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Vol. 142, No. 40 - Waynesboro, Ga. 30830 Established in 1882 Wednesday, November 23, 2022 - $1.00
Five-hour standoff ends in gunfire
SHELLIE SMITLEY
thetruecitizen.shellie@gmail.com
“This underscores the need for
a training center,” said Sheriff Al-
fonzo Williams in a press conference
Thursday, Nov. 17. “This is the sec
ond such scary incident in the past
few weeks and I can’t stress enough
that I need what I ask for.”
The Burke County Sheriff’s Office
called in its Special Response Team
(SRT) Wednesday evening after
33-year-old Kevin McCardell met
deputies at his residence on South-
side Drive holding two toddlers
and brandishing a pistol. Initially,
he bred a shot at BCSO deputies.
After a 5-hour standoff in which he
fired two more shots at deputies, an
SRT team member fired his weapon,
wounding McCardell in the leg. He
was taken into custody after he was
treated on the scene for the wound
and transported to Augusta Univer
sity Medical Center.
The incident began as a domestic
violence incident in which McCa
rdell physically assaulted his wife
Rebecca Crews, including hitting
her in the face with a soiled diaper.
Fearing for her life, she escaped from
the residence, which is not far from
the BCSO, and hid in the woods
for hours before a family member
picked her up.
McCardell was already wanted on
several violent felony offense war
rants in Baltimore, Md., stemming
from a June 2022 incident in which
he assaulted his wife. The warrants
are for assault and attempted murder.
He was on parole.
McCardell faces numerous felony
charges in Burke County including
false imprisonment, multiple counts
of possession of a firearm during the
commission of a crime, and multiple
counts of aggravated assault on a
police officer.
Sheriff Williams asked the Co
lumbia County Sheriff’s Office’s
Force Investigation Team to conduct
the officer-involved shooting inves
tigation.
A visibly shaken Williams de
scribed Mc
Cardell as a
mean, sick
man who tried
to use his chil
dren as human
shields.
“I know
that for a cou
ple of those
SEE
STANDOFF,
7A
Kevin McCardell
Local man pleads
guilty to child porn
SHELLIE SMITLEY
thetruecitizen.shellie@gmail.com
A Burke County man faces de
cades in prison after admitting he
coerced a child he met while playing
an online video game to produce
sexually explicit images.
Twenty-year-old Keyshawn Omar
Cooper of Waynesboro is awaiting
sentencing after pleading guilty in
federal court for producing child
pornography. The plea agreement
subjects Cooper to a statutory pen
alty of up to 30 years in prison,
along with payment of restitution
and substantial financial penalties,
followed by a minimum of five years
of supervised release and registration
as a sex offender after completion of
his prison term. There is no parole in
the federal system.
“Keyshawn Cooper’s crime rep
resents the nightmare scenario for
parents whose children connect over
the internet with predatory strang
ers,” said David H. Estes, U.S. At
torney for the Southern District of
Georgia. “Thanks to the vigilance
of one of those parents and diligent
law enforcement partners, Cooper
will be held accountable for his rep
rehensible activities.”
Cooper admitted that around May
9, 2021, he communicated via an
internet application with a child in
Missouri, and persuaded the vic
tim to engage in sexually explicit
conduct for the purpose of creating
visual depictions that the victim then
sent to Cooper. The child’s mother
discovered the activity and reported
it to police in Cape Girardeau, Mo.,
who enlisted the assistance of the
FBI in identifying and locating
Cooper.
“The FBI has unfortunately seen
an increasing amount of sextortion
crimes across the country over the
past year and we want this plea to
send a message that we make crimes
targeting children a top priority”,
said Keri Farley, Special Agent in
Charge of FBI Atlanta. “Let this be
a reminder to parents and caregivers,
people can pretend to be anyone on
line , and you need to remain vigilant
with monitoring your child’s online
activity and educating them about
the risks of communicating with
strangers.”
Anyone with information on
suspected child sexual exploitation
can contact the National Center for
Missing and Exploited Children
at 800-843-5678, or https://report.
cybertip.org/.
May Your Blessings Be Multiplied This Year
and Throughout All Your Life,
Happy Thanksgiving
Tinley takes oath as Waynesboro Mayor
SHELLIE SMITLEY
thetruecitizen.shellie@gmail.com
Newly elected Mayor, Bill Tinley,
the youngest man ever elected to
Waynesboro’s City Council and the
oldest man to fill the role of mayor,
rolled up his sleeves and dove into
the city’s business just minutes after
he was sworn in November 21.
“If you have kept up with things
then you know they have been chal
lenging,” Tinley said and referenced
the conviction of former Mayor Greg
Carswell and the COVID-19 pan
demic. “We’ve come through some
difficult and trying circumstances,
but there are better days ahead and
we will continue to strive to make
our community a better place to live,
work and play.”
After thanking Vice-Mayor James
“Chick” Jones, council members and
city employees for their service, he
jumped into the agenda that included
a stern warning for liquor store own
ers to abide by the city’s recently
adopted alcohol ordinance.
Tinley pointed out that during the
referendum to approve the sale of
distilled spirits, 18% of the regis
tered voters decided to approve it,
amounting to 395 people. Eighty-
two percent of eligible voters did not
cast their ballots, he said.
“We have the stores in
town and there is a lot of
discussion that we don’t TINLEY,
need four but that’s not 7A
Vice Mayor James “Chick” Jones administered the oath of office to newly
elected Mayor Bill Tinley during the Waynesboro City Council meeting
November 21.