Additional charges filed after falsely reporting officers for abuse

A Cedartown man was jailed over the weekend after he was accused and admitted to throwing items at cars along Highway 278 on Saturday, and was later charged after he falsely reported police abuse according to reports.

Robert Samuel Jones, 38, of a Cedartown address, was taken into custody around 10 p.m. on Saturday, April 1, 2023 at the intersection of Highway 278 and Grady Road, when he was accused and later admitted to throwing items at cars.

Initially a first complaint came in from a husband and wife whose windshield was damaged when Jones threw an item at their near the intersection of Wimberly Hill Loop. That damage was at least $300 in value.

While police were taking this report, a second call came in of a vehicle being struck by “a metal object.”

A Georgia Power truck was damaged in the second incident. Police already had Jones in custody when the initial reporting officer arrived, spoke with Jones, and heard him admit that he threw the metal object because he feared for his life and felt the truck was too close to him.

When officers asked if he had been drinking, the report indicated he had previously been enjoying a few beverages. He was then arrested for misdemeanor and felony criminal damage to property charges and a pedestrian under the influence charge. While being escorted to the patrol vehicle for a ride to the jail, police noted he tried to pull away from an officer several times.

Later at the jail, Jones tried to accuse the officer who transported him to jail of abuse. He had written out a statement, and Sheriff’s deputies already had the incident on video.

The video police watched and described in a second report showed the officer “exit the patrol vehicle, walk to the back door, open the door, and the inmate immediately threw himself out of the backseat onto the sally port floor.”

Jones tried to tell police that the officer had dragged him onto the floor from the back of the patrol vehicle, but officers noted the video showed none of what he described.

He was asked if he understood that making a false statement was a crime, but stuck to his story.

Jones was charged with felonies for two counts of criminal damage to property in the first degree, and a false statements or writings; conceal facts or fraudulent documents in matters of government. He also faces two misdemeanor charges for obstruction of law enforcement officers and pedestrian under the influence.

He remained in jail on a $15,000 bond.