Macon code enforcement officer placed on leave after getting arrested. What we know

A Macon code enforcement officer is temporarily suspended from his role and was still in the Bibb County Jail Friday in connection to allegedly wrongfully using a woman’s phone, according to a county official and detainee records.

Christopher Tyler Willcox, 34, was arrested and booked in the Bibb County Jail Monday, after he allegedly pulled over a woman’s vehicle on Sept. 11, took her phone and sent photos of the woman from her phone to his, Bibb County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Christopher Williams said.

He was charged with violating oath as a public officer, which is a felony in Georgia. If convicted, he could face one to five years in prison.

Willcox was on duty during the incident in Macon, deputies said. He worked as a sergeant and sworn code enforcement specialist, according to the Macon-Bibb County website.

“Christopher Willcox has been placed on administrative leave pending investigation,” Edna Adams, communications manager for the county, said. “As this is a personnel matter that is under investigation, we are unable to provide further comment.”

Adams declined to share when Willcox was placed on leave.

Joseph “JT” Ricketson, director of Macon-Bibb County Code Enforcement, declined to comment further.

Willcox was still being held without bond Friday afternoon, according to court records and the sheriff’s office’s online detainee log.

Willcox had not had a preliminary hearing set as of Thursday, his attorney, Andrew S. Foster, said in court documents.

Foster requested a hearing and filed a motion to set a bond with the Macon-Bibb County Superior Court on Thursday, court records show.

He said Willcox deserves a bond to be set because he “poses no significant threat” to the community, himself or the case.

Foster did not immediately respond to The Telegraph’s request for comment.