PRESS RELEASE – Last week, deputies with the Stephens County Sheriff’s Office S.T.I.N.G. Unit captured five wanted fugitives in Stephens County.

On Tuesday, Dec. 10, deputies executed an arrest warrant on Theodore Swilling, 75 of Toccoa, who was wanted in the county on felony probation charges. Deputies received a tip that Swilling was staying at a family member’s address. They were able to arrest Swilling at the residence and transport him to the Stephens County Jail without incident.

The next day, Wednesday, Dec. 11, a deputy conducted a traffic stop on a silver in color Lincoln LS near West Currahee Street and Peachtree Street. While running the license plate of the vehicle, the deputy learned that the owner had warrants out of White County. The deputy arrested the suspect, identified as Joshua Johnson, 36 of Toccoa. Johnson was transported to the Stephens County Jail awaiting transport to White County. Johnson is now in the custody of the White County Sheriff’s Office.

On Thursday, Dec. 12, S.T.I.N.G. deputies responded to an address on Brookdale Road regarding a tip on the possible location of two known fugitives in the county. Suspects Abby Jordan, 30 of Toccoa, and Ian Major, 36 of Toccoa, were wanted by the Stephens County Sheriff’s Office and Georgia State Patrol on several charges after successfully fleeing traffic stops by multiple agencies.

Both Abby Jordan and Ian Major were arrested and transported to the Stephens County Jail without incident. Jordan was wanted on the following outstanding charges: Failure to Appear, Probation Violation, Failure to Pay Child Support, No Insurance, Failure to Obey Stop Sign, Driving While License Suspended, and Knowingly Driving Motor Vehicle on Suspended Registration. Major was wanted on outstanding charges for Felony Probation Violation and two counts of Failure to Appear. Both Jordan and Major remain in Stephens County Jail without bond.

Later in the week, on Saturday, Dec. 14, a deputy received a tip that wanted fugitive Jeffrey Seth-Lamar Hawkins, 28 of Westminster, S.C., was seen at an address in West Union, S.C. Upon receiving the tip, the deputy contacted an investigator with the Stephens County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division who forwarded the information to Oconee County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division. Deputies and investigators with the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office were able to apprehend and arrest Hawkins at the address in West Union. Hawkins is wanted by several agencies in South Carolina and Georgia, and he is currently being held in South Carolina. Hawkins will be extradited to Stephens County in the future pending the results of his court hearings in South Carolina.

The Stephens County Sheriff’s Office would like to thank our partners with the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office Patrol Division and Criminal Investigations Division for their help capturing Hawkins.

The Stephens County Sheriff’s County is committed to ensuring the safety of our citizens. We would like to thank all individuals and agencies involved in the successful capture of the five fugitives above. If you have any information regarding wanted persons in the county, please contact our Criminal Investigations Division at (706) 886-7048. You may also submit an anonymous tip using the “submit a tip” function on our app (“Stephens Co Sheriff’s Office”).