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Vol. 141, No. 5 - Waynesboro, Ga. 30830
Established in 1882
Wednesday, March 24, 2021 - $1.00
19-year-old wanted
DIANA ROYAL
jdianaroyal@gmail.com
Investigators are seeking
the public’s help in locating
a man they believe is behind
the murder of 33-year-old
Brian Carswell.
Tommie Raquest Tennyson,
19, is wanted by the Burke
County Sheriff’s Office and
is considered to be armed and
dangerous.
Carswell’s body was found
just after 5:30 on the morning
of Jan. 6 when deputies
responded to Spread Oak
Road near Hannah Lane after
a call came in that someone
may have been struck by a
vehicle. Law enforcement
initially stated they were
investigating the case as a
suspicious death, but within
a few hours confirmed it
was a homicide. At the time,
authorities said Carswell
died from a gunshot wound.
Officials have still not
released where on the body he
was shot or how many times.
Anyone with information
about Tennyson or his possible
whereabouts is asked to call
investigators at
706.554.6633 or SEE
706.554.2133. MURDER,
Callers may 7
in Carswell murder
Tommie Raquest Tennyson
Brian Carswell
paints & myebtxt bmia «r
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Two local men plead
guilty in illegal
gambling operation
From Staff Reports
Pleas include prison time,
$650,000 in forfeiture and
restitution
Two Waynesboro men and
a Greenwood, S .C., man have
admitted to federal charges
for participating in a longtime
illegal gambling operation.
Grady Brandon Mobley,
44, and Daniel Cates, 50,
both of Waynesboro, and
Joel Rees, 59, of Greenwood,
S.C, entered guilty pleas to
“Informations charging each
of them with Prohibition of an
Illegal Gambling Business,”
said David H. Estes, Acting
U.S. Attorney for the Southern
District of Georgia. Mobley
also pled guilty to fraud and
false Statements.
In accordance with the
plea agreement, Mobley
faces a negotiated sentence
of 12 months plus one day
in federal prison, and has
forfeited $340,084. He also
agrees to pay $207,716 in
restitution to the IRS and
Georgia Department of
Revenue, and a fine of $2,000.
Cates agreed to the forfeiture
of $100,000.
After plea hearings before
U.S. District Court Chief
Judge J. Randal Hall, each of
the three men were released
on bond pending sentencing
and formal acceptance of the
plea agreement at a later date.
“These men participated in
an illegal gambling operation
for at least a decade in the
Waynesboro area, eventually
funneling business through
a foreign-based website,”
said Acting U.S. Attorney
Estes. “But even that offshore
venture wouldn’t keep them
out of the reach of diligent law
enforcement professionals
who turned the tables on this
illicit operation.”
As described in court
documents and testimony,
Mobley operated as a “bookie”
for an illegal sports betting
operation for at least the past
10 years in Burke County,
at first collecting bets and
paying out winnings himself,
and later through a sports
betting website operated from
Costa Rica.
In 2015, Mobley merged his
operation and began splitting
his profits with a smaller
gambling ring operated by
Jones. From 2015 to 2017,
Mobley cashed bettor’s
checks totaling approximately
$220,000 at his parent’s check
cashing business which
operated out of the Mobley
Package Shop in Girard, Ga.
To help conceal the growing
amount of cash involved in the
transactions, Mobley enlisted
the assistance of Cates, who
admitted that he funneled
approximately $250,000 in
gambling proceeds through
his Waynesboro tire store,
Cates Firestone,
in return for SEE
money and favors GUILTY,
from Mobley. 7
COVID focus here shifts away from testing
SHELLIE SMITLEY
thetruecitizen.shellie@gmail.com
The Burke County Health
Department has shifted
its focus from testing and
mitigation to vaccination
efforts as the number of
COVID cases decreases.
The Burke County
Chamber partnered with
the health department to
provide updated COVID-19
numbers and stages of the
local vaccination process,
during a zoom conference call
March 18. During the update,
County Nurse Manager Gina
Richardson talked about the
shift.
“In the beginning we were
very very frustrated with
testing because quite honestly
we felt like we were just
spinning our wheels with
mass testing, data collection
and contact tracing,” said.
“It just didn’t feel like what
we were doing was really
effective.”
Richardson expressed
optimism for the decrease
in cases attributed to local
vaccination efforts. Burke
County reported 58 cases from
March 1 through Marchl8.
“There are 13 counties
that make up District 6,”
Richardson said. “As of
yesterday, in all 13 counties
there were just 45 cases.”
Overall, Burke County
has reported 2,308 positive
cases and 55 deaths since
testing began April 2020.
The health department began
the vaccination process in
December, using the Pfizer
vaccine. It required storage in
Augusta. Now, the Moderna
vaccine is administered in the
county, eliminating the need
for extremely cold storage.
The Department of Public
Health no longer offers mass
testing services. Richardson
said local residents desiring
to be tested should visit local
pharmacies or physician’s
offices.
“We have totally moved
away from mitigation efforts
and we are totally vaccine
driven,” she said.
Vaccine coordinator
Barbara Hammett said as
of March 18 the Burke
County Health Department
has administered 3,885
vaccinations. Throughout the
county, including physicians’
offices and nursing homes,
medical professionals have
administered 5,000 vaccines.
Throughout the district the
number of administered
vaccines is nearly 53,000.
The Burke County Health
Department has the capacity
to give around 450 vaccines
a week on Wednesdays.
The vaccine drive-thru will
continue to run from 8 a.m.
to 1 p.m. through the month
of March. Beginning in April,
the vaccine clinic will be
in the Health Department’s
office 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
The State of Georgia has
not moved to Phase IB of its
vaccination distribution plan.
It is currently in Phase 1A
+. As of March 8, g^
the plan included
COVID
vaccine eligibility ’
of educators, 8
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