Newspaper Page Text
The True Citizen, Wednesday, October 5, 2011 — Page 9
WPD gets grant, new officer
By Elizabeth Billips
lizbillips@yahoo.com
Waynesboro will have an ex
tra police officer on the force,
thanks to a grant from the U.S.
Department of Justice.
The $122,118 in federal
funds will keep a new fulltime
patrolman on staff at the
Waynesboro Police Depart
ment (WPD) for three full years
without costing local agencies
a penny.
The only financial commit
ment city officials must make
is to pick up the tab for salary
and benefits for 12 months af
ter the grant has ended.
For Police Chief Alfonzo
Williams, the good news
couldn’t have come soon
enough.
Increasing police presence
has been at the top of his prior
ity list since taking over the de
partment in February, and one
of his first sweeping moves was
to restructure the responsibili
ties of WPD’s 23 sworn offic
ers to put six to 10 on road pa
trol at any given time, as op
posed to the previous three to
five.
And one more officer, he
said, can make a world of dif
ference in a small town like
Waynesboro.
Besides routine patrols. Chief
Williams wants the new officer
to focus on decreasing the num
ber of family violence incidents
and cracking down on drug ac
tivity in neighborhoods and
government housing areas.
“The person we select will
have an emphasis on commu
nity policing and problem solv
ing,” he said.
The police department has
already begun taking applica
tions and expects to fill the po
sition in the next few weeks.
From the Blotter
Cop out
The flashing light made for a bad night.
Two Girard residents ended up in the slammer after pretend
ing to be cops Friday night.
Alexander Overstreet, 18, and Evelyn Vickery, 20, were ar
rested after a motorist reported that someone in a Dodge
Durango was flashing emergency blue lights from the dash
and attempting to pull him over.
The Durango’s driver followed him for quite some time, the
report said, but finally gave up and passed, giving the motorist
the opportunity to jot down the tag number and call the real
cops.
The Durango was stopped shortly thereafter, and both of
fenders admitted to flashing an LED flashlight at cars along
Highway 24. They were charged with impersonating an of
ficer with a motor vehicle.
Cut to the chase
A suspect might have owned up, but he didn’t give up.
Last week, Burke County deputies were headed toward an
activated burglar alarm in Gough when they saw a man on a
motorcycle leaving the property in question. When officers
asked 25-year-old Wesley Carnes to cut off the engine, he said
he couldn’t. When asked why, he answered because the
Kawasaki was stolen. That’s when he took off and led deputies
on a very brief chase that ended in handcuffs. When the Gough
property owner arrived at the scene, he confirmed that Carnes
had stolen gas from his air compressor. According to the re
port, the motorcycle had been stolen from Richmond County.
Carnes, who lives in Waynesboro, is charged with theft by
receiving stolen property, theft by taking, criminal trespass,
fleeing or attempting to elude a law enforcement officer, no
driver’s license (wrong class), no proof of insurance and op
eration of a vehicle without a license plate.
The unit
A Saturday morning squabble led to the near-injury of a
Waynesboro toddler.
According to a report filed at the police department, the
boy’s mother got into a fight with two other women several
hours earlier. The mother thought it was over, but the women
came to the door of her Magnolia Acres apartment and begin
to argue again. This time, the toddler’s uncle intervened and
the women left ... but didn’t leave well enough alone. They
allegedly pushed the air conditioning unit back through the
open window, causing it to fall on the 2-year-old who was
asleep on the sofa below. According to the report, the child
was not injured and the mother was advised on how to take
out a warrant.
Former Bear apologizes
to Georgia Bulldogs
From Staff Reports
A former Burke County football standout has apologized
to his University of Georgia teammates for making a bad
decision that affected his record and possibly their odds
against Tennessee this weekend.
Cornelius Washington, 22, was arrested early Sunday
morning in Commerce and charged with DUI and speed
ing. The incident occurred just hours after Washington
turned in an outstanding performance, including 2 sacks,
in the Bulldogs’ 24-10 win over Mississippi State.
Georgia coach Mark Richt has suspended Washington
for the next two games, which will be played on the road
against Tennessee and Vanderbilt.
Teammates have since commented they believe Wash
ington is remorseful for his actions and that he will work to
come back strong.
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Tips still needed in fatal hit and run
By Elizabeth Billips
lizbillips@yahoo.com
State troopers arc no closer to
solving a fatal hit and run.
They’d expected someone
would come forward with infor
mation to help them determine
who hit a pedestrian on Stoney
Bluff Road and left him for dead.
But so far, nothing has panned
out.
“It really concerns me that it’s
gotten so far past and no one has
come forward,” said Sgt. Ben
Forehand of the Georgia State
Patrol. “Somebody had to see
something.”
He’s been searching for wit
nesses since the early morning
of Sept. 24 when a Plant Vogtle
commuter found the crushed
body of Charles Anthony Carter,
42, on the centerline.
The victim, a black man wear
ing all-black clothes, had last
been seen at a nearby club
around 2 a.m.
Troopers believe he was walk
ing home when a driver struck
him and kept going.
Within days they investigated
two reports they hoped would
answer their questions - but nei
ther was conclusive.
Recent rumors that officers
arrested a driver caught hammer
ing out a dent in his fender are
not true, Sgt. Forehand said.
He did, however, interview a
Stoney Bluff Road resident who
awoke to a loud banging sound
just before Carter’s body was
found.
“(The resident) said it sounded
like someone hitting or kicking
metal,” Sgt. Forehand said, not
ing the house was less than two
miles from the accident scene.
“But he didn’t go outside and
investigate... he never saw where
it was coming from.”
During that same time period,
troopers got another report from
a driver who saw another motor
ist swerve around something in
the middle of Stoney Bluff Road,
and he was able to describe the
vehicle "to a T.”
Troopers said the car was
tracked back to a young driver
who lives near the accident
scene. While they believe he
may have unknowingly run over
the body, they do not think he
was involved in the original ac
cident.
“If somebody hit (Carter)
while he was standing upright
there’s going to be some signifi
cant damage... and we just didn’t
see that on this car,” Sgt. Fore
hand said. “There was damage
on the fender, but it was old dam
age ... it didn’t match up.”
While the victim’s blood alco
hol content was not available at
press time, troopers have not
ruled out the possibility that
Carter may have already been
lying in the road when he was
hit.
KNOW SOMETHING?
Call the Sylvania GSP post
at 912-564-2018 or the Burke
County Sheriff’s Office at 706-
554-2133.
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Waynesboro Police
The following arrests and ci
tations were reported by the
Waynesboro Police Department
for the past week:
Tuesday, Sept. 27
• Brian Keith Gresham, 29, of
Washington Drive,
Waynesboro, was cited for al
lowing a dog to run loose/no
tag.
Thursday, Sept. 29
• A 16-year-old Waynesboro
boy was arrested for willfully
obstructing or hindering a law
enforcement officer and theft by
receiving stolen property
(Moped).
• A 15-year-old Waynesboro
boy was arrested for willfully
obstructing or hindering a law
enforcement officer.
Friday, Sept. 30
• Charlinthia Gillette-Griffm,
40, of East Seventh Street,
Waynesboro, was arrested for
battery.
• Phillip Tucker, 41, of Pon-
derosa Road, Waynesboro, was
arrested for DUI (multiple sub
stances), driving with a sus
pended or revoked license, pos
session of marijuana (less than
one ounce) and failure to main
tain lane.
Sunday, Oct. 2
• Luke Bunyon Jr., 33, of
Magnolia Acres, Waynesboro,
was arrested for simple battery
(Family Violence Act).
Burke County Sheriff
The following arrests and ci
tations were reported by the
Burke County Sheriff’s Office
for the past week:
Friday, Sept. 30
• James David Sullivan, 21,
of Aberdeen Drive,
Waynesboro, was arrested for
theft by taking (metal pipe).
• Marcus Jermaine Mutch, 34,
of Bargeron Avenue, Sardis,
was arrested by the Sardis Po
lice Department for driving with
a suspended or revoked license,
driving with improper license
(wrong class), no proof of in
surance (motorcycle), operation
of an unregistered vehicle, driv
ing a motorcycle without a hel
met, driving a motorcycle with
out eye protection and two
counts of probation violation.
Saturday, Oct. 1
• Bobby Lee Beason, 34, of
Aberdeen Road, Waynesboro,
was arrested for theft by taking
(metal pipe).
• Drew Nolan Cline, 18, of
Hancock Landing Road,
Waynesboro, was arrested for
three counts of injuring, tearing
down, destruction of mailboxes/
defacing of mail.
• Evan Robert Holder, 18, of
Springhill Church Road, Blythe,
was arrested for three counts of
injuring, tearing down, destruc
tion of mailboxes/defacing of
mail.
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