A now-former Covington police officer is accused of keeping a stolen DeKalb County police motorcycle at his house, and now investigators want to know how he got it.
The Newton County Sheriff’s Office arrested John Laudermilk Wednesday and charged him with theft by receiving stolen property, giving false statements and concealing the identity of a vehicle after a Crime Stoppers tip led them to his Stacia Drive home.
They said they discovered the stolen motorcycle at the residence. The bike belongs to the DeKalb County Police Department.
After the arrest, Covington police took immediate steps to terminate Laudermilk.
“Everybody here is disappointed,” said Covington police Capt. Craig Treadwell. “Police officers are human and they sometimes do things that violate the law. If they do, then it’s our duty to see that we take the appropriate steps to exclude them from our Police Department.”
Channel 2 Action News went through Laudermilk’s POST certification documents and learned he had a clean record and that he worked for the DeKalb police department for five years before resigning to work for Covington.
Newton County said the case remains an open investigation.
WSBTV
