<p>A veteran Lee County sheriff's deputy who shot a teenager to death while investigating a burglary report was charged on Tuesday with involuntary manslaughter.</p><p>Capt. Donnie Spillers and another deputy were responding to a burglary report at a pawn shop on Feb. 13 in Leesburg when they spotted a white truck leaving the area. They chased the truck and stopped the truck a mile away.</p><p>The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said Spillers, Lee County's "Deputy of the Year in 2000," is accused of shooting 17-year-old Rodger Wesley Beaver once in the head shortly after midnight on Feb. 14.</p><p>Spillers, who has been with the Lee County Sheriff's Department for 18 years, also is charged with tampering with evidence, false statements and writings and violation of his oath of office by a public officer.</p><p>Manslaughter and tampering with evidence are misdemeanors; false statements and violation of the oath of office are felonies. Prosecutors believe Spillers was trying to mislead the GBI investigation by placing a large knife in Beaver's pickup truck and by lying to GBI agents, according to court documents.</p><p>On Tuesday, his bond was set at $12,000 by Superior Court Judge Rucker Smith.</p><p>If convicted on all charges, Spillers could face up to 12 years in prison and a fine of up to $100,000, said Southwest Georgia Judicial Circuit District Attorney Cecilia Cooper.</p><p>The other deputy involved in the burglary call, Sgt. Sandra Pressley, has returned to duty and no charges have been filed against her. The investigation is continuing, Cooper said.</p><p>Danny Jackson, special agent in charge of the GBI's Americus office, said Spillers was arrested Monday afternoon at the Americus GBI office and taken to the Sumter County Jail.</p><p>"From the onset and throughout this investigation, numerous man hours have been spent and tireless efforts made ... to ensure the incident was thoroughly investigated and all facts gathered," Jackson said during the news conference on Tuesday.</p><p>Jackson said Lee County Sheriff Harold Breeden had cooperated full and provided any assistance the GBI needed. Jackson and Cooper refused to discuss other details of the case, or what evidence had been collected.</p><p>"We're saying the death of Mr. Beaver was a violation of Georgia law," Cooper said, adding that the evidence did not warrant a more serious charge of murder.</p><p>"It was a tragic, tragic event," said Jackson. "From Day One, we've tried to do this as quickly as possible, but also thoroughly and completely."</p><p>Beaver's grandmother, Sharon Beaver, said the family had received 150 to 200 condolence cards and countless phone calls following the death of the teenager, an avid hunter and angler who had won fishing tournaments with his father, Roger Beaver, an Albany-area contractor.</p><p>"My heart feels like it has been cut out of me," said Sharon Beaver in an interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday. "Wesley was one of the sweetest, smiling children."</p>
