A Channel 2 Action News investigation is raising questions about a former district attorney’s purchase of a government-owned pickup truck through an online auction.
A sheriff alleges former Towaliga Judicial Circuit District Attorney Jonathan Adams, who is now running for Superior Court judge, allegedly used bogus photos of his official truck in an online auction so he could buy it at a lower price.
The now-former DA says everything was done appropriately.
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Channel 2 Investigative Reporter Mark Winne filed numerous open records requests to get at what happened.
Channel 2 Action News has been investigating this on and off for weeks and requested an interview with Adams as far back as April, but he declined.
Adams sent a statement Wednesday saying in part, “Everything was done publicly, legally, and in the appropriate manner.”
Adams also addressed the controversy in a Facebook post.
“I’ve seen some misleading claims online about a truck I purchased, so let me keep this simple. The office sold the vehicle through a public government auction that anyone could bid on,” Adams said.
The controversy concerns Adams’ personal purchase of a pickup truck that a sheriff says had been the government-owned vehicle Adams drove in his official capacity as district attorney before leaving the post to run for Superior Court judge.
“It’s originally purchased new for about $35,000 with seized drug money,” Adams said in the Facebook post.
Adams allowed Channel 2 Action News to record video of the truck in question. However, records indicate Adams ultimately bought the truck that was put up for auction on GovDeals.com.
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An October 2025 document indicates Adams reached out to a Monroe County Sheriff’s Office official and said, “We have a surplus truck we need to auction, and I wanted to see if you could put it up under the SO’s account since we don’t have one.”
Documents obtained through open records requests suggest the picture used in the auction listing was supplied by Adams, but it does not appear to be a true picture of the truck that was up for sale.
“He did, in fact, use fraudulent pictures. He used pictures that wasn’t his truck,” said Butts County Sheriff Gary Long.
Long says he is concerned that by providing a picture of a less attractive truck, Adams may have kept the bidding lower than it would’ve been if he had provided a photo of the actual truck for sale.
“I didn’t control the auction or the price,” Adams said in the Facebook post. “Everything was done publicly.”
Long, who says he had endorsed Adams for judge until they fell out over the handling of a homicide case, says he took his concerns to Monroe County Sheriff Brad Freeman, where Adams lives, and Sheriff Freeman notified the GBI.
An email from a GBI spokesperson says in part:
“The GBI spoke with the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office who brought forth information involving a former public official and current judicial election candidate. At this time, the GBI has initiated a preliminary inquiry to establish whether there is a sufficient factual legal basis to initiate a criminal investigation.”
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Justin Murray, who says he is the fixed operations director for a metro Atlanta Ford dealership where he has worked since 2001, reviewed the vehicle identification number for the truck offered for sale and looked up the GovDeals.com listing at Channel 2’s request.
“How different are these two trucks? Very much different,” Murray said.
Murray said he also pulled the original sticker for the truck and says the exterior photo on the website is not of a 2021 model, as it was supposed to be.
“That truck is a 2015 to 2017,” Murray said.
He says the pictured truck is a basic work truck, in contrast to the truck actually purchased, which had the sportier STX appearance package that would significantly increase value.
“The headlights are different, right here, no fog lights, whereas this one has fog lights,” Murray said. “Aluminum wheels compared to steel wheels.”
“The grill is different. The bumpers are different,” Murray added.
Using the VIN, Channel 2 Action News ran a Carfax report and found that, in good condition at 62,000 miles, rounded up from the listed mileage, the truck had a retail value of $28,570 and a trade-in value of $23,620. Even the trade-in value was higher than the $21,211.05 records indicate Adams paid.
Freeman told Channel 2 Action News he contacted the GBI out of an abundance of caution since he had worked closely with Adams when Adams was district attorney and wanted to avoid any perception of a conflict of interest.
Adams’ statement also spoke of focusing on “the facts and my record as a career prosecutor and veteran.”
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