Sometime within the next two weeks, Lt. Marty Reeves will be appointed as interim Troup County Jail administrator and most likely will move into the position in the near future, Sheriff Donny Turner said.

Reeves will take over from former jail administrator James Woodruff, who was terminated May 1.

Turner said Woodruff was dismissed after he allowed a female inmate charged with driving on a suspended license to leave the jail and go to the state Department of Driver Services in LaGrange on April 24 and to Columbus four days later.

Woodruff’s actions were “without proper authority,” Turner said.

Reeves will have a lot to learn while taking on the new position, but he has plenty of experience.

“Marty started off as a jailer here more than 10 years ago and has moved up in the ranks and now does a large part of the training in several areas for our deputies and jailers,” Turner said. “He has the respect of the people around him and I think he will do a good job.”

Reeves, 38, joined the jail in January 1997 and worked as a jailer until 2000. He then moved to patrol as a deputy before he decided to attend the Columbus Police Academy in Columbus, where he studied to be an instructor.

A few years later, Reeves returned to the jail as a sergeant and was promoted to a lieutenant eight months later.

“I’m glad to have this opportunity,” Reeves said. “I’m just waiting on the sheriff to give me the go ahead. I hope to earn the position.”

With recent changes to the jail, including a new pod, Reeves will have a steep learning curve, Turner said.

“There is just so much to learn to fulfill this position,” Turner said. “But Marty has been through years of training at the jail. He knows how the facility works and has the experience and the capability of doing a good job.”

Reeves trains jail staff, deputies and some of the marshal’s office staff for certification through the Georgia Crime Information Center. He also administers the tests.

“Marty helps train and supervise both night shifts here at the jail,” Turner said. “He helps with firearm training, domestic violence training as well as other types of training. His training duties will most likely be cut back substantially once he takes on his new role, because he will have so many new duties and will be learning a lot.”

One of Reeves’ duties will be coping with the recent dismissal of five jailers. The jailers were terminated April 29 because of allegedly using excessive force on an inmate. The jailers were asked by LaGrange police to assist with moving the suspect from a patrol car and to the jail.

Though the inmate was not medically treated, Turner said the jailers “operated outside of how they were trained.”

LaGrange Public Safety Director Louis Dekmar said it’s common for jail staff and deputies to assist with removing suspects from patrol cars.

“From my understanding, the inmate was a fairly large guy and was intoxicated,” Dekmar said. “The police officers had already left by the time the incident occurred with the inmate. Once he left the car and was assisted into the jail, the officers left and didn’t witness the incident.”

At the request of the Sheriff’s Department, the Georgia Bureau of Investigations is investigating whether the jailers will be charged with excessive force. The case may be presented to a Grand Jury, Turner said.

Currently, jailers who were in the midst of training for the new pod are filling their positions, Turner said.

Applicants for the full-time positions will be screened through the human re-sources office at the County Commission, Turner said.

Kenneth Thompson can be reached at kethompson@ lagrangenews.com or at (706) 884-7311, Ext. 228.