Rogue Cherokee deputy targets mom on Facebook after warrantless home raid

A Cherokee County sheriff’s deputy created a Facebook page to harass a woman he had previously arrested, she says — and the page has been up for four months.

What’s happening: Natasha Lopez says Corporal Charles Mills made a Facebook page targeting her, with posts that include private information about her children. The solicitor general’s office confirmed Mills is under an internal investigation over the page. Mills is on administrative leave.

The backstory: The trouble started in August 2025, when Mills entered Lopez’s home without a search warrant. He was looking for a cell phone belonging to her 21-year-old son, who did not live there. Home surveillance footage shows Mills inside the house. A judge signed a search warrant only after Mills had already gone in.

Lopez was arrested for obstruction during the incident. An internal investigation later found that Mills and other officers violated department policy by muting or turning off their body cameras during the visit to Lopez’s home. No written discipline was issued — a division commander handled it verbally.

The cop’s record: A 2018 internal affairs investigation found Mills had consumed alcohol while driving his personal vehicle and sustained an unbecoming-conduct violation against him. The Sheriff’s Office currently disqualifies applicants who have had a DUI conviction or plea within the previous five years. The Georgia Sun has reached out to the Cherokee Count Sheriff’s Office to determine why Mills was still employed after this. We will update this story when and if the sheriff’s office responds.

The bigger picture: The Sheriff’s Office has faced a string of misconduct cases in recent months. Several deputies have been fired and arrested for allegedly misusing a license plate reader system to track vehicles. A former deputy was also recently sentenced to federal prison for sexual exploitation of minors.