Lee County sheriff’s civilian warrants clerk arrested, accused of obstructing justice
A Lee County Sheriff’s Office civilian warrants clerk faces charges, accused of interfering with a narcotics investigation, leaking information through Facebook messages.
Savannah Georges, 26, of Lehigh Acres, faces one count of obstructing a criminal investigation by a public servant. She was arrested Monday when she left her home.
According to her arrest affidavit, she communicated with the spouse of Michael Banks, 35, of Fort Myers, who was involved in a narcotics investigation involving the sale of fentanyl. Two residential search warrants were also granted involving him, according to court documents.
The arrest affidavit says that operation was to be completed Wednesday, the same day Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno announced the conclusion of months-long Operation Trick Or Tweak with 53 arrests. During the operation, authorities seized 4,500 grams of cocaine; 914 grams of meth; 553 grams of fentanyl; 22 firearms; and $58,000.
According to the report, the sheriff’s office became aware that Banks was going to attempt to move all his narcotics “and potentially try to evade law enforcement.”
The sheriff’s office said only authorized employees have access to the information.
According to the report, Banks indicated he had an informant within the agency, from who he received information.
During his arrest, the sheriff’s office noted in the report, Banks’ wife accompanied him. As sheriff’s deputies read Banks his rights, they asked him if he had knowledge that law enforcement was after him, to which he replied, “Yes, of course,” according to the report.
Banks’ wife told sheriff’s deputies she had knowledge as to who the employee was, and when sheriff’s deputies were authorized to search her cellphone, they discovered she had been communicating with Georges.
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Georges is friends on Facebook with Banks’ spouse, according to the report, which says Georges contacted Banks’ wife, saying she had “highly important information to give her ASAP.”
Both had a video conversation on FaceTime, where Georges alerted authorities were issuing a search warrant for Banks on Wednesday.
Authorities said the information included the date they would issue the warrant, the charges and a screenshot of an email from the sheriff’s office.
According to court documents, Georges told Banks’ wife to leave before Wednesday and to “put everything up,” referring to the narcotics.
The sheriff’s office said officials recovered four devices from Georges’ home — three tablets and one cellphone. At the home, sheriff’s deputies spoke with Georges’ mother, who denied knowledge of her daughter’s involvement with the sheriff’s office or the sharing of any criminal justice information.
A review of a cellphone in Georges’ possession revealed the presence of the conversation Banks’ spouse shared with authorities.
Sgt. Sarah Rodriguez, spokesperson for the Lee County Sheriff’s Office said in an emailed statement that Georges began working for the sheriff’s office in 2023, employed as a civilian warrants clerk.
“Georges had no concerning or notable incidents in her employee file. She has since been terminated from the agency,” Georges wrote. “Whether civilian or sworn, Sheriff Carmine Marceno takes any criminal allegation seriously when it involves one of our own; and affirms no members of the Lee County Sheriff’s Office are above the law.”
Georges is next due in court Dec. 2 for her arraignment.
Tomas Rodriguez is a Breaking/Live News Reporter for the Naples Daily News and The News-Press. You can reach Tomas at [email protected] or 772-333-5501. Connect with him on Threads @tomasfrobeltran, Instagram @tomasfrobeltran and Facebook @tomasrodrigueznews.
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Lee County sheriff’s civilian warrants clerk accused of obstructing justice
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