Victor Hill input could shape Clayton County sheriff’s race

The federal bureau of prisons said Hill is now living in community confinement overseen by Atlanta authorities.

“The Sheriff’s Office is currently 14 million dollars over budget,” Hill said in the April 1 post about the department’s leadership under Allen, who he all but ushered into office in 2023 with his endorsement and by using his enviable get-out-the-vote operation.

“Some of this can be attributed to Allen using the budget to buy 2 million dollars worth of electric vehicles, $10,000 worth of personal clothing, and allowing unlimited overtime for friends and ten family members who are on the payroll,” Hill wrote.

“Based on disappointing job performance and poor results, sadly, I will not give any further endorsements to Levon Allen,” Hill wrote later.

The about face is big deal in Clayton.

Despite being a convicted felon who has been the subject of an avalanche of lawsuits, Hill has a loyal following. Almost 300 people commented on the post criticizing Allen and more than 160 reposted the message.

“He does have a lot of juice,” said Patricia Pullar, a Clayton resident and former deputy director of the Democratic Party of Georgia. “Clayton has always been forgiving of him.”

Hill was sheriff of Clayton between 2005 and 2009 and again from 2012 until 2021, when he was suspended by Gov. Brian Kemp pending the outcome of the federal indictment on the civil rights violations charges.

Over the years, he has had plenty of scrapes with the law.

In 2012, Hill was indicted in Clayton on 32 felony charges (he was cleared on all counts after one day of jury deliberations). He accidentally shot a woman at a model home in Gwinnett in 2015 while he said he was showing her “police tactics.”

In 2018, he issued an arrest warrant for the wife of a former deputy who planned to run against…