A 47-year-old Chickamauga man has been convicted in two separate cases involving violent incidents inside the Catoosa County Jail. On January 9, 2026, Jeffrey Wade Anthony was found guilty after a non-jury trial of committing Unlawful Acts of Violence in a Penal Institution, with the case heard in Catoosa County before Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit Superior Court Judge Melissa Hise.

Prosecutors said the first incident happened February 3, 2023, while Anthony was incarcerated at the Catoosa County Jail on a probation violation. Authorities said surveillance video captured Anthony initiating a confrontation by pushing another inmate into a corner, then striking him with a punch after the inmate tried to push back. Afterward, Anthony was sent to the Georgia Department of Corrections to serve time on the probation violation.

After completing that sentence, Anthony was returned to the Catoosa County Jail to face trial for the 2023 incident. While awaiting trial, officials said Anthony committed another violent act on April 14, 2025, when surveillance video allegedly showed him approach a different inmate who was lying in a bunk and repeatedly punch and strike him without provocation.

Following the convictions in both cases, Anthony was sentenced to 40 years, with the first 15 years to be served in the Georgia Department of Corrections without the possibility of parole, citing an extensive criminal history. The district attorney’s office said it will continue to pursue jail violence cases to the fullest extent of the law, noting the danger such incidents pose to jail staff, law enforcement, and other inmates.