to 15 months of prison time followed by two years of supervised release. Umbach was fined $125, and Kines’ fine was waived.
Attorneys Kermit S. Dorough, representing Kines, and Tina Hunt, representing Umbach, did not respond to messages left at their offices.
After an altercation with civilian Ronnie Aaron Parrish and a subsequent cover up, the deputies were brought to a two-week trial. Former Grady County Sheriff’s Office deputy Wiley Griffin, IV, was acquitted of his charge of Deprivation of Rights Under the Color of Law. Kines was found not guilty for False Reports, but found guilty for Tampering With Witness Evidence.
Kines was involved in the altercation with Parrish, but reported false information to FBI special agent Steve McDermott about Griffin, IV’s, involvement with Parrish.
Umbach was also charged with the same counts as Kines. He was found not guilty for False Reports but found guilty for Tampering With Witness Evidence for the same reasons as Kines.