Newspaper Page Text
Page 8 — Wednesday, November 11,2009, The True Citizen
P >r the Record
Crime forum draws
questions, concerns
By Elizabeth Billips
lizbillips@yahoo.com
Nearly 100 residents turned out
for a crime forum last week, ask
ing everything from where stolen
guns were being sold to whether
it’s legal to shoot a burglar.
The forum, which was hosted
by the Burke County circuit of the
Southern Christian Leadership
Conference, also drew Augusta
news media and a number of law
enforcement officers and elected
officials.
Rev. James Ivery, president of
the local SCLC chapter, said the
hour-and-a-half long meeting was
the first of many forums designed
to bring the general public and area
leaders together on common
ground to seek solutions. He said
the meeting had been organized,
in part, to address talk of vigilante
justice by fearful and frustrated
homeowners.
One educator, who said she’d
been burglarized twice, received
a round of applause when she
asked if it was legal to shoot a bur
glar inside her home.
Sheriff Greg Coursey, who said
he’d attended the meeting mainly
to answer that very question, said
she had the right to shoot if some
one had actually broken in and she
was afraid for her life or the life of
her loved ones.
“You have a right to defend
yourself,” he said, cautioning the
audience that they could be
charged with murder if they shot
someone who was trying to leave
or was stealing something outside.
“But you don’t have the right to
shoot someone just because he is
stealing from you ... and the last
thing we need is for an innocent
person cutting through a yard to
get hurt. Regardless, we’re talking
about a human being. Is it really
worth taking somebody’s life over
a lawn mower?”
Waynesboro Police Chief Karl
E. Allen spoke briefly about the
number of guns stolen in car
break-ins and burglaries and said
the firearms are not only being sold
on the streets in Burke County, but
on a national level.
“They wouldn’t steal it if no
body would buy it,” Sheriff
Coursey added. “Some of our
neighbors are not being good
neighbors... and when we find out
who is buying this stuff, we’re
going to prosecute them too, and
just as hard.”
On the contrary, officers agreed
that good neighbors and neighbor
hood watch programs are the best
deterrents.
They also suggested security
systems and cameras, and urged
residents to mark then electronic
equipment with inscribing tools
available from the sheriff’s office
so that if goods are stolen, they can
be tracked. However, Burke
County resident David DeLoach
told the audience that isn’t enough.
“We can talk about this all night
long,” he said, calling for local
volunteerism and for agencies to
create an auxiliary police force to
Resident David DeLoach called for an auxiliary police force
to help patrol the county.
patrol the county. “If you’re not
willing to connect (as a volunteer)
for one hour... all you’re doing is
talking.”
Burke County’s new Juvenile
Court Judge Willie Saunders
agreed with DeLoach and invited
him and others at the forum to at
tend his Tuesday court sessions in
Burke County to see if their tal
ents could be matched up with
needs within the court system.
Judge Saunders blamed the
surge in juvenile crime on the re
placement of family with the gang
system and a general lack of edu
cation.
‘Go to most sentencings and the
vast majority of defendants have
less than a high school education
Veteran pilot injured
Glider goes down in northern Burke
By Elizabeth Billips
lizbillips@yahoo.com
A former combat pilot was
hospitalized after his homebuilt
aircraft was taken out by me
chanical problems and pine trees
in northern Burke County.
Augusta pilot Donald Murphy,
72, remained in fair condition at
MCGHealth Tuesday, two days
after what he described to offic
ers as a "hai'd landing.”
Burke County deputies say the
veteran aviator was traveling in
his “moto-glider” from the Pea
Patch, a private airport in South
Richmond County, to Wrens
when he began having problems.
According to the report, the
glider has an onboard motor
which is used for takeoff and
positioning but is otherwise
switched off during flight.
While Murphy flew over the
Lazy Acres area, he attempted to
reposition his glider but could
not get the motor to restart. As
the glider lost altitude, a wing got
caught in a tree and the aircraft
was spun around so that it rested
Student arrested for bringing gun to school
By Elizabeth Billips
lizbillips@yahoo.com
A Burke County High School
student was arrested after a
drug sniffing canine led offic
ers to a gun and ammunition in
his parked vehicle.
According to a report filed at
the Burke County Sheriff’s Of
fice, Jerrell Demond Kelly, 20,
was jailed around 10 a.m. Mon
day following what began as a
routine search of the school
campus.
A drug sniffing dog led of
ficers to Kelly’s vehicle where
they found a small grinder and
container with marijuana resi
due inside.
They also found an unloaded
9 mm Luger and magazine un
der the driver’s seat and a 15-
round magazine and ammuni
tion for a Glock under the pas-
Waynesboro Police
The following arrests and cita
tions were reported by the
Waynesboro Police Department
for the past week:
Monday, Nov. 2
• Shonda Shonta Herndon, 28,
of Magnolia Acres, Waynesboro,
was arrested for no driver’s li
cense, no insurance and operating
a vehicle with suspended, can
celled or revoked registration.
Tuesday, Nov. 3
• Moroccus Tywon Heath, 27,
of Wallace Street, Waynesboro,
was arrested for probation viola
tion.
• Leroy Dewayne Whitfield, 26,
of Jones Avenue, Waynesboro,
was arrested for two counts of
criminal trespass. A $2,600 prop
erty bond was posted.
Wednesday, Nov. 4
• Willie Lee Coleman, 57, of
Peacock Road, Waynesboro, was
charged with criminal trespass and
dumping on the land of another.
• Julius Temell Johnson, 42, of
King Court, Waynesboro, was ar
rested for no driver’s license and
failure to stop at a stop sign.
• Tom Cuyler Sr., 39, of Bryant
Street, Waynesboro, was arrested
for probation violation.
Friday, Nov. 6
• Leroy Ellison, 54, of Martin
Luther King Drive, Waynesboro,
was arrested for shoplifting and
interference with police.
Saturday, Nov. 7
• Dairen Lanill Jones, 32, of Lee
Street, Waynesboro, was arrested
for simple battery.
Burke County Sheriff
The following arrests and cita
tions were reported by the Burke
County Sheriff’s Office for the past
week:
Sunday, Nov. 1
• Quinton Ryan Flakes, 17, of
Lloyd Lane, Waynesboro, was ar
rested for entering an auto (three
counts).
• Zachary Henry Souza, 19, of
Idlewood Road, Waynesboro, was
arrested for entering an auto (four
counts).
Monday, Nov. 2
• Cassandra Denise Herndon,
28, of Davis Road, Waynesboro,
was arrested for affray. A $1,300
property bond was posted.
• Eric Lamont Wade, 35, of Per
simmon Drive, Waynesboro, was
an'ested for probation violation.
Tuesday, Nov. 3
• Willie Jean Clarke, 38, of River
Road, Waynesboro, was arrested
for DUI. A $1,875 property bond
m. fi
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... most only attended through
ninth or tenth grade,” he said.
“They’ve been out committing
crimes when they should have
been in school.”
Rev. Ivery ended the forum with
a call for residents to put aside their
fears of retaliation and for parents
to raise their children with a stron
ger hand.
“People, we cannot be afraid of
our children anymore,” he said,
noting that reporting crime activ
ity is the only way to put a stop to
it. “We cannot stand by. We know
what (the criminals) are doing, and
the police know what they’re do
ing ... but they need a probable
cause. You are that probable
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a Public Meeting of the
www.srs.gov
800-249-8155
Savannah River Site
Citizens Advisory Board
Marriott Hotel & Suites
Two 10th Street
Augusta, GA 30901
November 16 - 17, 2009
Monday, Nov 16th
I p.m. - 5 p.m.
Combined Committee Meeting
- Update on American
Recovery and
Reinvestment Act
Funding Activities
- Site Performance
Measures
- CAB Outreach Initiative
Tuesday, Nov 17th
8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Full Board Meeting
- Water Resource Planning
- Annual Historic
Preservation Update
- SRR Liguid Waste Project
Execution Plan for FY 2010
- H Canyon Conduct of
Operations Performance
Improvement Initiatives
THE PUBLIC IS INVITED
Public comments accepted at various times during the day
atop a cluster of tree tops. Depu
ties say the limbs gave way and
the glider dropped to the ground,
landing on its top.
Murphy managed to extricate
himself and was transported to
Augusta with numerous abra
sions and contusions but no in
juries believed to be life threat
ening.
senger seat. Officers say Kelly
did not have the Glock in his
possession.
He is charged with posses
sion of a firearm on school
property and possession of a
firearm during the commission
of a crime.
was posted.
• Keisha Omikea Bonner, 33, of
Reynolds Street, Waynesboro, was
an'ested for aggravated stalking.
Friday, Nov. 6
• Leroy Ellison, 54, of Kingston
Drive, Waynesboro, was arrested
for sale of crack cocaine.
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Brown said neither EQIP nor
WHIP would have any major
changes from the way they were
administered last year.
EQIP funds conservation prac
tices based on locally identified
natural resource concerns, such as
energy, forestry, grazing, soil ero
sion, water conservation and wa
ter quality. Around 60 EQIP con
servation practices apply, such as
pasture and hay land planting, pro
tecting heavy use areas, waste stor
age facilities, teiracing, pest man
agement, tree planting, organic
crop assistance and wildlife habi
tat management. Qualifying prac
tices vary by county based on lo
cally identified natural resource
concerns.
WHIP prioritizes restoring na
tive fish and wildlife habitats, re
ducing the impact of invasive spe
cies on habitats and restoring or
developing habitats for important
or at-risk species. For more infor
mation on EQIP or WHIP, visit the
“programs” section of the NRCS
website, www.ga.m-cs.usda.gov.
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