Rockdale Citizen

CONYERS — Garvin Haynes Jr., a local community leader, has been charged with battery in connection with a domestic incident involving a 31-year-old roommate.

Haynes, 51, of 1102 Lake Haynes Ct., and who serves as a member of the Rockdale County Water and Sewerage Authority, the Rockdale County Board of Elections and the ad hoc committee formed to revise Rockdale County’s ethics ordinance, turned himself in at the Rockdale County Jail on Friday and was released on bond.

Haynes, contacted Friday afternoon, said that the charge is baseless.

“It is a spurious allegation that, once it is fully investigated, will be proven to be totally false,” Haynes said. “I abhor violence, and when the investigation is complete, I will be totally and thoroughly vindicated.”

The charge stems from an Oct. 6 incident in which Haynes allegedly assaulted the 31-year-old man at a Northside Drive residence in Conyers. According to the Rockdale County Sheriff’s Office incident report, Haynes became involved in an argument about work with the victim and chased the victim around the yard before tackling him and punching him in the face.

The victim and Richard Johnson, who is in a long-term relationship with Haynes, reported the incident to the Sheriff’s Office on Oct. 9. They told the RCSO that Johnson had taken the victim to the VA hospital in Atlanta following the incident where he was treated for a broken nose and cuts to his right hand. Photos of the victim’s injuries were taken at the hospital, according to the report, as well as a two-page written statement.

According to the report, both the victim and Johnson said that Haynes had become “very confrontational and has a history of alcohol and substance abuse,” and claimed that Haynes “abuses prescriptions for depression.”

Johnson told the RCSO that the Oct. 6 incident was the first time Haynes had become physically violent. According to the report, “Both Mr. Johnson and (the victim) were very fearful about reporting the incident not only due to the political and business connections of Mr. Haynes, but also for fear of retaliation by Mr. Haynes. Both Mr. Johnson and (the victim) stated that Mr. Haynes controls their access to email, will continue and has previously pulled their phone records, and even limits (the victim’s) access to a vehicle and driving privileges. Both parties advised that there (are) very few areas of their lives in which Mr. Haynes does not control or have access.”

Both Johnson and the victim told the RCSO that they did not want to press charges against Haynes but wanted him to get help. Both said Haynes had resisted efforts to get help in the past and they were fearful that the situation would worsen if he does not get assistance.

According to the incident report, both parties “are requesting full disclosure in regards to this issue due to their fear of Mr. Haynes.”