A judge has sentenced a serial DUI driver to 10 years of probation and two years of in-patient rehabilitation following a 2023 crash that seriously injured a Columbia County deputy.
Garrett Devore, 26, of Appling, avoided prison after a Friday hearing with Chief Judge Sheryl B. Jolly. Instead, Devore will serve probation and undergo rehabilitation, as the victims had expressed their desire for him to receive help through treatment.
Devore was driving under the influence of six different drugs on Thanksgiving Day 2023 when he hit Deputy John Boy Muldrow with his Ford F250 on Old Evans Road at Harden Street, authorities said. The crash sent both the off-duty deputy and his passenger to the hospital with serious injuries.
Authorities charged Devore with serious injury by vehicle x2, DUI, driving with a suspended license, failure to maintain lane, and a seat belt violation. Blood tests revealed he was intoxicated with cocaine, methamphetamine, fentanyl, benzodiazepines, alprazolam, and promethazine. It was also revealed that he had been arrested the night before by Georgia State Patrol, but the Columbia County Detention Center would not accept him because of medical concerns, so he was dropped off at home by a trooper.
During Friday’s hearing, Devore told the judge he had been sober for eight months and was participating in a residential substance abuse program.
The wreck shocked local residents when it happened, many of whom called for Devore to face prison time. One resident wrote online, “Lock him up and throw the key away. He is a danger to society. When he kills someone, everyone will say what a good boy he was.” Another commented, “Drunk drivers kill innocent people, yet the crime is treated as something simple. Drunk driving should carry no less than a 5-year mandatory sentence for the first offense.”
Devore had been arrested multiple times before, including two prior DUIs and a boating under the influence charge. He was arrested in May 2021 for possessing Schedule I drugs and later pled guilty, receiving probation. He had fentanyl pills in his possession at the time of the arrest.
Devore’s brother, Bentley Devore, also has a troubled history. In February 2023, Bentley was sentenced to 16 years in prison for a DUI-related crash that killed 20-year-old Morgan Shea in 2020. Bentley had been driving under the influence when he crashed a modified golf cart on Morris Calloway Road, ejecting both himself and Shea. Bentley also faced charges in 2019 for fleeing law enforcement and evading arrest at high speeds, reaching up to 147 mph.
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