Newspaper Page Text
The
Commerce News
Page 6A -FEBRUARY 6, 2008
Commerce Police Department Arrests
Police Re-Arrest Suspect For
Statutory Rape, Molestation
A 24-year-old Commerce man
was re-arrested this week on stat
utory rape and child molestation
charges for an alleged incident
that occurred last July.
Omar Shariff Bush of 2222
Crossing Place had been arrested
in July but the cased was dis
missed at a preliminary hearing
because Commerce police did
not yet have DNA evidence to
support the charges, explained
Detective Chad Knight.
'The DNA evidence just came
in, so we arrested him again,”
Knight stated.
The detective added “there is
some evidence” that the 15-year-
old girl with whom Bush allegedly
had a sexual relationship “has a
very low mental capacity.”
Others arrested or charged dur
ing the past week include:
•Joseph Kevin Hanson, 36, 339
Spring Street, Commerce, bat
tery under the Family Violence
Act and cruelty to children in the
third degree. The charges stem
from an incident in which he
allegedly struck two minor chil
dren with a belt, hitting one in the
face and the back and the other in
the mouth.
•Regina Trippeter, 33, 365
Hemlock Court, Winder, no insur
ance and an equipment violation.
•Anna Marie Cruz, 22, 4342
Braselton Highway, Hoschton,
driving with a suspended license.
• Elizabeth Ann Hernandez, 44,
2354 Pine Cove Circle, Apt. H7,
Gainesville, picked up from Hall
County on a local warrant for
failure to appear.
•Jose Luis Lopez-Moran, 42,
235 Sycamore Drive, Apt. M2,
Athens, driving without a license.
•Paul G. Schmidt, 62, P.O. Box
554, Ila, driving with a suspended
license and improper transfer
of a tag. An officer who knew
Schmidt’s license was suspended
saw him driving and made the
traffic stop, according to the inci
dent report.
•Regina Ann Stephens, 29,
8209 Hwy. 29 South, Hull, driv
ing under the influence (DUI)
of intoxicants and speeding. The
traffic stop took place at 2:45 a.m.
on the U.S. 441 bypass.
•Nelson Alberto Gomez, 31,45
Cole Court, Commerce, public
drunkenness. The officer arriv
ing at the scene of a domestic
disturbance said he found Gomez
sitting in the front yard “mum
bling incoherently.” Witnesses
said Gomez was intoxicated and
was trying to pick a fight with a
woman. The written report said
Gomez also kept interrupting
officers trying to determine what
was going on.
•Scotty Dewayne Hogan, 33,
94 Critters Xing, Lexington,
speeding and possession of a
firearm by a convicted criminal.
The officer said when he pulled
Hogan over for speeding on U.S.
441 northbound, Hogan seemed
excessively nervous. The officer
asked if Hogan had any guns,
drugs or other illegal items in
his possession, and the report
said Hogan admitted to having
a pistol under the driver’s seat
and that he’d had a previous
drug-related charge. The officer
eventually learned that he’d had
convictions for battery and bur
glary as well — which led to the
weapons charge.
•Shane Michael Nasrallah, 20,
104 Waterford Place, Athens,
and Kenneth Lee Royston, 21,
2508 Blacks Creek Church Road,
Commerce, reckless driving after
police allegedly caught them rac
ing on Steve Reynolds Industrial
Boulevard. The two allegedly
almost forced another driver off
the road. Both had female pas
sengers as they raced, according
to the report.
Fire and rescue workers help pilot Mike takeoff at the Jackson County Airport last
Moss after his ultra-light crashed shortly after Wednesday. Photo by Brandon Reed
Pilot Injured When Ultra-light
Plane Crashes At Jackson Airport
Commerce Police Incident Reports
Three Burglaries Reported In City
Officers of the Commerce
Police Department investigated
eight theft-related incidents dur
ing the past week, including three
burglaries.
A Nunn Street resident told
police that he came home from
watching the Super Bowl with
friends Sunday night to find his
back door kicked in and nearly
$3,000 worth of items stolen.
The thief got a laptop computer
valued at $1,300, a Nintendo Wii
game system and 10 games, val
ued at $800; a camera worth $400,
a set of five collector knives val
ued at $400, a bottle of wine worth
$67 and a checkbook.
In another burglary, a 32-year-
old white male told police that
someone entered a vacant house
on “Main Street” and removed the
copper wiring and copper pipes.
He also reported that there were
blankets spread in the house as if
someone had been living there.
• a 71-year-old white female told
police that someone entered her
vacant house — which had been
damaged by a fire — and stole a
clothes dryer, washing machine,
air conditioner, grill, stove, refrig
erator, kitchen table and water
heater. She gave the police the
names of two people she suspects
of stealing the items.
Other incidents reported to police
during the past week include:
• financial fraud at Region’s
Bank, North Elm Street, where a
66-year-old white male told police
that someone had taken $3,000
from his checking account.
•theft of $76.10 in gasoline from
the Llying J travel center by a
white male in his mid-20s, who
pumped it into a black Lincoln
Navigator and drove off without
paying.
•theft of a nickel’s worth of
water from a Harmony Street
water meter that had been locked
for non-payment. The Commerce
meter reader told police that he’d
locked the meter a month ago
and when he checked it again, he
found that someone had broken
the lock off and used water. The
officer learned that 14 gallons —
worth five cents — had passed
through the meter.
•theft of $15 worth of gasoline
from the Last and Lriendly con
venience store, Ila Road, by a
white female who pumped it into
a brown Honda.
•shoplifting at the Kangaroo
convenience store, South Broad
Street. A clerk had the juvenile
male in custody when police
arrived. According to the report,
the store personnel had seen the
boy remove items from the store
and hide them out by the dump
ster. One confronted the boy and
made him come back inside, and
the other noticed him dropping
stolen items to conceal them from
the first clerk. Among the items
were candy bars and beef jerky.
The officer said the boy admitted
stealing all of the merchandise.
He was turned over to his grand
father and issued a warning about
coming back to the store.
• a domestic dispute at a South
Broad Street address where a
black juvenile female told police
that her mother’s live-in boyfriend
had slammed her against the refrig
erator and choked her. The officer
talked to the man, who said that
he’d called the girl to tell her to
come home from a friend’s house
where she was not supposed to
be, and when she came in she
cursed him and shoved him. The
man admitted grabbing her by the
shoulder and pushing her against
the refrigerator, but said he had
not choked her. He told police she
struck him in the face, after which
he “smacked her upside the head,”
and she struck him in the face sev
eral times and spit in his face. The
girl filled out a written statement
saying after he “smacked” her, she
“accidentally” spit in his face and
“accidentally” struck him in the
face a couple of times. The girl’s
mother said that the girl has been
causing problems and is on proba
tion. No charges were filed.
•criminal trespass at a Harris
Street location where a 44-year-
old white male said his soon-to-be-
ex wife has been on his property.
•property damage in the park
ing lot of CVS Pharmacy, North
Elm Street, where a 49-year-old
white male said he came out of
the store to find that someone had
run into his pickup truck, damag
ing the rear bumper.
• suicide threats at the
Commerce Public Library. An offi
cer was notified that a 27-year-old
white male had called 911 to say
he needed to go to the hospital
because he was going to remove
some staples from his arm to
commit suicide. The officer found
the man sitting in front of the
library, and the man showed him
several cuts that had been stapled
closed on an arm. The man agreed
to go to BJC Medical Center for
an evaluation.
•harassing calls reported by a
28-year-old white female who said
another white female has had her
boyfriend call without speaking.
She also said that both of them
called and left a “message” on her
answering machine “as if two peo
ple were having sexual relations,”
the investigating officer wrote. “I
listened to about three seconds of
the message before I got sick of
hearing it as well,” he added.
By Brandon Reed
The pilot of an ultra-light aircraft was airlifted to
an Atlanta area hospital following a crash at the
Jackson County Airport late Wednesday after
noon, Jan. 30.
Airport Manager Bob Stapleton said the crash
occurred when pilot Mike Moss took off from the
main runway and a gust of wind caught the craft,
flipping it sideways. Stapleton said the pilot made
a correction when the craft was caught again by
the wind, causing the aircraft to flip down, impact
ing the ground from about 60 feet up.
The aircraft hit the pavement, then bounced
over onto a grassy area between the runway and
ramp area, then came to a stop in an area off of
the runway.
“The individual had a broken leg and part of a
broken hand,” Stapleton said.
Paramedics and fire personnel responded from
the county, Stapleton said. Stapleton said Emory
Llight airlifted the pilot to a trauma center in
Atlanta.
Stapleton identified the aircraft as an ultra-light
type craft. The crash occurred around 4 p.m. The
Lederal Aviation Administration (LAA) was called
to investigate the incident.
2 Juveniles
Face Charges
Related To Schools
Two juveniles were arrest
ed by the Jackson County
Sheriff’s Office last week
on charges related to their
schools.
An 11-year-old boy was
charged with carrying a
weapon in school. This arrest
came after he allegedly took
a 10-inch Buck knife to Kings
Bridge Middle School.
In another arrest, a 15-year-
old boy was charged with
possession of marijuana and
possession of marijuana in a
school zone at East Jackson
Comprehensive High School.
He was charged after he
allegedly climbed into the
ceiling at the school while a
search was being conducted.
Officials found suspected
marijuana in a container in
his book bag, according to
reports.
NEED PRINTING?
CALL
706-367-5233
Young Bomb Suspect
Enters A Guilty Plea
By Angela Gary
Andrew Thomas Criswell, 16, pled guilty Lriday in Jackson
County Superior Court to charges stemming from a bomb inci
dent at Jackson County Comprehensive High School April 11,
2007.
Criswell will be sentenced at 9 a.m. Thursday, Leb. 14, before
Superior Court Judge Joe Booth. The teenager, who was charged
as an adult, could face three to 45 years in prison.
Criswell pled guilty to possession of a destructive device, false
imprisonment and three counts of terroristic threats.
District attorney Rick Bridgeman said Lriday that several wit
nesses will testify Leb. 14 before the sentencing. He declined to
comment on the case until after the sentencing.
Criswell, who had a live bomb strapped to his body, surren
dered to authorities at JCCHS after a tense two-hour standoff. He
was taken into custody after meeting face-to-face with several law
enforcement officials.
After his surrender, authorities used a bomb squad robot to
remove the explosive device and detonate it outside the school
building. Bomb dogs were also brought into the school to clear it
for any other possible devices.
Officials immediately evacuated the school when the incident
began, with some students routed across the parking area to the
agriculture barn on the north side of the campus and others sent
to the auditorium on the south side.
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