Newspaper Page Text
The True Citizen, Wednesday, January 19, 2022 — Page 7
^FOR THE RECORD
Incidences of theft increasing
SHELLIE SMITLEY
thetruecitizen.shellie@gmail.com
WPD Corporal Gary Jenkins
says Waynesboro experienced
a significant spike in thefts in
2021.
“The situation is contained
within the city,” he said. “Some
of the trends lead from Waynes
boro to Richmond County.”
Often, stolen Burke County
cars are located in Richmond
County after they have been
driven for a while and then
abandoned. When the owner
is sleeping as the car is stolen,
it is not uncommon for the
auto to be recovered before
the owner realizes it is gone.
Waynesboro residents reported
12 vehicle thefts the last quar
ter of 2021, doubling the num
ber of automobiles that were
stolen during the same months
of the previous year.
‘That’s a lot for this small
community,” he said. “It starts
here and ends in Richmond
County.”
The Waynesboro Police De
partment is investigating a
“particular type of group” who
may be committing the crimes,
but is not ready to disclose
any further information. The
Waynesboro individuals may
also be responsible for multiple
petty thefts.
House burglaries are re
maining consistent. The WPD
responded to 15 during the last
three months of 2021. How
ever, incidences of stolen prop
erty, like bicycles and items
taken from inside unlocked
vehicles are shooting through
the roof, Jenkins said. The
WPD received 63 complaints
October through December of
2021. Bicycles are difficult to
recover since they are often
altered in appearance.Items
like guns and money are stolen
from unlocked vehicles.
Fingerprinting does offer
some success in identifying the
culprits who take what doesn’t
belong to them, however, it is
not always helpful. Finger
prints only assist in identifying
someone if there is a record of
their prints. Also, depending
on the number of people who
have rightfully had access to
the vehicle, the fingerprinting
process may be less reliable.
“What we usually rely on is
help from neighbors,” Jenkins
said. “A lot of the crimes that
we’ve solved have resulted
from good information from
neighbors.”
Jenkins said it’s important
to practice simple preventa
tive measures that will deter
thieves. The most important
practice is locking car doors.
“Most of the car thefts that
we have had are where people
have left their keys in the car,”
he said and pointed out that
owners of newer vehicles that
contain push-to-start devices
tend to leave their key fobs
inside the cars. The WPD
has seen at least three cases
recently. “No one is actually
hot-wiring vehicles anymore;
they are using the key to take
the car.”
Additionally, Jenkins recom
mends securing items that are
too big to bring into the house,
like bicycles and golf carts.
Installing motion activated
lighting also works as a deter
rent. Thieves tend to shy away
from homes supplied with ring
video doorbells.
House burglaries typically
take place during the day when
the thieves know no one is
likely to be home. Thieves look
for doors with wooden frames
that open inward, easing the
burden of kicking them open.
Windows left open a crack
make it simpler to gain access.
PVC pipe is a simple way to
prevent a window from open
ing. Security door bars make it
far more difficult for thieves to
gain entry.
From January 1, 2021
through December 31, 2021,
excluding vehicles, Waynes
boro residents reported
$108,000 worth of items sto
len, compared to $62,000 dur
ing the preceding 12 months,
Jenkins said.
The WPD has altered its
patrolling system, to focus
more on neighborhoods and
property thefts.
“You will see more cars
on patrol now throughout the
neighborhoods because that’s
where we’ve seen the spike,”
Jenkins said.
BURKE COUNTY JAIL BOOKINGS
JAN 10-16
Thomas Tylon
Baker, 29
Hines St., Augusta
BCSO, Jan. 15
Conditional transfer;
possession of a
firearm by a con
victed felon; seatbelt;
driving while license
suepended or
revoked
Jockelle Laymoine
Gaines, 22
Barrett Mill Rd.,
Waynesboro
BCSO, Jan. 14
Probation viola
tion - felony (simple
battery, obstruction
of taw enforcement
officer); child support
lockup order
Coleman Alec
Gay, 22
Farmers Bridge Rd.,
Keysvi/le
BCSO, Jan. 10
Probation viola
tion - felony (sexual
battery)
Jamey Letroy
Harden, 40
Pine St., Warrens-
ville, S.C.
BCSO, Jan. 12
Bench warrant-
misdemeanor
Antuawn Khadafy
Hobbs, 38
Bennock Mill Pd.,
Augusta
BCSO, Jan. 12
Willful obstruction
of law enforcement
officers
Jamerikee Amir
Lewis, 23
Washington Dr.,
Waynesboro
BCSO, Jan. 14
Simple battery -
family violence
Randy Howard
Carr, 32
Leonard Cir.,
Waynesboro
BCSO, Jan. 14
Tail lights required;
driving while license
suspended or
revoked - misde
meanor; posses
sion of firearm by
a convicted felon;
possession of fire
arm during commis
sion of or attempt
to commit certain
felonies; marijuana -
purchase, posses
sion, manufacture,
distribution or sale
(felony); safekeeping
for Dept, of Commu
nity Supervision
James Antonae
Jackson, 40
Cardington Ave.,
Piedmont, SC
BCSO, Jan. 16
DU I - driving under
the influence of alco
hol - concentration
is 0.08g - 3 hours
or more; failure
to maintain lane;
holding/supporting
wireless telecom
munications device;
possession ofmeth-
amphetamine
Takhia Nicole
Whitfield, 17
Old Waynesboro
Rd., Waynesboro
WPD, Jan. 12
Theft by taking
- motor vehicle,
felony; battery
AGENCIES
BCSO: Burke County Sheriff’s Office;
WPD: Waynesboro Police Department;
GSP: Georgia State Patrol;
MPD: Midville Police Department;
SPD: Sardis Police Department;
DOC: Department of Corrections
DNR: Departmentof Natural Resources
DISCLAIMER NOTICE: ALL ARE PRESUMED INNOCENT
UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY IN A COURT OF LAW
1022 N. Liberty St., Waynesboro - 706-551-0876
BURKE EMA REPORT
The Burke County Emergency Management Agency
responded to 128 patients’ calls during the week ending
Jan. 16. Of those, 93 resulted in transports, including 34
to Augusta hospitals and one to another out of county
hospital. Thirty eight of the transports were determined
to be emergencies and 55 were non-emergent.
The agency also answered 15 fire calls during the week.
They included two authorized controlled burns, one hre/
smoke alarm, one gas leak, one power line down, two
rescues, four downed tree removals, three public service
calls and one unspecified call.
Human remains
identified in 2019 case
SHELLIE SMITLEY
thetruecitizen.shellie@gmail.com
Human remains located and
recovered from Briar Creek
within the 4700 block of Story
Mill Road in August of 2019,
have been positively identified
as Tyrone Hughes of Augusta.
Thirty six year-old Hughes
was last seen December 9,
2018 and reported missing to
the Richmond County Sheriff’s
Department January 4, 2019.
The Center of Human Iden
tification notified the Burke
County Sheriff’s Department of
a DNA match last week.
According to the 2019 inci
dent report, two BCSO officers
met with Eric Henderson and
Zane Belowe on August 11,
2019 at approximately 1:30
p.m. The two men said that
while fishing the creek, they
located what appeared to be a
human skull about 166 yards
east of the bridge. The officers
located the skull and several
other bones in the general area.
Investigators from both The
BCSO and the RCSO are work
ing the case as a homicide and
Remains found in Brier Creek
have been identified as Tyrone
Hughes of Augusta.
details are limited at this time.
Anyone with information re
lated to this case is asked to
call the Burke County Sheriff’s
Office Criminal Investigation
Division at 706-554-6633 or
706-554-2133. Callers can
remain anonymous. This case
is still in the initial stage of
the investigation and more
information will be released
when available, a press release
stated.
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