Newspaper Page Text
April 26, 2023
Page 5D
^Reporter
Second convenience store on
Rumble Road clears 1st hurdle
By Will Davis
publisher@mymcr.net
It appears the Rumble
Road exit on 1-75 will be get
ting a second convenience
store soon.
Monroe County’s zoning
board voted 3-0 on Monday,
April 24 to recommend that
commissioners approve a
conditional use permit for
a new store. Sonny Singh
of Five Rivers Investments
told zoning board mem
bers he plans to build the
3,000-square-foot store with
gas pumps on the southwest
corner of the interchange,
where a parking lot already
exist. He said he plans to
build a store with a stucco
front and to use stone in the
construction.
He said he would have 31 -
32 parking spaces.
Singh said it will look like
a Valero store but he cannot
disclose what tenant will
occupy the building.
Zoning board member
Jim Rollins recused himself
from the vote for unspeci
fied reasons.
Monroe County commis
sioners are expected to con
sider final approval of the
project at their next meeting
at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, May 2.
Macon woman continues high-speed chase after tire shot
By Steve Reece
steve.reece@gmail.com
Even after one of the tires
of her 2019 Jeep Renegade
was flattened by a deputy’s
bullet, a 32-year-old Macon
woman tried to escape
deputies in a high-speed
interstate chase on April 13.
According to the incident
report, deputy Cody Maples
received a report of the Jeep
in the ditch near mile mark
er 195 on the southbound
side.
Maples parked behind
the vehicle and activated his
emergency lights. The Jeep
was running with the driv
er’s side window partially
down despite rainfall. The
COLEMAN
deputy could smell alcohol
and burnt marijuana as
he approached and found
the driver, Angelika Marie
Coleman, passed out in the
driver’s seat. Her head was
on her chest, and she did
not appear to be breathing.
Coleman’s eyes were par
tially opened but appeared
rolled into her head. Maples
also noticed an open Bud
Light can in the center
console.
After tapping on the
window and announcing
his presence, Maples got no
response from Coleman. He
began to shout and shake
the Jeep, but still no move
ment. After the deputy con
tinued the racket for several
moments, Coleman finally
moved her head slightly.
Maples returned to his
patrol car to retrieve gloves
and other medical supplies
when, suddenly, the Jeep’s
rear lights indicated the
vehicle had been placed into
drive. Coleman then began
driving slowly forward into
the ditch. Maples got into
his car and maneuvered into
her path. He then exited
giving Coleman loud verbal
commands to “stop” and
“exit the vehicle”.
Coleman drove around
Maples’ car looking through
the rear window at him. She
continued traveling slowly
and Maples withdrew his
firearm and fired one round
into the Jeep’s back left tire.
Coleman then fled south
bound on the interstate.
Maples quickly returned
to his patrol car and began
chasing the Jeep. After
around one mile and reach
ing speeds close to 80 miles
per hour with a flattened
tire, Coleman pulled to the
right shoulder and contin
ued traveling at a slow rate
of speed.
Deputy Sammons arrived,
and with his help, Maples
was able to block Coleman
and brought the Jeep to a
complete stop. The depu
ties removed her from the
vehicle and Maples could
smell alcohol on her breath.
She was immediately hand
cuffed.
She told deputies she didn’t
know what was going on
and that she thought Maples
had stopped to help another
vehicle. There were no other
vehicles nearby. She said
she had only one drink and
stopped on the side of the
road to sleep. She added she
was just trying to make it
home.
Once at the jail, Coleman
told deputies that she was
coming back from a club
called “VBS”. She said that
she had two alcoholic drinks
and left. She then stopped
at Waffle House and later
dropped her friends off and
tried to make it home,
before stopping on the
shoulder of the road to sleep.
She said that she had slept
for approximately 30-145
minutes.
She registered high from
two breath samples and was
turned over to the jail staff
and cited for fleeing, DUI
and open container.
Wanted Mich, man who tried to run over
Monroe deputy caught for same crime in ATL
A 29-year-old Michigan
man who escaped Monroe
County deputies
in October after
nearly running
one of them over
has finally been
captured after
trying the same
thing there. He
was secured
into the Monroe
County Jail on
April 11 after a
hold was placed
on him for charges
of an incident that occurred
on Oct. 25 including fleeing
and aggravated assault on a
police officer.
According to the incident
report, Sgt.
Kevin Wil
liams saw a
2022 Chrysler
Pacifica fail
to maintain
lane on 1-75 S
and initiated
a traffic stop
near North
Lee Street. The
driver, Leroy
Monroe Walker
of Benton Har
bor, Mich., came to a stop at
the end of the exit ramp.
Williams noticed that
Walker was staring at him
through black glasses as he
approached and when he
reached the back end of the
van, Walker punched the gas
and sped off, turning right
on Collier Road. Williams
jumped back into his patrol
unit and gave pursuit down
Collier Road as Walker was
hitting speeds over 100 mph.
Walker passed several vehi
cles in a no-passing zone as
he continued towards Smith
Road, not stopping at the
sign as he turned right.
Williams continued the
chase on Smith Road at
around 90 mph until Walker
made a quick turn onto
Mandy Lane trying to lose
the deputy. When Williams
pulled onto Mandy Lane, he
saw the Chrysler had turned
around and was coming
right at him. He tried to
position his patrol unit to
stop the pursuit, but Walker
accelerated his car toward
the sergeant’s car. At the last
second, Walker swerved
toward the woods, hitting
a trashcan and narrowly
missing Williams.
By the time Williams was
able to turn around and get
to the intersection of Mandy
Lane and Smith Road,
Walker had vanished. The
sergeant knew that he had
turned left onto Smith due
to the tire marks left in the
gravel. Other units joined in
the search.
Dispatch notified Lamar
County of the pursuit and
a short time later, Lamar
County deputies found
Walker’s van in a vacant
lot under a shed, backed in
and unoccupied. Williams
deployed his K-9 to track the
suspect but was unsuccessful
in finding him.
Deputies found a tablet as
well as a dry-cleaning receipt
in the vehicle with Leroy
Walker’s name on it. The
VIN number revealed the
Chrysler had been stolen out
ofTexas.
Walker was charged
in Monroe County with
aggravated assault against
a police officer, fleeing (2
charges), receiving stolen
property, driver to exercise
due care, failure to stop at a
stop sign, aggressive driving,
reckless driving, passing in
a no-passing zone, speeding
(2 charges) and failure to
maintain lane.
WALKER
Monroe deputies capture fugitives trying to
toss football of phones, drugs into women’s prison
Monroe County deputies
on Monday captured two
Austell men fleeing Bleckley
County deputies
after they alleged
ly were caught
plotting to throw a
football full of cell
phones and drugs
to inmates at a
women’s prison in
Hawkinsville. T . „. F
According to the
incident report,
Cpl. Larry Sullivan
was near Rumble Road after
receiving a BOLO on a 2016
Chrysler being chased by
Bleckley County deputies
north on 1-75. The suspect
had lost Bleckley deputies
by taking the Pate Road exit,
but he apparently re-entered
the interstate and Sullivan
spotted the vehicle passing
him doing 117 mph.
Sullivan began catching
up to the vehicle driven by
30-year-old Xavius Donnell
Table as it swerved from
the slow lane to the middle
lane, passing one vehicle and
nearly hitting another in the
middle lane. Table then sped
up to 120 mph when Sulli
van hit his emergency lights
and crossed over the yellow
line several times.
At the Hwy. 83 exit,
Sullivan initiated a PIT
(precision immobilization
technique) maneuver on the
rear passenger side causing
the Chrysler to
spin to the right
and hit a chain link
fence bordering
North Prontage
Road. Table then
jumped out and
fled on foot. Cpl.
Jaleel Brown and
deputy John Bog
dan were already
at the vehicle with
passenger Seth Abraham
Brown, 29, as Sullivan exited
his patrol unit and chased
Table for around 50 yards
before he caught up to him.
Table turned and said, “I’m
done.”
He was cuffed and while
walking him out of the
woods Sullivan could smell
alcohol. Sgt. Wade Kend
rick arrived and took Table
and Brown to the Monroe
County Jail.
Inside the Chrysler
deputies found a nearly
empty Admiral Nelson’s
Rum bottle in the rear seat.
Beneath the front passen
ger seat were two footballs
covered in clear plastic wrap
and duct tape. Inside one
football were three Samsung
cellphones (still in factory
packaging), cell phone char
gers, and cigarettes. Inside
the other football were cell
phone chargers, cigarettes,
1.05 ounces of methamphet-
amine and a one-ounce bag
of marijuana.
After Table failed a so
briety test, he was charged
with DUI and several traffic
citations. He also received
warrants for fleeing, traffick
ing methamphetamine, and
possession of more than an
ounce of marijuana. Brown
was charged with trafficking
methamphetamine and
marijuana possession.
Bleckley County sheriff’s
Inv. Nick Zachman said
their deputies stopped the
same car after guards at
Pulaski State Prison report
ed it acting suspiciously in
the area. Bleckley authorities
arrested the driver, Aristo
tle Jay Ali of Marietta, for
trafficking meth, possession
of marijuana with intent to
distribute and possession
of marijuana. But as they
arrested her, Table, a passen
ger, jumped into the driver’s
seat and took off until he
was captured in Monroe
County.
It’s not Table’s first encoun
ter with law enforcement. In
2014, he was involved in a
deadly New Year’s Eve bur
glary in Columbus. During
the burglary, two female
accomplices were shot by a
part-owner of the business
they were burglarizing. One
of the women died and the
surviving woman and Table
were charged with mur
der. Even though neither
pulled the trigger, they were
charged because they were
in the commission of a fel
ony which caused the death
of another human being.
District attorney Jonathan
Adams said a Muscogee
County grand jury later
no-billed the murder charge
and Table served a few years
in prison after pleading
guilty to burglary.
Deadline Extended!
Deputy Michael Norris
Memorial Scholarship
Application
* m
ooo
Deadline: May 1
For high school seniors
planning a career in
law enforcement
or public safety.
Call 994-2358 or
e-mail publisher@mymcr.net
for an application.