Washington Police Lieutenant Joe Nelson is the city’s top drug investigator, but he is not the same Joe Nelson who was arrested on drug charges recently in a neighboring county.

“There’s a vicious rumor going around, and it’s a lie, that I was thrown into jail on drug charges in McDuffie County,” he said. “That’s another Joe Nelson, not me. Some of our fine citizens want to believe it’s me, but I wanted to set the record straight and say that it wasn’t me.”

Senior Assistant District Attorney Bill Dupee confirmed that Washington Police Lt. Joe Nelson had not been arrested in McDuffie County or Columbia County or any other jurisdiction that he could find.

Dupee said that not only was “our” Joe Nelson not arrested, he said that the city police investigator was one of the area’s top lawmen in his book. “There is nobody, from any agency – GBI, FBI – that I would rather have as an investigating officer than Lt. Joe Nelson. He’s just a pleasure to have trying cases with.”

Nelson said that since the rumor had began making the rounds, he’s heard it about it all over town, and his child has heard about it in school. “The mayor asked me about it in McDonald’s. I’ve heard about it from everybody.”

The rumor was passed with extra speed, Nelson thinks, because he is the city’s drug investigator, and over the years has helped put away many drug dealers. “That’s why they want to make people think this other guy who got arrested is me. It just ain’t right – you know what I mean?”