Cagle

Special Agent in Charge John Cagle is counting down the days until the end of March and the end of a 29 year law enforcement career with the Georgia Bureau of Investigations.

Originally from Pickens County, Cagle, 53, who has lived in Dawson County since 1994, plans to retire from the GBI at the end of the month. But don't expect to see the lead investigator in numerous high profile cases, most recently Meredith Emerson's murder, stay away for long.

Following a month of relaxing, riding his Harley Davidson on a long-awaited trip to the the Florida Keys and kicking it back at the beach, or his cabin in the mountains, Cagle will be back in his effort to bring law and order to north Georgia as Captain of Investigations for the Dawson County Sheriff's Office.

While Cagle's move to Dawson County has been planned for close to a year, both Cagle and the sheriff's office have kept quiet about his plans for retirement.

"My plan is to be in Dawson County on May 1, as long as the sheriff hasn't changed his mind," Cagle said.

Sheriff Billy Carlisle said there is no chance of that happening. "We're really looking forward to John coming to Dawson County and taking over CID," he said. "His knowledge and experience in drug investigations and investigations as a whole is going to bring a lot to the department and to the county."

Described as one of the best investigators in the state by Dawson County Sheriff's Office Major Kevin Tanner, Cagle brings almost three decades of law enforcement experience to Dawson County's Criminal Investigations Division, which has operated without a captain for over a year.

"CID Lt. (Thurmond) Atkinson has done an excellent job with the division," said Carlisle. "When he was given a job, he took it and ran with it. Having John over CID is another asset to Thurmond's ability, and what he's done in CID."

Cagle began his law enforcement career in 1979 with the GBI's Local Violators Squad, an undercover drug unit, after a few years of teaching health and coaching physical education at Pickens County High School.

He transferred a year later to the Metro Fugitive Squad in Atlanta, spent six years at the GBI's Region 8 Office in Gainesville and five years in the Gainesville Regional Drug Enforcement Office, before receiving a promotion to supervisor of the Appalachian Drug Task Force in 1993.

Four years later, Cagle transferred back to the Drug Enforcement Unit, before being promoted to Special Agent in Charge of the GBI's Cleveland Office, where he has remained since 2002.

"John's always been the kind where he's not happy to sit around," Carlisle said. "And he's not going to be sitting around the CID offices very much either. He'll be out with the investigators on the cases."

Looking back on his almost 30 year career, Cagle said there have been a few cases that to this day wake him up at night wondering how he could have done things differently.

Meredith Emerson's murder in early January is one of those cases that still makes the veteran lawman cringe when he thinks about it. "There was nothing good that came out of that case, except that we were able to arrest (Gary) Hilton before he could hurt anyone else," he said. "It was terrible she had to lose her life."

The 2006 murder investigation of Sueanne Ray in Pickens County is another troubling case for Cagle. "It was close to home, and that was a big part of it, but we were able to solve that," he said. "When I look back, I hope I can say we made a difference."

When Cagle begins the second round of his law enforcement career reporting to his new office at the Dawson County Law Enforcement Center on May 1, he said his first course of action will be to reacquaint himself with his new staff, most of whom he knows and has worked closely with over the years.

"I also want to get to know the deputies, not just the investigators, meet all the staff, and see if they have any ideas how I can help out," Cagle said. "Dawson County is growing so fast. I'm quite sure the department will grow as it needs to grow, and I'm excited to be a part of that."

E-mail Michele Hester at michele@dawsonnews.com.

Originally published Wednesday, March 5, 2008