Burke County man jailed for ‘eavesdropping’ on Facebook live

WAYNESBORO, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – A Burke County man has been jailed and charged with a felony after a video he filmed live on Facebook was viewed thousands of times.

The video was shot by Jeremy Huffman and features a group of people living in a neighborhood.

Huffman filmed the video on his property.

On Friday, Huffman was charged with wiretapping.

The I-TEAM was in court and spoke with Huffman’s family. The I-TEAM also heard from the Burke County Sheriff.

Huffman filmed the video on Thursday.

In the video, Huffman attached a ladder to a tree on his property, climbed onto it and began filming.

Crowds of people, tents and loud music were visible.

“The Burke County Sheriff’s Office is probably going to put me in jail or do something to me,” Huffman said in the video.

About 45 minutes later, Burke County deputies were at Huffman’s home.

At the scene, deputies say they met with the complainant who reported suspicious activity near the residence.

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According to a press release from the Burke County Sheriff’s Office, the complainant was in his tent on the property when he heard noises coming from a wooded area near his residence.

During the investigation, appellant discovered a person identified as Huffman in a nearby tree.

According to the press release, Huffman allegedly recorded the applicant and the surrounding area on a cell phone.

In the video, Huffman can be heard being told by deputies to get out of the tree.

Huffman did climb down from the tree and was arrested and charged with wiretapping, a felony.

The sheriff’s office said in a statement that it was one of several calls they responded to over the past year involving both landowners.

Huffman was in court Friday for a bond hearing, where a judge set him on $2,500 bond.

The I-TEAM has been with Huffman’s family and attorney, who say they are actively trying to get the charges dropped.

“I have not seen anything like this. There is no criminal offense here. His arrest is inconsistent with the statute for which he was arrested. There is no crime. He was on his territory, doing what he was allowed to do. He did not observe or do anything that violates that statute, period. It was a false arrest by law enforcement agencies. There is no factual or legal basis for this. He was on his turf,” said Huffman’s attorney, Christopher Connell.

Connell says the whole thing confuses him.

“I’m confused. I have never seen anything like it. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen anything like this, but I’ve been doing this for 30 years and it’s all very different and new to me,” Connell said.

Sheriff Alphonso Williams did a live video on the sheriff’s office Facebook page to share his thoughts on the arrest.

“I’m just as open, transparent and straightforward as possible. I’m not taking sides here. I’m on the side of what’s legal,” Williams said on Facebook Live.

Williams pointed to several previous reports of incidents.

“In most cases, Mr. Huffman abused these people. On several occasions, they found that there were multiple speakers on the boundary of his property and that they believed the music was too loud. Although there is no prohibition against it, it only exacerbates the problem,” Williams said.

Huffman’s family reported to Burke County that neighbors often fired guns.

The I-TEAM continues to seek more information about the county’s ordinance, the felony charges against Huffman and who the group lives next door.