Georgia Judge Charged With Felony After Stealing Vegetables

A Tattnall County judge has been charged with a felony for an incident that spiraled out of control after a man's vegetables were stolen. According to WSB-TV, 70-year-old Chief Magistrate Judge Eddie Anderson was arrested on charges encompassing terrorist threats. A local man called the county sheriff and explained that he believed the judge to have stolen vegetables from his garden. When the owner of the garden confronted the judge over the phone, the judge threatened him.

WSB-TV mentioned that the Reidsville judge was booked into jail and was later released "on his own recognizance" despite violating oath of office. After speaking with the owner of the vegetable garden, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation was able to cite witnesses that heard the judge speaking terrorist threats to the man. This is not the first time that the judge has been reproved. He supposedly called an auto-dealer in 2019 to "demand" that a woman's repossessed car be returned despite her lack of payments.

Judge Anderson did not reply to emails sent by WSB-TV in regards a comment on his behalf. Now that Anderson is out of jail, the state Judicial Qualifications Commission will need to conduct an "investigation panel" that could lead to suspension by the Georgia Supreme Court.