Man Who Shut Down Cobb Jail Due to Ebola Claims Pleads Guilty

A Virginia man who caused a portion of the Cobb County jail to be shut down in early October after he told his jailers that he was suffering from Ebola pleaded guilty to making false statements, the Cobb County District Attorney’s Office announced Thursday.

Harry Randall Withers, Jr. was arrested in the early morning hours of Oct. 3 for drunk driving and failure to maintain his lane. The DA’s Office said that while being processed at the Cobb County jail, Withers feigned symptoms of Ebola and told officials he had recently been to Nigeria and Kenya.

Sections of the jail that Withers had been in were immediately locked down as he was transported to WellStar Kennestone Hospital. Tests performed at the hospital determined that Withers was not infected by the virus.

Cobb County sheriff’s deputies investigating Withers’ claims discovered that his cell phone placed him squarely in the United States at the time he said he was abroad, the DA’s Office said. Additionally, investigators discovered Withers has not left the country since 2005 and does not have a passport.

“We will not tolerate anyone manipulating the system like this and preying on our worst fears,” said Deputy Chief ADA John Melvin, who prosecuted the case, in a statement. “When you put the county and law enforcement through such a useless exercise as this, we will find out the truth.”

Withers pleaded guilty to three felony counts of making false statements, and the misdemeanor DUI and failure to maintain lane charges he faced for his original arrest, the DA’s Office said.

Superior Court Judge Robert E. Flournoy III handed down a ten year sentence, with one year in custody. However, this sentence will be suspended once Withers completes a six month drug rehabilitation program at a Virginia inpatient facility. Withers must also pay $10,000 to the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office, the DA’s Office reported.