Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 6D
November 25, 2009
^Reporter
The Public Record
DUI for Forsyth man in head on wreck
A Forsyth man has been
charged with DUI-drugs
after he allegedly took some
pills that someone gave him
at a night club, drove in the
wrong direction on Hwy. 41
north and hit a mini-van
head on.
Here’s what happened,
according to a sheriff’s
report: Cpl. Brown was dis
patched to a car accident on
Hwy. 41 north near
Piedmont Apartments
around 6:16 p.m. on
Wednesday, Nov. 11. Two
witnesses said they had been
travelling north on Hwy. 41
behind a burgundy mini-van
when a car, which was trav
elling south in the north
bound lane with the head
lights off, hit the mini-van
head on.
The suspect, Robert
Tanner, was taken to the
Medical Center for his
injuries and Brown found
two empty bottles of
Methadone and Oxycontin in
the pickup truck. Once at
the hospital, Tanner agreed
to provide police with a
blood sample and said a
woman at a night club had
handed him some pills and
told him to take them.
Tanner was charged with
DUI-drugs and driving on
the wrong side of the road.
Main Street family; Suspect saw camera too late
Fool me once, shame on you. Try
again, you go to jail.
That may be the refrain of a Main
Street family whose surveillance
video helped police arrest James
Gresham on Friday, Nov. 13. Police
had been looking for a suspect in a
rash of thefts in the city over the
past six months, most of them
involving GPS units and other elec
tronics stolen from at least 18
unlocked cars.
This summer, the thief had struck
the car of a Main Street family,
stealing two iPods and a GPS unit
out of the vehicle in their driveway.
But with a degree in criminal jus
tice, the mother of the home had
worked with a drug task force in
Florida and decided to do something
about the crime. So she bought a
surveillance system that included
four cameras off e-Bay for $300 and
set it up. The system included a
motion detector and the woman said
she checks the video every night.
The family has a young child and
asked that they not be identified.
When she looked at the video after
the night of Oct. 31, the woman dis
covered someone on tape trying to
get into her car, then looking at the
camera and blurting out an appar
ent expletive.
She called Forsyth police, who
looked at the video and soon identi
fied the suspect as James Gresham.
Gresham has at least six convictions
over the past 19 years and has been
imprisoned at least four different
times, according to court records. He
was most recently released from
Calhoun State Prison a year ago, on
Nov. 17, 2008, after serving about a
year. He also spent time in prison
time from 2006-07 for shoplifting
and violating the motor vehicle law,
in 2002 for aggravated battery, from
1999-2000 for entering an auto and
from 1991-92 for obstruction of an
officer and interference with govern
ment property.
The woman said she’s been
impressed with the Forsyth police
department and its help in the case.
^ ^ GRESHAM
Incidents
The Monroe County
Sheriff’s office reported
the following incidents
November 11-15:
Counterfeit bill
used for deer
head mount
At 10:03 a.m. on Nov. 13
a complainant said some
one had tried to use a
fake $10 bill at
Bucksnort Taxidermy. He
said the customer had
needed a deer head
mount and the suspect
had owed $300. The com
plainant said the man
had paid with $10 bills
and all but one had been
real. The counterfeit bill
was placed into evidence.
The complainant said he
had all of the suspect’s
information at his office.
The case was turned over
to investigators.
Man tries to
pick up car
from Mid-GA
Towing,
gets DUI
At 10:14 a.m. on Nov. 13
Deputy W. Jackson was
told that a man was pos
sibly drunk and being
unruly at Mid-GA
Towing. The complainant
said he wanted to get
some medication from his
car, which was at Mid GA
because he had gotten
into an accident the day
before. The man said the
car belonged to his
friend, who was still in
the hospital from wreck
ing the suspect’s car the
day before. There was a
strong odor of alcohol
coming from the man and
he said he’d had three or
four beers around 5 a.m.
The suspect tested posi
tive for alcohol consump
tion and there was a
white plastic bag on the
passenger seat that con
tained three Budweiser
cans. Two of the cans
were empty but one was
unopened and still cold.
The driver then said he
took methadone and
some other medications.
He gave police permis
sion to search the car.
The man failed sobriety
tests and five different
kinds of medications-
Oxycontin, Alprazolam,
Oxycodone, Carisoprodol
and Methadone-were
found in the suspect’s
front pockets. The man
was arrested and trans
ported to the Monroe
County Hospital, where
he gave a blood sample.
He was then transported
to the Monroe County
Jail and charged with
window tint violation,
open container and DUI-
drugs.
Dog attacks
man, horse
At 3:57 p.m. on Nov. 13
Sgt. Herndon was dis
patched to Towaliga Lake
Drive in reference
to a dog attack. The vic
tim said he was horse
back riding when a dog
broke lose from its chain
on Happy Lane. The com
plainant said the dog
began to attack the horse
and the dog bit the man
on his left leg. The horse
was injured on its right
rear quarter. The dog’s
owner was issued a cita
tion for a leash law viola
tion and the dog was
turned over to the animal
control officer.
Woman falls
victim to
Medicare scam
At 7:20 p.m. on Nov. 13
Sgt. Grindstaff was dis
patched to Blount Road
in reference to Medicare
fraud. The complainant
said she had received a
phone call from a man
claiming to be a Medicare
provider and he wanted
to verify her personal
information. The victim
gave the suspect her
name, date of birth,
social security number
and her checking account
number. She said she did
n’t become suspicious
until after she’d talked to
the man. She then called
the number that was on
her caller ID and it was a
recording that said the
number was affiliated
with a Medicare scam
and for the caller needed
to contact the police. The
victim was going to call
her bank in the morning.
Mobile home
burglarized
At 8:21 p.m. on Nov. 13
Sgt. Grindstaff was dis
patched to Vining Street
in reference to a burgla
ry. The complainant said
he was returning home
when he saw that his
front door was open and
his mobile home had
been burglarized. The
complainant said he’d left
his house around 2 p.m.
and his father, who lives
with him, had been out of
town for a couple of days.
An 18-inch RCA TV, a
black leather Craftsmen
socket set and a Dell
computer that included a
CD and DVD burner,
speakers, a keyboard,
DSL modem and an E-
Machine monitor were
missing.
Woman’s car
damaged by
husband’s
ex-girlfriend?
At 3 a.m. on Nov. 14
Deputy Miller was dis
patched to Ensign Road
in reference to property
damage. The complainant
said she’d heard a noise
outside at 3 a.m. She said
when she turned on her
porch light she saw a
person running away
from her car. She said the
person was dressed in all
black and that she
thought the suspect was
her husband’s ex-girl-
friend. The victim’s valve
stem on the rear passen
ger tire looked like it had
been cut. There were pos
sible cut marks but the
tire was still intact.
There was no other dam
age done to the car and
she was told she could
contact the magistrate
judge if she wanted to
prosecute.
DUI for man
wrecked in
ditch
At 3:56 p.m. on Nov. 14
Sgt. Herndon was dis
patched to Juliette Road
in reference to a car acci
dent. There was an F-150
in the ditch and the driv
er, who appeared to be
dazed, was standing
beside his car. The dri
ver’s speech was slurred
and he said he had no
idea how he’d ended up
in the ditch. The driver
said he hadn’t been
drinking or doing drugs.
The man’s wife said her
husband needed help and
is taking pain medication
for his neck. She said she
had been asking him to
get help for awhile. The
driver failed sobriety
tests and was arrested
and transported to the
Monroe County Hospital,
where he submitted a
blood test.
Victim: Woman
was casing her
Gose Rd. home
At 12:46 p.m. on Nov. 15
Deputy Leggett was dis
patched to Gose Road in
reference to a suspicious
person. The complainant
said that at 11:50 p.m.
she was in her house and
heard the doorbell ring.
She said by the time she
got to the front door the
person who rang the bell
had entered the house.
The complainant said the
Arrests
The following arrets were reported at the Monroe
County Jail Nov. 12-17. An arrest means a person has
been charged with a crime but the law considers them
innocent until proven guilty.
November 12
1:47 p.m. Kelvin Ray Pressley, 21, Jackson, statutory
rape
8:57 p.m. Patrick Dawane Patterson, 21, Forsyth,
robbery, battery, possession of marijuana
November 13
12:01 p.m. James Thomas Chapman III, 59, Forsyth,
DUI (second offense), open container
8:18 p.m. James Douglas Gresham, 49, Forsyth,
criminal attempt to commit, criminal
trespassing/family violence act
11:54 p.m. Andre Maurice Waddell, 24, Stone
Mountain, possession of marijuana
November 14
6 p.m. Timothy Lee Mercer, 45, Forsyth, DUI
November 15
1:33 a.m. Jeffrey Dennis, 44, Stone Mountain, speed
ing, reckless driving, DUI
November 16
12:35 a.m. Jeffrey Todd Ray, 31, Huntsville, AL, ille
gal parking, driving on a suspended license, no insur
ance card on person
9:29 a.m. Jeffery Alexander Tallaksen, 43, Forsyth,
maufacturing marijuana, possession of marijuana
4:36 p.m. John Daniel Stehle, 30, Macon, burglary
November 17
3:20 p.m. Randavious Singleton, 19, Forsyth, simple
battery, criminal damage to property in second degree
4:55 p.m. Carolyn Michelle Ponder, 39, Forsyth, dis
orderly conduct
10:16 p.m. Christopher Steven Powell, 17, Forsyth,
possession of marijuana with intent to distribute
woman appeared to be of
Asian descent and was
about 50 years old. When
the woman saw the com
plainant she said she was
looking for property for
sale and needed to use
the bathroom. She asked
the complainant if she
could use her bathroom
but the victim told her
she couldn’t and said she
needed to leave her prop
erty. The victim said the
woman seemed reluctant
to leave and kept looking
around the room as if she
was casing the house for
a burglary. The com
plainant said the woman
also hinted that she
knew the victim’s father
lived at the house, which
he doesn’t anymore. The
woman then got into a
silver Lexus and slowly
drove out of the driveway.
The complainant got the
tag number but when
Leggett ran it, the num
ber came back to a 1992
Cadillac Deville, which
was no longer on the car.
Leggett patrolled the
area for the car but
couldn’t find the suspect.
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