WATCH: A deputy pulled over an off-duty Hall sheriff's sergeant for driving 103 mph. Here's what happened next

Apr. 27—A Hall County Sheriff's Office deputy was patrolling Oct. 11 on U.S. 129/Athens Highway north of Roy Parks Road when a Chevy Corvette and a Volkswagen Jetta blew past him.

He clocked the cars going almost twice the speed limit, 103 in a 55-mph zone.

"I'm going to try to get two to stop racing here on 129 at Bluffton (Drive)," the deputy tells dispatch.

But there was a wrinkle to this traffic stop: The man in the red Corvette was a Hall County Sheriff's Office sergeant.

While the deputy gave the two drivers a warning about racing, they were ultimately only written a speeding ticket. The deputy, Sgt. Jason Orellana, was given a reduction from 103 mph to 88 mph, which is still considered a super-speeder offense.

He ultimately pleaded guilty to the ticket and paid $1,405 in fines and court costs on Feb. 14, according to court documents.

The Times reached out twice to Orellana via the same email he used to contact court officials, but those requests for comment were not returned.

Amid a handful of other cases involving law enforcement officers being charged — including one for vehicular homicide — Hall County Solicitor General Stephanie Woodard said they reexamined how they have decided to handle cases involving law enforcement.

Woodard said the case of Aaron Buchanan, a former Hall County Sheriff's Office deputy charged in a fatal March 2022 wreck, was the impetus for this new policy.

Sergeant Stopped for Speeding

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The traffic stop

The Sheriff's Office confirmed that Orellana, who works in the jail, was pulled over on Oct. 11 for speeding and "suspicion of racing."

"Per the body camera recording, the deputy gave both Orellana and the other driver in the incident verbal warnings for reckless driving and racing, since they both complied immediately when emergency lights were activated for the traffic stop," Capt. Greg Cochran wrote in an email.

The jail command staff met with Orellana two days later and decided to "await the outcome of the matter in State Court prior to taking any departmental action other than verbal counseling," Cochran wrote.

Orellana was also required to take a defensive driving course, which was completed in December.

The sergeant, who had been in good standing with the Sheriff's Office, was given an "oral reprimand for conduct unbecoming."

"Our traffic enforcement deputies do a great job in holding those who break traffic laws accountable; that includes our employees as well," Sheriff Gerald Couch said in a statement provided by Cochran. "Speeding is very dangerous. If any further actions of this type occur, this employee will face progressive discipline up to and including termination."

When asked about how the Sheriff's Office decides to hand off cases involving their own, Cochran said they typically ask other agencies to investigate felonies and domestic-related issues but not traffic citations.

The review process

Woodard said she has prosecuted "a lot of deputies during the time that I've been there, from everything from (Family Violence Acts) to alcohol-involved things."

"It's seldom that we recuse," Woodard said. "I can foresee a situation where if there's somebody we've worked with closely, extensively for a long time that we consider friends."

But the standard for recusal is "their relationship that would make us behave in a way that we would not with someone else," either positively or negatively, Woodard said.

The solicitor general said Orellana reached out to one of her assistants expressing remorse and asking if there was a possibility for the case to be closed so that it would not impact insurance as much.

Orellana was working in the jail and not on patrol, unknown to Woodard until he reached out to talk about the case.

"He was extremely remorseful," Woodard said. "He was very believable in not racing but instead concerned about putting distance between himself and the other driver."

With the review of the video and the information provided by Orellana, Woodard said she felt it was not racing.

"It was two drivers who made horrible decisions, but I did not believe it was racing," she said.

Woodard said she felt he got a more "strident interview and questioning" than the average citizen because he was a Hall County Sheriff's Office deputy.

The driver of the Jetta also received a speeding ticket but has pleaded not guilty to the citation.

Changed office policy

Following Buchanan's arrest, Woodard said she revamped her office's policy on handling cases involving law enforcement.

Buchanan was charged after the March 3 wreck on Dawsonville Highway at Nix Drive.

He was in his marked patrol vehicle when he collided with Jon Jones, 84, of Gainesville, in Jones' Lexus LS430.

Primarily in driving-related offenses, Woodard said it is now mandatory that her office inquires with the Sheriff's Office and other agencies where the officer may have worked. They are to find out, for example, about past wrecks in their job-supplied vehicles or disciplinary actions for speeding.

Woodard said it is a review of their work "to see whether they're taking safety seriously."

In Orellana's case, Woodard said she could not share an individual's driving record but that it is office policy to offer "reductions at this level if people have a very good to clean record."

Other cases involving law enforcement

There are three open cases involving law enforcement: Buchanan and former Gainesville Police officers Collin Merritt and Tyler McBee.

All three were charged between March and April 2022 in separate cases, but none of them have been indicted or formally accused as far as the public can see in the Hall County courts records database.

Merritt was charged with simple assault and pointing a gun at another, while McBee was charged in an off-duty, single-vehicle crash with driving under the influence-less safe, duty to stop at an accident and failure to maintain lane.

Woodard said Merritt's and McBee's cases were recused for personal connections to her office. She said McBee used to work for Woodard as did the alleged victim in Merritt's case.

The Times reached out to Pete Skandalakis, the executive director of the Prosecuting Attorneys' Council of Georgia, to check on the status of Buchanan's, Merritt's and McBee's cases.

Buchanan's case remains assigned to the attorney's council, and Skandalakis did not provide further information on the status of that case.

McBee's case was assigned in August to Cherokee County Solicitor General Todd Hayes, while Merritt's case was assigned in July to Forsyth County Solicitor General Bill Finch.

The Times reached out to Hayes and Finch for information. Finch did not return emails seeking information. Hayes confirmed that his office is handling the case but wasn't able to provide details on the case's status.