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Habersham deputy sheriff indicted in no-knock warrant case that injured toddler
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A photo of 19-month-old Bounkham Phonesavanh, who was severely burned by a flash grenade during a drug raid, is held by a supporter during a June 2014 vigil outside Grady Memorial Hospital where he was undergoing treatment.
A federal grand jury has indicted a Habersham County deputy sheriff on charges of falsifying information to obtain and execute a “no-knock” search warrant for drugs last year that employed the use of a flash grenade and seriously injured a young child. Nikki Autry, 29, of Clarkesville, a former special agent of the Mountain Judicial Circuit Criminal Investigation and Suppression Team, will be arraigned this week on charges of civil rights violations related to unreasonable searches and seizures and arrest without probable cause. Officers raiding a home in Cornelia in May 2014 used a flash grenade, which creates a bright flash and loud bang to distract suspects, to enter the residence of an alleged methamphetamine dealer.