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Vol. 139, No. 49 - Waynesboro, Ga. 30830 Established in 1882 Wednesday, January 22, 2020 - $1.00
Suspect arrested in armed robbery
DIANA ROYAL
jdianaroyal@gmail.com
A store clerk in Sardis was robbed
at gunpoint on Monday night, and
less than 24 hours later the culprit
was behind bars.
According to police reports, the
suspect entered the Family Dollar on
Charles Perry Avenue around 8:30
p.m. dressed in all black and held
a gun up to the cashier and another
employee demanding money. Sardis
Police Chief Scotti Sanford said the
suspect shot at the cashier. “She was
struck by what we believe to be a
ricochet to the lower leg,” he said,
adding that he has spoken to her
since the incident. “She is okay other
than the emotional toll the incident
caused.” The other employee was
not injured.
Investigators from the Burke
County Sheriff’s Office, in
conjunction with Richmond County
deputies, arrested Jermaine Markese
Jackson, 21, at the 3200 block of
Barker Court in Augusta on Tuesday
following an extensive investigation
by BSCO and Sardis Police that
continued throughout the night.
Jackson was charged with felony
armed robbery, felony possession
of a firearm by a first offender
probationer, felony possession of
firearm during
the commission
of a crime, two
counts of felony
SEE
ROBBERY,
3
Jermaine Markese Jackson
Dream
The Impossible Dream
The annual MLK Commemorative Parade was
held Saturday as various groups, churches,
elected officials and community friends gath
ered to remember the life and mission of the
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Armed with the
theme “Dream the Impossible Dream,” partici
pants marched through downtown Waynesboro
in honor of a man who fought for equal rights
amongst all people, ultimately giving his life
for that dream. On Monday, the Sapphirettes
hosted Freedom School 2020 and Boggs Rural
Life Center opened its doors to share its Black
Youth Heritage Expo. The Burke County Black
Churches Benevolent Association and Burke
Black Improvement Association also co-hosted
its second annual MLK legacy banquet. See
page 2 for the story.
Papa’s Pizza
employee charged
DIANA ROYAL
jdianaroyal@gmail.com
A Papa’s Pizza employee has been
arrested for stealing money from the
business.
According to reports, officers from
the Waynesboro Police Department
were called to the business on Jan.
1. The store manager reported that
she’d come in to make a deposit
and noticed the bank deposit bag
was missing from its usual location.
Upon reviewing video footage, she
saw an unidentified person come
through the back door around 7 a.m.
and then observed the same person
removing what appeared to be the
bank deposit bag from the cabinet.
The manager says she then went to
the back door and saw it was not
locked and stated someone from
night shift must have left it open
when they closed the for the night.
She notified all employees who
worked the previous night to come
in so they could fill out a statement
form. She also told officers she
thought the suspect in the video
looked like a former employee she
had fired on Dec. 29 and that she
believed current employee Christina
Danielle Pye had purposely left the
door open.
WPD Investigator Mark Gatlin,
along with Matt Johnson of the
Burke County Sheriff’s Office,
obtained surveillance footage from
Aaron’s Rent To Own, and observed
a woman dressed in all black and
wearing a black coat walking behind
the loading dock toward the rear of
Papa’s. Ten minutes later, the same
woman was seen walking behind
Aaron’s loading dock in the opposite
Christina Danielle
Pye
direction. The woman, who appeared
to have removed the hood of the coat
from her head, resembled Pye, the
report said.
Gatlin interviewed Pye, and his
report shows she initially stated she
was not involved in the burglary and
had been given
a ride home
that night
by another
employee. She
recounted her
steps, saying
she’d left her
residence
only to go to
the store with
her child’s
grandfather to buy cigarettes,
diapers and fireworks and then to
her stepmother’s house. When Gatlin
told her he’d seen incriminating
video showing her involvement with
the burglary, she asked if she could
contact her lawyer. Gatlin’s report
states he told her that was her right
to do so at which time she changed
her mind and said she wanted to
talk to him. She waved her right to
remain silent and went on to state
that she and the former employee had
planned the whole thing two weeks
prior. On the night of the burglary,
Pye said the former employee drove
her to A&W One Stop, gave her a
black coat, bandana, plastic gloves
and a pair of glasses. After Pye stole
the money, which totaled $1,048.79,
she stated that she and the former
employee split the cash and went
their separate ways.
She was arrested on burglary
charges.
County lifts ban on new solar farms
BEN PALMER
Burke County Commissioners
Tuesday gave the first of two
readings to an ordinance amending
the regulation of solar energy farms.
Commissioners also voted to
end the current moratorium on
construction of new solar farms as of
Feb. 11 when the zoning amendment
will likely receive second and final
reading.
The commission placed the
moratorium on new solar farms
several months ago to give county
building officials time to develop
amended regulations in the face of
increasing interest in solar energy
projects in the area.
The amendments generally tighten
buffer and fencing restrictions on
solar arrays.
County Attorney Adam Nelson
said Bird Dog Solar, which has
proposed building a solar farm on
property north of Waynesboro, has
been involved in the amendment
process and is “prepared to be in
line” with the new regulations taking
effect Feb. 11.
Two representatives of Bird
Dog Solar attended Tuesday’s
commission meeting.
Bird Dog Solar’s plans for
constructing a solar array on leased
undeveloped land just north of
Waynesboro became public last
summer when a rezoning request
was approved by city council for
construction of a Georgia Power
utility substation.
As envisioned, the substation
would receive all of the electric
power generated by the Bird Dog
Solar array.
In other matters Tuesday,
commissioners approved rezoning of
a 10-acre tract known as Shell Bluff
Country Store from Agricultural
to Crossroads Commercial. The
property is situated at the intersection
of Highway 80 East and River
Road. The rezoning, requested
by Hirani Investments LLC, was
recommended for approved by the
Planning Commission.
The county commissioners also:
• Agreed to amend the budget
to move funds from a safety grant
awarded to the Sheriff’s Department
to provide salaries and benefits for
four officers. The grant was initially
approved to pay for overtime,
communications, advertising and
equipment.
• Approved the filling of 15
vacancies in the Road Department
previously approved by the
commissioners.
• Approved an agreement with
Parker Engineering for provision of
engineering services for the county.
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