Former county commissioner faces forgery charges

DOUGLAS COUNTY, Ga. — A former Douglas County commissioner arrested on forgery charges claims the arrest was politically motivated.

"It's election time," said Freddie Ashmon as he walked out of the Douglas County jail.  "I'm the only one that voted against the jail.  It's all politics."

Ashmon, who was arrested Monday morning, is looking to reclaim his post.
 
But deputies said politics had nothing to do with Ashmon's arrest.  Investigators said Ashmon was involved in a child custody case and was in court in June asking a judge to lower his child support payments.

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According to detectives, Ashmon took his most current pay stub into the Douglas County Courthouse and convinced two county employees to alter the document to make it look like he was earning $10,000 less than his actual salary.
 
"She mistakenly believed he was still a county commissioner," said Douglas County Sheriff's Lt. James Harrell.
 
When the employees realized something didn't seem right, Harrell said they alerted their supervisors who alerted detectives.
 
"Given the gravity of his situation, the fact that he's running again for county commission, it would seem incredible to me that somebody would be crazy enough to do something like that," said Harrell.
 
It wasn't Ashmon's first run-in with the law.  Deputies arrested him in 2004 and 2007 on battery charges.

WSBTV