COBB COUNTY, Ga. — A former high-ranking official with the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office is without a job after he was found guilty of lying to the police.
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On Friday, a Cherokee County jury found Braxton Tyree Cotton, 44, of Mableton, guilty on two counts of making a false statement and representation and falsifying and concealing a material fact.
In July 2023, the Cobb County District Attorney’s Office requested a substitute prosecutor for Cotton’s case, which led to Cherokee County District Attorney’s Office taking over.
“This decision was made to ensure fairness and impartiality in the proceedings,” Cherokee County District Attorney Susan K. Treadaway said.
Channel 2′s Cobb County Bureau Chief Michelle Newell broke the story in April 2023. At that time, Cotton was a major and chief of staff for the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office.
The conviction stemmed from an investigation initiated on March 15, 2023, due to the report of an accident. According to warrants, Cotton lied to a Cobb County police officer that he knew well about a hit-and-run accident that he claimed happened on March 14.
The Cherokee County District Attorney’s Office said Cotton first told a Cobb County Police officer that the crash occurred on March 4, 2023, around 8:45 p.m. on Macland and Lost Mountain roads.
According to warrants, he told the officer through texts and phone calls that someone had hit his car. License plate reading camera images showed Cotton’s car was not damaged hours after he claimed it had been.
The warrant goes on to say that Cotton admitted to the officer that his car wasn’t damaged in a hit-and-run and said it had been hit sometime between midnight and 2 a.m. on March 5 by a woman he knew.
Cotton told police the woman was driving without insurance at the time. Traffic cameras prove that wasn’t true, either.
Flock cameras and surveillance video determined that Cotton’s car was hit sometime between 12:18 and 1:16 a.m. on March 5. A detective later identified the other driver, who was a woman with whom Cotton had a relationship. Cellphone data from Cotton’s phone service provider showed him in contact with the same woman before and after the alleged accident, which is inconsistent with what Cotton allegedly told the officer.
Court documents show the woman received insurance coverage the day after the alleged accident.
Cotton was arrested on April 28, 2024.
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During the trial, which occurred from Feb. 24 to Feb. 27, the State presented 79 exhibits and called four witnesses to testify, including the Cobb County police officer who took the initial report, the detective who investigated the incident, and an insurance investigator. The woman who rear-ended Cotton’s car also testified, admitting that she crashed into the Corvette and left the scene, according to the DA.
One witness, Cobb County Sheriff Craig D. Owens Sr., testified on behalf of Cotton.
Cotton was sentenced to five years, with the first six months to serve in confinement and the remainder to serve on probation.
Cotton was also charged with criminal attempt to commit insurance fraud, criminal attempt to commit a felony, and two counts of violation of oath by public officer, but was acquitted by the jury on those counts in the indictment.
“Evidence presented at trial clearly showed that this man attempted to manipulate other law enforcement officers by fabricating facts surrounding a rear-end collision, all for his own benefit,” said Chief Assistant District Attorney Katie Gropper of the Cherokee County District Attorney’s Office. “Such behavior cannot be tolerated, as it undermines the public’s confidence in the integrity of law enforcement.”
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