BALDWIN COUNTY, Ga. — A sitting county commission chairman was arrested for threatening to kill a close family member.
Baldwin County Commission Chair Kendrick Butts was taken into custody last week after getting into an argument with a relative and then threatening to kill her.
The relative called 911, bringing Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office deputies to the county chair’s home, where the relative had been staying for at least a month.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
Speaking to deputies, the relative said that Butts threatened her multiple times.
The next day, Butts’ relative told police she heard him on the phone with his brother saying again that he’d threatened to kill her.
TRENDING STORIES:
- Former Falcons player dies at 35 after rare cancer battle
- Georgia Airman dies in rappelling accident at college football game
- Family of suspect in GSU cafeteria attack says he struggles with mental health, possible CTE
Ring camera footage from inside the house captured both the initial argument and threat and recorded Butts’ phone call to his brother repeating it.
Butts’ relative also told deputies initially that she wanted to press charges, but later reversed course. While she had already removed her personal belongings and said she would not be coming back to the home, Butts had deputies trespass her from the residence.
The sheriff’s office delivered a trespass notice to the relative and she confirmed in a witness statement to deputies that she understood the terms.
“Because the two reside in the same residence and are related,” the county chairman was determined to the be the primary aggressor in the Family Violence incident and was arrested on charges of making terroristic threats under the Georgia Family Violence Act, which is a felony.
Channel 2 Action News requested comment and information about Butts’ status with the commission and is waiting for a response.
[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
©2026 Cox Media Group
