Newspaper Page Text
On The Record
The
Commerce News
FEBRUARY 27,2008 • Page 7A
Police Probing 'Kill Coach Fan Club'
The Commerce Police
Department served a search war
rant on the popular teen network
ing site Myspace.com last week to
get information on a Commerce
High School student’s “Let’s All
Kill Coach Canup Fan Club.’’
Terry Canup is the assistant
principal at CHS.
'The police department is head
ing up the investigation,’’ said
Superintendent James E. “Mac’’
McCoy Monday.
It is considered “terroristic
threats by computer.’’
The site became known to school
officials late Thursday. School
Resource Officer Max Briggs and
the police department’s Criminal
Investigations Division are sort
ing through the evidence being
supplied by MySpace, said Police
Chief John W. Gaissert.
The matter came to police atten
tion after a student informed
Canup of the posting, McCoy
said. Canup took the matter to
Briggs.
“We will discuss this with the dis
trict attorney,’’ Gaissert said. “We
will pursue a legal opinion before
any decision is made regarding
possible criminal charges.’’
The web site lists “Alex," who
identifies herself as an 18-year-old
“party girl from hell’’ and whose
photograph shows her giving the
camera “the finger,’’ as the site
“moderator.’’ Eighteen other kids,
many local but some claiming to
be from as far away as Zimbabwe,
are posted on the site as “mem
bers.’’
“At one time I understand there
were 125 connected to it,’’ said
McCoy, although he also sug
gested that some of those named
may have been unaware that their
names and photos have been
attached.
Canup, referred all questions to
the police, but said when he was
made aware of the site he was
“kind of shocked.’’
Although Gaissert would not
comment, it appears that the site
has been “frozen" to prevent new
postings.
“The kids are starting to wonder
what’s going on," said a source
familiar with the investigation.
“We are conducting a criminal
investigation based on accepted
police protocol," said Gaissert,
adding that such threats “must be
taken seriously in today’s world.”
At the same time, Gaissert point
ed out that “there are any number
of options available to resolve the
incident without criminal charges.
The school system has an array of
options available to it administra
tively — and there are options for
criminal prosecution.
McCoy said the school system
has policies that would cover off-
campus student behavior. He also
said he has seen no more of the
web site than the first page — not
ing that MySpace.com is blocked
by the school system’s filtering.
Neither Gaissert nor McCoy
expressed concern that Canup
was in any danger, but both
stressed that the posting must be
taken seriously.
“You don’t take anything non
chalantly anymore when it comes
to a threat," McCoy said.
“It’s a different world than
you and I grew up in," observed
Gaissert.
Canup agreed. “I don’t think
you cannot take this kind of thing
seriously with what has gone on
around the country," he said.
Members
As of Friday, one bulletin includ
ed the comment, “I am down to
kill!!!!!!."
At least nine of the “members"
state that they are from Commerce;
others claim to be from Athens,
Nicholson, Georgia, Zimbabwe,
Oklahoma, “Hotlanta,” Oman,
Australia and “from a small town
in Georgia."
One of those listed, pictured in
a formal dress, pointed out in her
profile that she “is a Christian."
Ages of “members" run from 14
to 19.
20-Year-old Charged With 4-Wheeler Theft
A 20-year-old Commerce man
has been charged with theft by
taking and obstruction of offi
cers after he allegedly stole a
four-wheeler from a Lathan Road
yard.
Police were summoned to the
victim’s residence after two kids
told police they saw “Ray" ride off
on their four-wheeler. The officer
knew Raymond Oriz-Rodriguez
from previous incidents and went
to his residence at 155 Westview
Road. According to the arrest
report, while the police were
there, Oriz-Rodriguez rode up on
the four-wheeler across the street,
with a juvenile black male — also
recognized by police — behind
him.
The officers ordered the two
to stop, but they rode off on the
ATV.
The machine was later recovered
behind Jackson Hills Apartments.
The officer noted that it had been
hot-wired.
Officers quickly found Oriz-
Rodriguez, who turned himself
in and told police that two other
people had stolen the vehicle and
brought it to him so he could ride
it.
What Oriz-Rodriguez did not
know, according to the report,
was that two witnesses had iden
tified him as the thief. When
apprised of that, the officer said
the suspect “told me they did not
have a picture to prove it."
A juvenile male was also
charged, the report indicated.
Other Arrests
Others arrested during the week
include:
•Thomas Michael Battle Jr„ 23,
636 Dunn Street, Tallahassee, FL;
Whitney James Hadley, 25, 641
Dover Street, Tallahassee; and
Derrick Devernon Phillips, 30,
43 Frank Phillips Road, Quincy,
FL, all charged with misdemeanor
possession of marijuana follow
ing a traffic stop on Interstate 85.
•Harry L. Brown, 56, 420
Courtland Street, Atlanta; and
Harold Phillip Pierson, 52, 2800
South Clark Drive, East Point,
both charged with forgery after
attempting to cash checks sto
len from the Jackson County
Water and Sewerage Authority at
Regions Bank, North Elm Street.
•David Wayne Anglin, 43, 685
Jackson Park Lane, Suwanee,
arrested on unspecified war
rants from Commerce and Banks
County.
•Gary Wayne Sikes, 28, 421
Melvin Phillips Road, Jefferson,
arrested on a city bench warrant
and held for Hall County after he
paid the local fine.
• Simon Escamilla Ramirez,
31, 3242 Sunrise Village Lane,
Norcross, driving without a
license and with an expired tag.
•Erick Correa Cambro, 21,
4032 W. Osborn Road, Phoenix,
AZ, driving without a license.
•Kolby Brewerton Jones, 23, 61
Centre Port Circle, Portsmouth,
ME, possession of a firearm dur
ing the commission of a crime,
carrying a concealed weapon,
misdemeanor possession of mari
juana and violation of the open
container law. The arrest report
contained no details of the inci
dent.
•Orlando Prescott Niles, 36,
110 B. Wilson Road, Commerce,
driving with a suspended license
and speeding.
•Joshua Darly Jacobs, 24, 52
Forest Avenue, Commerce, pub
lic drunkenness and disorderly
conduct. A witness said he fell
into a ditch and screamed, “upset
ting the dogs in the neighbor
hood .”
•Walter Glen Hedrick, 46, 491
Wilhite Road, Jefferson, on an
unspecified Commerce warrant.
MLordy, Lordy Look Who’s 40!§
Charles \
Rogers
$
Please honor Charles with your presence at an
Open House Birthday Celebration
at Pendergrass Baptist Church
on Saturday March 8, 2008 at 2 pm.
Charles would love to see all classmates,
friends and family.
RSVP 706-654-6482
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(706)367-4817
Locally owned and operated!
Warrant To Be Taken
In Dog Neglect Case
The Commerce Police
Department is searching for the
owner of a Lathan Road house
to charge him with aggravated
cruelty to animals.
“Warrants have been taken,"
said Ben Mathis, the city’s ani
mal control officer.
A neighbor summoned police
after observing two pit bulls
fighting and noting that none
of the three pit bulls in the yard
appeared to be well nourished.
The neighbor reported to the
officer that she had not seen the
owners in weeks, and the officer
observed that none of the five
bowls in the yard held water or
food.
Unable to get anyone to the
door, the officer and Mathis
peered through the windows and
saw another pit bull lying on the
floor, blood beside it. They also
observed that one of the front
windows was broken in, and that
there was blood on the window
sills and the walls.
The officer entered the build
ing. He reported a strong odor,
and blood on the carpet, walls
and linoleum, along with dog
urine and feces. He found anoth
er dog, dead, in a closet.
“You couldn’t tell what had
happened inside. The house was
just used for a dog house the last
several weeks," Mathis said.
Mathis took four pit bulls to
Commerce Veterinary Clinic,
where they are being treated.
The body of the fifth was sent
to the University of Georgia
School of Veterinary Medicine
in an attempt to determine the
cause of death.
While some of the dogs had
been seen fighting and had old
scars, Mathis said none of them
were aggressive toward him.
“We walked in and loaded
them without any problems,"
he said.
The owner of the house has
been identified as Darnell
Powell.
Mathis said it appeared that
Powell “traded dogs in and out,"
since the dogs in the yard when
police were summoned were dif
ferent animals than had been
spotted there a few days earlier.
Other Incidents
Other matters involving
officers during the past week
include:
•two reports of damage to
vehicles from fallen trees or
limbs.
•three reports of the theft of
gasoline from the Flying J trav
el plaza, Maysville Road. The
amounts stolen ranged from
$3.16 to $30.14, but in none of
the cases could staff provide a
description of the drivers. Police
expect surveillance videos of
each incident to be sent from
the company’s headquarters.
• sexual battery reported by a
36-year-old female who alleges
that a 67-year-old black male
“touched areas of her body she
did not approve of."
•criminal trespass at the city
pool, Carson Street, where van
dals threw ladders, a bleacher
and picnic table into the pool
and emptied a fire extinguisher
into the pool.
• a dog bite reported on W.E.
King Road. A 19-year-old white
female said a 2-year-old toddler
grabbed the leg of the dog as the
dog was sleeping, and it bit the
child in the cheek. The child was
taken to BJC Medical Center
and the family pet to Commerce
Veterinary Hospital.
• simple battery under
the Family Violence Act at a
Highland Estates address. The
report indicated that a 37-year-
old white female, under the
influence of drugs, began fight
ing with others in the house.
She was taken to BJC Medical
Center for observation.
Statement of Nondiscrimination
Jackson EMC is the recipient of Federal financial assistance from the
Rural Utilities Service, an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture,
and is subject to the provisions of Title VI and Title VII, of the Civil
Rights Act of 1964, as amended, Civil Rights Act of 1991, Section 503
and 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, The Americans
with Disabilities Act of 1991 and the rules and regulations of die U.S.
Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Labor, OFCCP,
which provide that no person in the United States on the basis of race,
color, national origin, age or handicap shall be excluded from participa
tion in, admission or access to, denied the benefits of, or otherwise
subjected to discrimination under any of this organization’s programs or
activities.
The person responsible for cixirdinating this organization’s nondiscrim
ination compliance efforts is William R Ormsby, Manager, Corporate
Administration. Any individual, or specific class of individuals, who feels
that this organization has subjected them to discrimination may obtain
further information about the statutes and regulations listed above and/or
file a written complaint with this organization; or the Secretary, U.S.
Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C. 20250; or the
Administrator, Rural Electrification Administration, Washington, D.C.
20250, and the Director, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Federal
Contract Compliance Programs, Washington, D.C. 20250. Complaints
must he filed within 180 days after the alleged discrimination.
Confidentiality will be maintained to the extent possible.
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