Who is Lakina Gay? Ex-Coweta County Corrections employee arrested for alleged theft
Former Coweta County corrections employee arrested for allegedly stealing up to $100,000 from prison commissary funds.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) has arrested a former employee of the Coweta County Department of Corrections over allegations of misappropriating funds from the prison commissary.
The suspect, identified as 49-year-old Lakina Gay of Newnan, Georgia, has been charged with five counts of Theft by Taking. According to preliminary findings, Gay allegedly diverted between $50,000 and $100,000 from the Coweta County Prison Commissary account while serving as office manager between 2019 and 2023.
The Coweta County Sheriff’s Office first requested GBI’s involvement in November 2023 after concerns were raised about missing funds. Following an investigation, Gay was taken into custody and booked into the Coweta County Jail on Wednesday, August 20, 2025.
Here’s our statement on recent arrest of a former Coweta County Department of Corrections employee in a Theft by Taking investigation.
🔗: https://t.co/zvonbqeS4S pic.twitter.com/uZELlNRK3u
— GA Bureau of Investigation (@GBI_GA) August 23, 2025
Authorities are urging members of the public with information related to the case to contact the GBI Regional Investigative Office in Columbus at (706) 565-7888. Anonymous tips may also be submitted through the GBI’s online portal, via the See Something, Send Something mobile app, or by calling 1-800-597-TIPS (8477).
Officials confirmed that once the investigation concludes, the case will be handed over to the Coweta Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office for prosecution.
Below is GBI’s statement in full:
GBI Arrests Former Coweta County Department of Corrections Employee for Theft by Taking
Newnan, GA (August 22, 2025) – The GBI has arrested and charged Lakina Gay, age 49, of Newnan, Georgia, with five counts of Theft by Taking. On Friday, November 3, 2023, the Coweta County Sheriff’s Office requested GBI to conduct an investigation into theft of funds by an employee from the Coweta County Department of Corrections.
Preliminary information indicates that Gay reportedly misappropriated between $50,000 and $100,000 worth of funds from the Coweta County Prison Commissary account from 2019 to 2023. Gay served as an office manager during this time.
Gay was arrested and booked into the Coweta County Jail on Wednesday, August 20, 2025.
Anyone with any information about this investigation is encouraged to call the GBI Regional Investigative Office in Columbus at (706) 565-7888. Anonymous tips can also be submitted by calling 1-800-597-TIPS (8477), online at https://gbi.georgia.gov/submit-tips-online, or by downloading the See Something, Send Something mobile app.
Once the investigation is complete, it will be turned over to the Coweta Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office for prosecution.
