KINGSLAND – The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has arrested a former Assistant Magistrate Judge and two others in a burglary investigation.

Release:

The GBI has arrested former Camden County Assistant Magistrate Judge William Ashe, age 64, Merinda Watson, age 64, and Troy Dennis Cox, age 68, of Camden County, GA. Ashe and Watson were charged with one count of Burglary and Cox was charged with one count of Burglary and one count of 2nd Degree Criminal Damage to Property.

On March 11, 2025, the Camden County Sheriff’s Office requested the GBI to investigate an incident where Cox illegally entered a property after presenting altered documents to a Camden County Deputy. Once on the property, Cox took several items and caused damage to the property. Watson, one of Ashe’s employees, created the altered documents which Ashe gave to Cox. After Cox entered the property, Ashe was contacted, and he confirmed the legality of the documents to the Camden County Deputy.

Ashe, Watson, and Cox were booked into the Camden County Jail and have since been released on bond.

This investigation is active and ongoing. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the GBI regional investigative office in Kingsland, at 912-729-6198. 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, the case file will be given to Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office for prosecution.