ENIGMA, Ga. (WALB) — Nearly a year after being arrested and jailed on felony charges stemming from a GPS tracker placed on a city-owned police cruiser, two former Enigma city officials have filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the town’s former police chief.

[Read More: 3 charged after allegedly putting tracker on Enigma police chief’s car]

Former Acting Mayor James Douglas “Doug” Webb and former City Clerk Latasha Luke filed the civil complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia in Valdosta Thursday, Sept. 17.

The lawsuit names former Enigma Police Chief Tony Perkins individually, alleging federal malicious prosecution under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and Georgia law.

Cruiser GPS sparks retaliation claims

According to federal court filings, the Town of Enigma hired Perkins as police chief in May of 2025. During hiring discussions, the city’s leadership put him on a probationary period and informed him that while he could commute home in the city-owned patrol car, the cruiser was subject to tracking.

In late Sept. 2025, the city installed a GPS tracking unit on the cruiser to monitor its location on public roads. When Perkins discovered the unit on Oct. 1, he opened a criminal investigation the same day.

Within two weeks, Perkins swore out eight arrest warrants in Berrien County Magistrate Court—five against Webb and three against Luke. Charges included felony unlawful eavesdropping, felony criminal solicitation, felony conspiracy, felony violation of oath of office, and misdemeanor stalking.

Both Webb and Luke were booked into the Berrien County Jail. Luke was arrested a second time three days after bonding out when Perkins filed an additional eavesdropping warrant.

‘Categorically not a crime’

The complaint argues the warrants were legally baseless and procured through misleading affidavits that omitted critical facts, including the city’s ownership of the car and Perkins’ prior notice that it could be monitored.

“Doug Webb and Latasha Luke were arrested because the city was tracking a vehicle it owned,” Mark Begnaud, the attorney representing Webb and Luke, said. “This is not something that is a crime. It is not a crime for the city to track its own vehicle, categorically not a crime.”

Under Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 16-11-62), unlawful eavesdropping and surveillance apply to devices that overhear, record, or transmit sounds, or capture visual images where people have a reasonable expectation of privacy. The lawsuit stresses that a GPS tracking unit records neither sound nor video and was mounted on a public car driven on public roads.

The suit also highlights what it calls an egregious conflict of interest: Perkins served as the alleged victim, the sole investigator, and the complaining affiant seeking warrants against the municipal supervisors who oversaw his employment.

“No reasonable police officer investigates his own case. And certainly no reasonable police officer takes out warrants against his superiors, against the mayor, and a city councilman. Arrest warrants aren’t a tool for settling a dispute with your employer,” Begnaud said.

Charges dismissed, but reputational damage remains

On July 29, 2026, the District Attorney’s Office dismissed all criminal charges against Webb and Luke, clearing their names in criminal court.

However, both plaintiffs say the dismissal did not undo the emotional and professional toll caused by high-profile felony arrests.

“It disrupts people’s lives. I mean, I went to jail. I had to spend a night in jail, disrupting my family,” Webb said. “It just gives me a bad name around town. And the thing is, they should be held accountable for it. You get a felony charge, I mean, people look down on you.”

Webb says while he is retired, Luke has faced significant roadblocks in finding employment due to public arrest records.

“They were booked into jail, had to post bonds. Their names are posted in the media next to the word felony,” Begnaud said. “This is a small town where everybody knows each other, and you can’t unring the bell of being plastered in the media as being a felon.”

Holding power accountable

The lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages for loss of liberty, legal defense expenses, and emotional and reputational injury.

Begnaud recalled a previous statement Perkins gave to WALB News 10 when the arrests originally made headlines:

“Chief Perkins told WALB that the law applies no matter what your title is. We agree with the chief in this regard, and that includes the title of police chief,” Begnaud said. “Overstepping doesn’t even get you there. This is a massive abuse of power. We also want to send a message, largely, that abuses of power won’t be tolerated.”

Perkins is in the process of being served with the federal complaint. Once served, he will have the opportunity to submit a formal response to the court before the case proceeds through discovery.

WALB has reached out to Perkins for interview and comment. We will update this story as the federal proceedings develop.

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