Georgia House Elect steps down ahead of General Assembly session

Georgia House District Representative-Elect Daniel E. Rampey stepped down from his position following accusations of drug theft.

 

Rampey was charged on Dec. 16 with burglary, exploiting an elderly person, obtaining a controlled substance by theft and possessing a controlled substance according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

 

The elected District 119 congressman was a manager at Magnolia Estates of Winder Assisted Living Center. He is accused of burglarizing and stealing narcotics from a resident’s unit. The Barrow County Sheriff's Office set up surveillance which allegedly caught Rampey stealing the drugs from patients' rooms. According to the sheriff's office, they caught Rampey stealing twice on camera. Authorities first became aware of Rampey's suspicious behavior two weeks before his arrest.

 

The resident was not in the unit at the time of the burglary and no one was hurt.

 

Rampey was released shortly after his arrest on a $111,000 bond.

 

A special election will be held on Jan. 31 to fill his house seat.

 

The AJC reports that Rampey had been under pressure by the Republican party to step down rather than risk a possible suspension proceeding.

 

Gov. Brian Kemp signed an order on Saturday to set up the new vote in the Barrow County-based district.

 

Rampey was a former chair of the Barrow County Chamber of Commerce and he would have taken office in January. He defeated Republican opponent Marcus Ray in the GOP primary and ran unopposed in the November election.