Newspaper Page Text
THURSDAY. JULY 8. 2021 PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS PAGE 5B
South Ga. dogfighting operators
plead guilty, face prison terms
By Dave Williams
Bureau Chief
Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA - The operator
of an illegal dog-fighting fa
cility broken up in Dodge
County three years ago has
pleaded guilty in federal
court.
James Lampkin, 46, of
Eastman, is awaiting sentenc
ing after admitting to a
charge of conspiracy to vio
late the Animal Welfare Act,
said David H. Estes, acting
U.S. attorney for the South
ern District of Georgia.
Lampkin faces up to five
years in prison, along with
substantial fines and up to
three years of supervised re
lease upon completion of any
prison term. There is no pa
role in the federal system.
“Animal fighting is cruel
and barbaric, and has no
place in our society,” Estes
said. “Our vigilant law en
forcement partners shut
down Lampkin’s brutal oper
ation and rescued dozens of
animals from a life of pain
and misery.”
“This investigation and
prosecution should send a
strong zero-tolerance mes
sage to those individuals in
volved in the inhumane
torture of animals for the pur
pose of entertainment,”
added Jason Williams, spe
cial agent in charge of the
U.S. Department of Agricul
ture’s Office of Inspector
General. “We appreciate the
partnership with our law en
forcement partners in pursu
ing these purveyors of death
and senseless suffering.”
Five co-defendants in the
case pleaded guilty to related
federal charges and await
sentencing in federal court.
The list includes Benjamin
Shinholster III, 41, of Au
gusta; Deveon Hood, 34, of
Tennille; Andre Archer, 23,
of Sandersville; Xavier Sim
mons, 34, also of Sander
sville; and Joe Ford, 33, of
Elgin, S.C.
A remaining co-defen
dant, Dwight McDuffie, 44,
of Eastman, pleaded guilty to
attending a dogfight, a mis
demeanor. He was sentenced
to two years of probation,
150 hours of community
service, and was prohibited
from owning animals.
In March 2018, Georgia
State Patrol troopers and state
Department of Natural Re
sources game wardens con
ducted traffic stops in
Eastman after receiving re
ports of a dogfighting opera
tion at Lampkin’s property.
During those stops, offi
cers discovered a dog in one
of the vehicles that appeared
to have been injured while
fighting.
Investigators later seized
63 dogs at Lampkin’s home
while serving a search war
rant after finding the animals
chained in the back yard. In
vestigators also discovered a
disassembled pit where fights
were held, and equipment
used to train dogs for fight
ing.
July 1 put new state laws on the books
By Dave Williams
Bureau Chief
Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA - General As
sembly approved a host of
bills during 40 days under the
Gold Dome covering a vari
ety of issues that took effect
last Thursday.
July 1 saw the implemen
tation of a state tax cut and a
series of new tax breaks for
Georgia businesses. Local
police departments got new
protections from budget cuts,
and a new crime applicable to
a type of theft popularized
during the pandemic went on
the books.
The tax cut will increase
the standard deduction for
married couples who file
joint state income tax returns
by $1,100. Single taxpayers
can deduct an extra $800,
while Georgians ages 65 and
older can deduct another
$1,300. Married couples fil
ing separately will be able to
deduct an additional $550.
House Bill 593 is a fol
low-up to legislation the
General Assembly adopted in
2019 lowering Georgia’s in
come-tax rate from 6% to
Mostly lower- and mid
dle-income families will ben
efit from the higher standard
deduction, said Georgia
House Speaker David Ral
ston.
“Today marks another
chapter in Georgia’s continu
ing commitment to provide
sustainable, meaningful tax
relief to Georgians to let
them keep more of their hard-
earned money,” Ralston, R-
Blue Ridge, said after the
mid-March vote passing the
bill.
Separate legislation also
taking effect serves up a
smorgasbord of new tax
breaks aimed at spurring
business investment in Geor
gia. It offers tax credits to
medical equipment and phar
maceutical manufacturers,
aerospace defense projects,
performing arts venues,
short-line railroads and de
velopers of corporate “mega
sites.”
While most of the bill
doles out more largesse in the
form of tax credits, Senate
Bill 6 also seeks to rein in tax
breaks that don’t give enough
bang for the buck. It requires
independent audits of up to
five tax credit programs each
year to determine whether
their economic impact justi
fies the loss of state tax rev
enue.
“This is a large bill,” state
Sen. John Albers, R-Roswell,
said as the multi-faceted
measure was being debated
on the Senate floor during the
final day of the 2021 legisla
tive session. “It brings checks
and balances. It has us meas
ure the return on investment,
and it keeps Georgia the No.-
1 place to do business.”
Republican legislative
leaders focused much of their
attention this year on crafting
friendly tax policies to help
Georgians and Georgia busi
nesses cope with the eco
nomic damage wreaked by
the pandemic.
But another thread that ran
through the 2021 session
stemmed from last year’s
murder of George Floyd, a
Black man, by a white police
officer in Minneapolis, which
sent demonstrators into the
streets of America to protest
racism and police brutality.
An offshoot of those
protests was the “defund the
police” movement, as some
on the left called for slashing
police budgets and redirect
ing those funds to social pro
grams aimed at the causes of
a nationwide surge in violent
crime.
Georgia lawmakers re
acted by passing legislation
limiting local government
from reducing funds for po
lice more than 5% during a
10-year span.
“This legislation sends a
strong message that we sup
port our law enforcement of
ficers and we will never
defund police here in Geor
gia,” said Rep. Houston
Gaines, R-Athens, chief
sponsor of House Bill 286.
Legislative Democrats
overwhelmingly opposed the
bill as a power grab by the
state over local governments.
Critics also argued it would
stall efforts to fund other
areas like mental health,
housing and education that
aim to keep people from
landing in jail.
Lawmakers also were di
vided over a bill criminaliz
ing “porch piracy,” a form of
theft that hadn’t been given
much thought before the pan
demic prompted shoppers
hunkered down in their
homes to do most of their
buying online.
House Bill 94 makes it a
felony to be caught in posses
sion of at least 10 different
pieces of stolen mail that is
addressed to three or more
separate recipients - even if
it is unclear who exactly stole
the mail.
The bill also makes it a
felony to steal three or more
envelopes, bags, packages or
other mailed items from the
porch, front or back entrance
of a residence.
“This was a problem be
fore the pandemic,” Rep.
Bonnie Rich, R-Suwanee, the
measure’s chief sponsor, said
during a committee hearing
on the bill. “It has become
even more of a problem
now.”
While the legislation drew
some support from Democ
rats, others questioned the
severity of the bill’s penal
ties, noting porch pirates
could face more jail time and
a worse criminal record than
those who commit petty theft
at a retail store.
Other bills the General
Assembly passed this year
that take effect July 1 in
clude:
House Bill 112 - extends
COVID-19 liability protec
tions for Georgia businesses
and hospitals into the sum
mer of 2022.
House Bill 317 - extends
the state tax on hotel and
motel rooms to "marketplace
facilitators" including Airbnb
and Vrbo.
House Bill 511 - prohibits
spending money deposited in
nine state dedicated trust
funds on any other purpose.
House Bill 617 - lets stu
dent-athletes at Georgia col
leges, universities and
technical colleges receive
compensation for their name,
image and likeness.
Senate Bill 34 - allows
victims of human trafficking
to petition to change their
name without public disclo
sure.
5.75%.
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The Sheriff’s
Beat
From the Pickens
Sheriff’s Office
During this past week, the Pickens Sheriff’s Office responded
to or initiated 1,920 calls for service. These numbers are
taken from the report provided directly from the 911 Center
where all calls are logged as they are performed. Below is a
breakdown of all dispatched calls by the call type for each in-
cident.
Accidents
7
Suicide Threats / Attempts
3
Domestics
17
Theft / Burglary Related
13
Forgery / Fraud
8
Traffic Stops
291
Citations Issued
8
Animal Investigations
6
Suspicious Persons/Activity
19
Alarm Calls
7
Stranded Motorists
12
Street Hazards
2
Vandalism
5
Abandoned Vehicles
0
Extra Patrol - neighborhoods,
businesses, residences
1,318. In addition to these, other calls include search warrants,
civil service, 911 hang-up calls, assaults, disorderly persons,
missing persons, assistance with medical calls, natural death
investigations, demented persons, funeral escorts, harassment,
trespassing, and many more.
Breakdown of Charges for those Arrested:
20 individuals were booked into the Adult Detention Center
on charges from the Pickens Sheriff’s Office. Out of these,
the following charges were taken by PSO deputies (note:
some individuals have multiple charges):
Aggravated Assault 2
Child Molestation 1
Aggravated Child Molestation 1
Probation Violation 5
Failure to Maintain Lane 4
Possession of a Controlled Substance 1
Drug Related Object 1
Bond Violation 5
DUI 6
Driving without a Valid License 5
Obstruction of LEO 1
Safety Belt Violation 1
Open Container 1
ID Theft Fraud 1
Simple Battery-Family Violence 1
Disorderly Conduct 1
Theft by Taking 1
Tag Light Violation 1
Accountability Court Violation 3
Failure to Appear 1
Display of License Plate Violation 2
Brake Light/ Turn Light Violation 1
Vehicle Headlight Violation 1
No Proof of Insurance 1
Driving without Valid Registration 1
In addition to the above
activity from the Uniform
Patrol Division, Court
Service Deputies reported
the following statistics for
the past week:
Persons Scanned at Front
Door: 922
Weapons Found: 4
Courts Held: 10
Arrest Made in the
Courthouse: 4
Civil Papers Received : 23
Civil Papers Served: 20
In the Adult Detention
Center:
Total Jail population: 90
Total male inmates: 67
Total female inmates: 23
Sex Offenders:
There are currently 70 sex
offenders registered with
the Pickens Sheriff’s Office.
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