Daniel E. Rampey, the Georgia House District 119 Representative-Elect, was arrested Thursday by the Barrow County Sheriff's Office on burglary and drug charges.
According to Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith, Rampey, 67, of Statham, was charged with burglarizing a residence on the Magnolia Estates of Winder Assisted Living Center's campus and taking narcotics from the unit. Rampey is a manager at the facility.
"We got a phone call from a family member whose family was housed at this facility," Smith said. "They had suspected that some narcotics were missing from the resident's room. We got information from the family that they had set up a recording device and recorded their room as they left, and when they did, they found that Rampey had come into the room unannounced and took some narcotics from a bedside table, which was recorded."
Smith said the sheriff's office then set up surveillance which allegedly caught Rampey again entering the room and taking narcotics.
The sheriff's office was only aware of the two instances that were recorded and did not have a timeline on when the thefts had begun. They first became aware of the suspicious activity within two weeks prior to Rampey's arrest. The residence was not occupied by the resident at the time of his arrest, and no one was injured during the burglaries.
Rampey was arrested as he was exiting the residence.
He was charged with unauthorized distribution or possession of a controlled substance, burglary and exploitation and intimidation of disabled adults, elderly persons and residents.
Rampey remained in the Barrow County Detention Center as of 2:30 p.m. Thursday. The investigation is continuing and additional charges may be forthcoming.
Anyone with information on the case is asked to contact the Barrow County Sheriff's Office Criminal Investigations Unit at (770) 407-3080 ext. 3083.
Rampey ran unopposed in the November election for Georgia House of Representatives District 119, which covers a large portion of Barrow County.
Georgia's Secretary of State's Office said they did not have any immediate comments on the matter.
This story will be updated.
