JONESBORO - A Jackson Parish Sheriff's Deputy and the Jonesboro Fire Chief were arrested after falsifying a crash report concerning two fire department vehicles.

State Police said a tip about a fraudulent insurance claim was sent to the Louisiana State Police Insurance Fraud/Auto Theft Unit-Monroe Field Office in August 2021.

The tip concerned a two-vehicle crash with Jonesboro Fire Department vehicles. The insurance claim for the wreck was more than $26,000.

State Police said 37-year-old Brandon Brown, the Jonesboro Fire Chief, and 58-year-old George Wyatt, a Jackson Parish Sheriff's Deputy, falsified the accident report.

The report stated Brown and Wyatt were driving, but investigators uncovered that Brown's juvenile son was operating one of the fire department vehicles at the time of the crash.

Brown and Wyatt were charged with insurance fraud, filing or maintaining false public records, and malfeasance in office.