By: WCTV Eyewitness News

May 1, 2017

ALBANY, GA (WCTV) – Former Miller County Sheriff Wesley Shane Rathel was sentenced to 18 months in prison Monday after pleading guilty to the sale of stolen firearms.

Rathel, 42, was also ordered to pay $800 in restitution.

In May of 2016, an individual charged with multiple offenses in Miller County was ordered to surrender his firearms to the Miller County Sheriff’s Office. The individual voluntarily turned in a 12 gauge shotgun, an AR-15 .223 caliber semiautomatic rifle, and a .38 revolver to Rathel.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation reports that Rathel pawned two of the guns to a pawnshop in Donalsonville, Georgia, and sold the third to an unidentified person.

“The position of Sheriff is one of the most powerful in any country. It is a sad thing to see someone violate the trust placed in him as Sheriff over so small an amount of money,” said G.F. Peterman, III, the United States Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia.

Rathel resigned as Sheriff after charges were brought against him.

By: WCTV Eyewitness News

April 19, 2017

COLQUITT, Ga. (WCTV) -- Wesley Shane Rathel, the former sheriff of Miller County, has been arrested, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation reports.

The GBI says Rathel was arrested Wednesday on one count of felony violation of oath of office and sixteen counts of felony theft by taking.

Officials say warrants were issued as a result of an ongoing investigation after new information led agents to discover the theft of monies in various areas associated with the Miller County Sheriff’s Office.

Rathel turned himself in on Wednesday and was booked in to the Miller County Jail.

Rathel had also been

for selling two stolen firearms.

The GBI says the investigation is active and ongoing.

The GBI and the Miller County Sheriff’s Office is encouraging anyone with information to contact the GBI Region 9 office at (229) 225-4090, or the Miller County Sheriff’s Office at (229) 758-3421.