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PICKENS COUNTY, S.C. (BFMG) — Two former Pickens County sheriff’s deputies have been fired after they were arrested on public intoxication charges while outside South Carolina, according to Sheriff Tommy Blankenship.
Blankenship announced the terminations Wednesday, saying the deputies were initially placed on unpaid administrative suspension after the sheriff’s office learned of their arrests.
Andy Fancher of FITS News identified the two officers through his reporting as Corey Steven Baker and Jewel Nichole “Nikki” Holliday, both K-9 handlers who are alleged to be in a relationship together. The two were charged by Gatlinburg Police Department on September 19, 2026.
Holliday made headlines previously when she stopped at a gas station to use the restroom and left her service weapon inside. A child later entered that restroom and retrieved the weapon and returned to her parent’s vehicle and they threw it out the window.
The sheriff’s office used inmates to try to locate the weapon.
The Pickens County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) Office of Professional Standards then launched an internal investigation into the incident.
Blankenship said that investigation was completed Tuesday, and its findings led him to terminate both deputies for violating agency policy.
The sheriff did not identify the former deputies in his statement or provide details about where the arrests occurred or the circumstances surrounding them.
Blankenship said deputies are expected to follow a higher standard of conduct both while working and while off duty.
“Being a deputy sheriff is more than just wearing a badge, carrying a gun, and having the authority that comes with the job,” Blankenship said. “It means accepting a higher standard of conduct, both on and off duty.”
Blankenship said the actions of the two former deputies did not meet the standards established by the department.
“The public places an enormous amount of trust in us, and that trust has to be earned every single day,” he said.
The sheriff also stressed that deputies are not exempt from accountability simply because they work in law enforcement.
“There’s not a different standard for deputies simply because they wear a badge,” Blankenship said.
Blankenship pointed to the agency’s stated mission of “service over self,” saying maintaining public trust sometimes requires taking action against members of the department.
“We will continue to hold ourselves accountable,” Blankenship said. “We will continue to protect the integrity of this office, and we will continue to work every day to be worthy of the trust that you, the citizens of Pickens County, place in us.”
The sheriff’s office has not released the identities of the former deputies or additional information regarding their out-of-state arrests. We’ve reached out for more details from the PCSO, but at the time of this reporting, we have not yet heard back.
The former deputies are Nikki Holliday and Corey baker