Bulloch County Public Works employee William Robert Barber resigned his position Friday after he was arrested last week on several charges involving a firearm, said Bulloch County Sheriff Lynn Anderson.

            Barber, 51, Holloway Lane, was charged with pointing a firearm at another, reckless conduct, false imprisonment and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, he said.

            Around 11 p.m. last Tuesday, Bulloch sheriff's deputies responded to a call to Holloway Lane where Barber held four victims at gunpoint, he said.

            Barber told deputies he had trouble in the past with people who made threats to his family and who possibly drove a vehicle similar to the one he said was speeding past his house Tuesday, Anderson said.

            But the victims in the vehicle told deputies they had only made a wrong turn and were trying to turn around when Barber approached them with the gun, he said.

            Barber stopped the vehicle and held the occupants at gunpoint "until the deputies got there," he said.

            Holloway Lane is a county-maintained road and is public property, Anderson said. Barber was arrested at the scene and taken to the Bulloch County Jail, where he was booked on the charges and later released on bond, according to jail records.

            However, a condition of his bond, on orders by Bulloch County Superior Court Judge William Woodrum, was that he turn over all firearms in his possession to the sheriff's department, Anderson said.     

            Barber turned in his firearms and then turned in his resignation from Bulloch County Public Works Friday.

            "He's been a very valuable, dependable employee for Bulloch County," said Bob Smith, Bulloch County Public Works Director. "He was a real asset to our solid waste and recycling program."

            Barber awaits further court action regarding the case, Anderson said.