SHIELDS OF SHAME | GEORGIA POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY | JASPER COUNTY
The Cop in Charge of the Evidence Was Stealing the Evidence
Michael Lee Barrett was entrusted with protecting criminal evidence. Instead, prosecutors said the Jasper County investigator stole and swapped drugs from the very evidence room he was supposed to safeguard.
Agency: Jasper County Sheriff’s Office, Georgia
Role: Investigator and evidence custodian
Reported career: 11 years
Disposition: Guilty plea to 94 counts
Sentence: 50 years, with 10 years to serve
GDC history supplied: August 17, 2018 to September 4, 2020; parole status recorded
The person trusted to guard the evidence
Evidence rooms are built around one basic promise: the items collected during criminal investigations will remain secure, identifiable and available for scrutiny. That promise matters to prosecutors, defense attorneys and the people whose freedom may depend on what the evidence shows.
Michael Lee Barrett held a position at the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office where that promise was part of his job. He was both an investigator and the custodian responsible for evidence. According to the case account, the trust placed in him was profoundly misplaced.
A deer collision and a troubling discovery
The reported sequence began after Barrett struck a deer in March 2017. A required urine test raised concerns when he reportedly resisted taking it. Authorities later identified an issue involving prescription drugs. The sheriff subsequently discovered missing evidence and numerous evidence bags in Barrett’s office, prompting an investigation by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
Prosecutors said Barrett was exchanging drugs taken from evidence for drugs he wanted outside the evidence room. The resulting breaches threatened the integrity of multiple criminal cases. The specific number of affected prosecutions has not been independently established in the materials summarized here.
From roughly 134 charges to 94 guilty pleas
Barrett reportedly faced approximately 134 counts before pleading guilty to 94. The conduct described in the case included theft by taking, tampering with evidence, violation of oath by a public officer and drug offenses. The reported sentence was 50 years, with 10 years to serve. The disposition also included banishment from the judicial circuit and surrender of his Georgia POST certification.
50 years sentenced. Just over two years shown in custody records.
The supplied Georgia Department of Corrections history lists an incarceration start of August 17, 2018 and an end of September 4, 2020, with status recorded as parole. That is approximately two years and 18 days between the listed dates. A sentence of 10 years to serve does not necessarily mean 10 years of continuous prison confinement; parole and sentence administration can change actual time incarcerated. The records provided do not establish the exact reason for Barrett’s release or his present supervision status.
Why an evidence room scandal reaches beyond one officer
When a custodian tampers with evidence, the damage can extend to the reliability of exhibits, chain of custody documentation, plea negotiations, convictions and pending prosecutions. That does not automatically invalidate every case Barrett handled. It does create urgent questions about which exhibits were compromised, when the substitutions occurred, what prosecutors disclosed to defendants and whether independent audits identified every affected case.
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View Georgia POST training record (PDF) ↗
Questions that deserve answers
How many cases relied on evidence Barrett handled? Were defendants and their attorneys notified? Did an independent inventory identify the full extent of the missing or substituted drugs? What evidence room controls were changed afterward? And what records explain the difference between the announced prison term and the incarceration dates in the supplied corrections history?
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Editorial note: This report distinguishes documented convictions and reported official actions from investigative allegations. The account is based on the supplied case narrative and associated records; specific claims not independently confirmed against a certified court docket are identified as reported. Corrections records describe a historical custody period, not necessarily current status. If additional records clarify these findings, this report can be updated.