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LEGAL ORGAN FOR HOUSTON COUNTY,
city of Perry, city of Warner Robins and city of Centerville
VOLUME 137, NUMBER 142
BELOW THE FOLD: Warner Robins track coach Mark Taylor sentenced Violent fugative captured
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SATURDAY
July 21,2007
The Home Journal’s
FRONT
PORCH
IN BRIEF
Benefit barbecue
changed to Aug. 18
A benefit barbecue for an
injured Warner Robins Police
officer has been rescheduled
to Aug. 18. Initially planned for
today, the benefit barbecue,
now on Aug. 18, will help defray
some of the costs incurred by
Warner Robins Police officer
Jeff Herb, who was injured in
while on duty in a fight with a
suspect about five weeks ago.
Advance tickets are available
now by calling the Evans’ at
218-0495, 954-2466 or 542-
8225.
Houston County sets
millage hearings
The Houston County
Commissioners have
announced their intention of
increasing the countywide
taxes it will levy this year by
1.61 percentage over the
rollback rate. The proposed
county tax rate is 9.45 mills, up
from 9.32 mills, but still below
the county tax cap of 10.3 mills.
The increase will be about $6
for the owner of a SIOO,OOO
home or about sl3 for the
owner of a $200,000 home.
The County Commissioners
millage rate will be the sub
ject of three public hearings,
the first two Tuesday at 11:30
a.m. and 6 p.m., and the final
hearing and vote the following
Tuesday, July 31, at 4 p.m.
All hearings will be held in the
County Annex Building, 200
Car Vinson Parkway in Warner
Robins.
BIRTHDAYS
Saturday
■ Betty Dawkins
■ Gary McCoy
Sunday
■ Shawn Michael ■
■ Latasha Lowe
Monday
■ Heather Myers
News tip hotline:
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Sfiftvi\(, Horsros (jmmi Sim*; 1870
Suspect faces additional charges
By RAYLIGHTNER
Journal Staff Writer
David Alan Counts was
charged with four burglaries
in Perry Monday.
Counts, 18, of Americus
confessed to investigators to
four burglaries along U.S. 41
in Perry including Hamby
Chevrolet, The Westfield
Schools, a Texaco under con
struction and was reportedly
found inside New Life of
Perry Church by a Houston
County Sheriffs Patrol dep
uty doing a business check.
Counts has also been
charged with six more church
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Journal/Ray Lightner
Perry Police kept traffic moving along Sam Nunn Boulevard at the Interstate 75 intersection Thursday evening after
weather knocked out power to traffic lights and businesses along Sam Nunn Blvd. and Washington Street.
Lightning knocks power out in Perry
By RAY LIGHTNER
Journal Staff Writer
- Thursday night’s storm
knocked out power to many
of the businesses and traf
Violent fugitive captured
By RAY LIGHTNER
Journal Staff Writer
A fugitive rape suspect
was arrested Wednesday in
Warner Robins.
Darryl Finnelle was arrest
ed in the Pilot truck stop in
Byron Wednesday by a team
of law enforcement officers
led by the U.S. Marshals
Southeast Regional Fugitive
Task Force.
While west of Interstate
75 and with a Byron mailing
address, the truck stop is
within Warner Robins city
limits.
Finnelle, 28, of Bloomfield
Road, in Macon was being
sought on a warrant issued
in Macon charging him with
the rape and kidnapping of
a Macon woman on June 5.
According to the Task Force,
Finnelle allegedly grabbed
SPORTS: Taylor taking fenc
ing to the masses in Waner
Robins
ID
burglaries in Americus
and Sumter County and a
church arson in Americus.
Counts reportedly had help
in those incidents from two
juveniles, a 15-year-old male
and a 13-year-old female,
both of whom are in custody
in Sumter County.
Counts and the 15-year-old
are each charged by Sumter
County Sheriffs Office with
two counts of burglary for
break-ins at Central Baptist
Church and Cornerstone
Church, according to Major
Brett Murray of the Criminal
Investigation Division.
“We recovered most of the
fie lights along Sam Nunn
Boulevard and Washington
Street in Perry.
Perry Public Safety
Director George Potter
said lightning knocked out
the victim by the throat and
forced her into her residence,
where he allegedly raped her
for several hours.
Will Hawkins from the
Southeast Regional Fugitive
Task Force said a Macon
Police investigator with the
task force learned through
the process of his investiga
tion that Finnelle was at the
Pilot truck stop.
Finnelle is an over the
road truck driver and was
in the 18-wheeler, Hawkins
said, when he was located,
surrounded and arrested
without incident.
Finnelle is being held at
the Bibb County Jail on the
Macon charges.
The Southeast Regional
Fugitive Task Force is a team
comprised of law enforce
ment officers from 25 local,
See CAPTURE, page 6A
www.hhjnews.com
property taken in our two
incidents,” Murray said. “I
COUNTS
accomplices were in custody
and they are charged along
with Counts for the arson of
St. Mary’s Catholic Church
power for about 15 min
utes to the Public Safety
Building, home of the city
police and fire departments.
“We got back online pretty
quickly.”
Taylor out of jail, out of the county
By RAY LIGHTNER
Journal Staff Writer
Mark Stephen Taylor is
out of jail and out of the
county.
Taylor, a seventh
grade science teacher at
Northside Middle School
and Warner Robins High
School track coach, was
arrested and charged with
stalking, simple battery,
harassing phone calls and
influencing a witness on
June 6 after the Warner
Robins Police Department
received a complaint from
a school administrator at
Northside Middle School,
who told police Taylor was
stalking, threatening and
making unwanted contact
with a co-worker.
He was later indicted on
those charges and pleaded
LOCAL: Museum of
Aviation holds Oris of
America mystery
camp 7A
and four other church build
ings burglaries in the city.
Americus Police Chief James
Green said Counts and the
two juveniles are charged
with burglaries at First
United Methodist Church,
Calvary Episcopal Church,
St. Mary’s Catholic Church
and the former building
of Central Baptist Church
which is the temporary site
of the Department of Family
and Children’s Services since
the tornado on March 1.
Counts and the juveniles
are each charged with four
counts of burglary and one
count of first-degree arson
feel com
fort ab 1 e
some from
the city was
found when
he (the 15-
year-old)
was arrest
ed.”
Americus
Police con
firmed the
two juvenile
Potter said the traffic
lights were out for about
two hours. He explained
the computers for the traf
fic signals are smaller
See POWER, page ioA
TAYLOR
to the Houston County
Detention Center Taylor
was released July 5 on his
own recognizance for aggra
vated stalking charge.
According to the indict
ment, he used intimida
tion and threats against
a witness, his co-worker,
threatening to publish
a visual depiction of her
if she reported his crimes
to police. That is what he
Two sections • 20 pages
by the Americus Police.
Green said the male remains
in custody and female juve
nile was taken into custody,
but he was unsure of her
current status.
Green said most of the
stolen items were recovered
from the 15-year-old’s home
and from Counts’ residence.
The items included musi
cal and electronic gear as
well as some candles and
religious items from the
churches.
The only things not recov
ered were two cell phones
taken from DFACS, which
See SUSPECT,page ioA
Work
begins
on Perry
signal
By CHARLOTTE
PERKINS
Journal Staff Writer
As of Thursday, the signal
heads were in place at the
intersection of U.S. 41 and
Perimeter Road, and while
you won’t be seeing red,
green and yellow lights for
a while yet, the countdown
has begun.
Perry Mayor Jim Worrall,
who made the first request
for the signal in November,
1999, said that he had sent
a memo to the members of
city council about the good
news, and closed it with the
words, “Praise the Lord!”
According to Houston
County Public Works
Director Tommy Stalnaker,
the goal now is to have the
system fully operational by
the time school starts, or, by
Aug. 6 at the latest.
Stalnaker said that a good
deal of work remains to be
done. The computerized sig
nal cabinet must be put in
place and sensors have to be
installed on the roads.
“There will be a pretty
sophisticated computer in
the box,” Stalnaker said. He
pointed out that once the
See SIGNAL, page ioA
pleaded guilty to.
He sentenced also includ
ed $250 in fines, no contact
with the victim and banish
ment from Houston County.
According to court records,
Taylor also agreed to drop
contesting his employment
with the Houston County
Board of Education.
Taylor had been asked to
relinquish all school keys
and possessions belong
ing to the Houston County
Board of Education and was
given a date for the person
nel hearing of July 30 at 2
p.m.
Witnesses at that hear
ing, according to the
letter include former
Superintendent Danny
Carpenter, the victim, the
students with whom he
See TAYLOR,page xA
guilty July 5
to influenc
ing a wit
ness. He was
sentenced
to 60 days,
given cred
it for time
served and
released that
day.
According
iv Evans Family Nkiyspapi-r
\y fL