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4A I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I dawsonnews.com
Wednesday, May 24,2023
Ex-DCSO jailer indicted on forgery, fraud charges
By Julia Hansen
jhansen@dawsonnews.com
A former Dawson
County Sheriff’s Office
jailer has been formally
accused of allegedly pre
senting himself as an
investigator with the
agency, according to a fel
ony court indictment filed
May 8.
Dominick Doyle, 22, of
Dawsonville was formally
accused of first-degree
forgery, identity fraud and
making a false statement,
one indictment stated.
In a second indictment
also filed that day, he was
formally accused of first-
degree forgery and mak
ing a false statement.
Doyle was arrested and
booked into the Dawson
County Detention Center
on June 30, 2022 before
his release on a $22,200
bond.
Indictments
DCSO memos dated
Sept. 29, 2021 revealed
that the local agency’s
Office of Professional
Standards had been noti
fied about an investigation
that the Georgia Peace
Officers and Training
(P.O.S.T.) Council was
conducting into Doyle.
P.O.S.T. is a certifica
tion that individuals
obtain in the process of
becoming law enforce
ment officers.
O n
Aug. 19,
2 0 2 1,
Doyle
allegedly
gave a
Dawson
County
training
deputy an
altered Oconee County
Sheriff’s Office report
from a 2020 arrest,
according to one indict
ment. The arrest report
was required to complete
Doyle’s P.O.S.T. applica
tion so he could be certi
fied as a jailer.
Even though the charg
es against Doyle from the
prior arrest had been dis
missed, the police report
he submitted for that inci
dent had been altered to
depict that he was acting
with other offenders, that
indictment stated.
On June 12, 2022,
Doyle allegedly made a
letter, then presenting it to
two people and claiming
it was authored by
Dawson County Sheriff
Jeff Johnson for the pur
pose of passing himself
off as an investigator with
the agency, the second
indictment stated.
Hiring
Doyle was hired in
August 2021 and started
serving as a detention
officer in a standard
12-month probationary
status.
At the end of that
month, a disciplinary
notice obtained by a DCN
open records request
showed that Doyle had
received a written repri
mand for allegedly being
dishonest about perform
ing a COVID-19 tempera
ture check prior to enter
ing the law enforcement
center.
The report obtained by
the Georgia P.O.S.T.
Council investigator
proved that Doyle had
acted alone leading up to
his 2020 arrest, according
to the second indictment
and one of the memos.
According to DCSO’s
remedial action policy,
any probationary employ
ee may be terminated for
“any reason deemed to be
in the best interests of the
agency.”
“These acts warrant the
immediate termination of
Detention Officer Doyle,”
one of the DCSO memos
stated.
“Once this came to
light and as a result, he
was terminated in
September of 2021,”
Johnson said in a previ
ous email. “Doyle was
charged with presenting
the forged document to
our office.”
DCN will continue fol
lowing Doyle’s related
cases.
Murrayville woman indicted on impersonation charge
By Julia Hansen
jhansen@dawsonnews.com
A woman accused of
pretending to be a local
deputy has now been
indicted on that allega
tion, according to a doc
ument filed in Dawson
County Superior Court.
Amanda Kay Ryder,
40, of Murrayville, faces
one felony count of
imper
sonating
an offi
cer, her
April 17
indict
ment
stated.
Ryder
was
arrested by the Dawson
County Sheriff’s Office
on March 3, 2022 just
after 2 p.m. and charged
with the offense.
This charge does not
require that a person
believe somebody else is
actually a peace officer,
only that the person act
ing “intends to mislead”
another person or people
into thinking that.
A DCSO warrant
accuses Ryder of pre
tending to be a deputy
between 4-5 p.m. on
Nov. 23, 2021 at the
intersection of Ga. 400
and Lumpkin
Campground Road
North.
During a road rage
exchange with another
driver, Ryder allegedly
claimed to be a DCSO
deputy. Using that erro
neous authority, she pur
portedly ordered the
other driver to roll down
their window and exit
their vehicle. Ryder even
gave a badge number
when asked to produce a
badge during the
encounter, the warrant
stated.
“Impersonating a
police officer is one of
those crimes that make it
more difficult for law
enforcement officers to
do their job,” Dawson
County Sheriff Jeff
Johnson previously said.
“Whenever the public
begins to question the
legitimacy of a traffic
stop, or any law enforce
ment action, it serves to
reduce our effectiveness
and increases suspicion.
Therefore, these inci
dents are taken very seri
ously.”
Ryder
DCHS students win Rotary Club’s Laws of Life essay contest
ROTARY
CLUB
Photo courtesy of the Rotary Club of Dawson County
The Rotary Club of Dawson County recently announced the DCHS winners
of the 2022-23 Georgia Laws of Life essay contest.
By Erica Jones
ejones@dawsonnews.com
The Rotary Club of
Dawson County has
announced its winners
for the 2022-23 Georgia
Laws of Life essay con
test, an annual writing
contest that Rotary clubs
from across the state
participate in.
According to a press
release by the contest,
this year’s winners from
Dawson County High
School were:
• Miya Sheffield, 10th
grade winner and overall
school winner
• Tristan Kirley, 11th
grade winner
• Avery Beaty, 12th
grade winner
Honorable mention
winners included Declan
Rhodes, Micah Burruss,
Natalie Herndon, Abigail
Mutter, Noah Smith,
Alex Cruz and William
McNatt. A total of 603
essays were submitted
from Dawson County,
according to the release.
DCHS English teacher
Lindsey Luchansky
served as the chairperson
for the Laws of Life
essay contest at the
school.
This year, 66 Rotary
clubs across Georgia
participated in the Laws
of Life Essay contest,
awarding over $20,000
in cash prizes to the win
ners. A total of 32,401
students from across the
state wrote essays, and
awards were given to
199 school winners,
grade winners and select
teachers.
“Throughout the
spring, winning students
will read their essays for
enthusiastic audiences at
local and district-wide
Rotary Club meetings
and at regional Rotary
conferences,” the release
said. “Georgia Laws of
Life will also feature in
social media winning
students reading their
essays.”
The Laws of Life
essay contest is conduct
ed through the nonprofit
Georgia Rotary Districts
Character Education
Program, Inc. Members
of participating Rotary
clubs volunteer to read
and judge essays, serve
on the contest’s board of
directors and help build
character and ethical lit
eracy among the stu
dents.
“The essay contest is
an opportunity for
Rotary clubs to share
their ‘Service Above
Self’ motto with local
students and schools,”
Georgia Laws of Life
Executive Director Carol
Gray said in the release.
‘Perry Palooza’ event prioritizes neighbors in more ways than one
By Julia Hansen
jhansen@dawsonnews.com
When donating toiletries
and other supplies to char
ity The Place of Dawson
County during the first
part of the COVID-19 pan
demic, local resident
Lance Perry had a eureka
moment.
They realized that the
next time they hosted a
party at their lake property
in central Dawson County,
they “might as well ask
people to contribute” to
local charitable causes.
This past weekend,
Lance and his wife,
Sondra, hosted their sec
ond annual “Perry
Palooza” to benefit The
Place of Dawson at RIC-
Rack.
Last year, they raised
around $3,000, said Lance,
and they’re hoping to dou
ble that amount with this
year’s event.
The couple has taken a
unique approach to the
“give something, get
something” style of fund
raising. With a $10 dona
tion, attendees could
choose one of three books
written by Sondra featur
ing the character “Henry
the Heron.”
Alternatively, attendees
could join in on a fun
trend that’s come to water
side areas in recent years
and buy a lock to put on
the property’s nearby
bridge.
“You choose a lock and
write your initials or your
name,” Sondra said.
“Then, you keep one key
and throw the other into
the lake and you put the
lock on the bridge, like
you [would] do in Paris.”
Lree activities included
an outdoor arcade with
prize games, swimming
and canoes with life jack
ets and a certified life
guard, bouncy house, fish
ing and fireworks Saturday
night.
There are also food
trucks and a Tiki bar on
site so people can get
either a meal, adult drinks
and soft drinks or ice
cream during their lake
side visit.
“All the food and drinks,
games and prizes are free
as our way of welcoming
friends and thanking our
Julia Hansen Dawson County News
Adults and children alike enjoy relaxing on the
lake and the beach during the second annual
"Perry Palooza" to benefit The Place of Dawson
at RIC-Rack.
local businesses and com
munity support groups,”
Lance said.
As they host smaller-
scale private parties or
nonprofit fundraisers, he
added that they’re working
on logistics like insurance
and licensing so they can
ideally rent out their prop
erty for larger events in the
future.
“We’re both retired. This
could help create a little
bit of extra income,”
Lance said.
The “Perry Palooza”
land, complete with a lake,
shore and multiple build
ings, did not get that way
overnight.
When he and Sondra
moved to the area from
California in 2017, Lance
explained that there was
just a house on property
and a cornfield where the
small lake now is.
They had a larger house
built closer to the entrance
of the property. Over the
next year and a half, the
ground was also dug out to
prepare for the lake, which
Lance later had filled with
Elorida bass that are
expected to grow between
two to three feet long.
Things like installing
and extending the beach
and bringing ducks onto
the property helped “create
a little pond ecosystem,”
Lance added.
Eventually, they also
added extra restrooms, an
air-conditioned lifeguard
shack and the bar, which
Lance said now has TVs to
give it a more “sports bar”
type of feel.
“Every year, as we move
forward, we add a little bit
more. Next year, we’ll
have a pool over there. We
have the hole dug out and
everything,” he said.
Lance couldn’t help but
smile Sunday as he looked
across his lake property at
the people enjoying a
refreshing swim or cold
treat on the hot weekend
day.
“It’s a great place to
relax,” Lance said. “I
remember [that] when my
kids were little, I’d bring
them to a lake in
California. It was not
much bigger than this. It
had a beach, and it was so
fun just to get out.”
“We love this communi
ty... we came here, and it
was so cool. Everybody
was so nice, friendly and
welcoming,” Lance said.
“Everybody was just open-
armed.”
Dawson County Humane Society
a no kill shelter
706-265-9160
Doggie Spotlight
Meet Milo!
Milo is a super sweet boy. He is scared when he first
meets someone, but once you earn his trust he will hop
right in to your arms. He is super affectionate once you
get to know hime is very loyal! Schedule a meet and
greet today to see it Milo is your perfect match!
Milo
For more information contact the 706-265-9160 | 633 Martin Rd, Dawsonville
Dawson County Humane Society Adjacent to the Rock Creek Sports Complex
Visit our RESALE SHOP & BOUTIQUE All proceeds benefits
Wed. - Sat. 10 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. | 54 S. Lumpkin Campground Rd. the Humane bociety
Bradley M. Maple
CPA, PC
706-216-2362
2390 Thompson Rd • Ste 100
Dawsonville
Dawsonville
Veterinary
Hospital
706-265-8381
ANH Collision
Specialists
706-216-0992
103 Industrial Park Road,
Dawsonville