Newspaper Page Text
Commerce News
APRIL 30,2008 - Page 7
Police Nab 'Professional' Shoplifter
The Commerce Police
Department thinks it nailed a pro
fessional shoplifter last week who
made the mistake of speeding on
Interstate 85.
The case began when an officer
clocked Angella Saunders, 39, of
137 Hilary Circle, Apartment H,
Charlotte, NC, doing 87 miles per
hour in the northbound late of
1-85 and pulled her over.
The officer learned that there
was an outstanding warrant for
her arrest from the Commerce
Police Department, so he took
her into custody.
That’s when it got interesting.
In the car, the officer spotted
a purse in an open duffle bag,
and the purse still had an anti
shoplifting device attached — and
contained $4,295 in cash. He also
found a wallet under the seat that
contained another $180 in cash,
and under the passenger-side seat
found a roll of duct tape and one
of aluminum foil.
In the trunk, the officer said he
found a bundle of new KB Toy
bags and four un-used Macy’s
bags, another anti-shoplifting
device that had been tampered
with and a variety of merchan
dise.
The officer also saw two store
bags containing boxes “shrouded”
with aluminum foil held together
with duct tape, which he sur
mised were designed to defeat
stores’ anti-shoplifting devices.
Asked about the contents of the
trunk, the report said Saunders
claimed that the vehicle was rent
ed, the contents were “obviously
for shoplifting” but that she had
not opened the trunk and was
unaware of their presence.
At some point, the officer was
notified that Saunders had been
arrested April 16 in Atlanta for
shoplifting and he reached the
conclusion that she was a profes
sional. The report said the suspect
told him she “gets depressed and
shoplifts to feel the rush.”
She also claimed that the purse
was given to her, not stolen.
The officer said he checked on
her criminal history and found
that Saunders had a “very exten
sive” resume of arrests for shop
lifting, possession of stolen prop
erty and narcotics violations from
Florida to New York.
Other Arrests
Others arrested during the past
week include:
•Thomas Neal Slate, 37, 2926
Old Maysville Road, Commerce,
criminal damage to property,
obstruction of officers, damage to
mailboxes, laying drags, failure to
maintain a lane, failure to report
an accident with damage, duty to
stop at the scene of an accident
and criminal trespass. The case
began with a call to a domestic
incident. While the officer was
at the scene a witness told him
where to find the suspect vehicle.
The officer found Slate at Quality
Foods and after a foot chase that
ended when Slate turned around,
faced the officer and the offi
cer “presented my weapon” and
ordered Slate to “show me his
hands.” The suspect complied.
•Jody Paul Kitchens, 27, 3569
Neese Commerce Road, Hull,
driving under the influence (DUI)
of alcohol, misdemeanor posses
sion of marijuana and a tag light
violation. The traffic stop came
after an officer observed Kitchens’
wide turn near the Kangaroo con
venience store.
•David Ray Hudson, 46, 130
Osprey Roost Drive, Lula, DUI,
possession of morphine, violation
of the open container law, failure
to maintain a lane and violation
of his driving permit. The officer
found a bottle of morphine sul
fate with a woman’s name on it,
asked who the woman was and
the suspect replied, “a neighbor.”
When asked why he had the nar
cotic, Hudson allegedly replied, “I
don’t know.”
• Bryan Bradley Boyd, 17, 4068
Mt. Olive Road, Commerce,
criminal damage to property after
he allegedly trashed his mother’s
house when she refused to give
him money for gasoline or per
mission to use her car.
•Jennifer Nicole Richie, 27,
picked up from Habersham
County on an unspecified war
rant.
•Chris Allen Sims, 58, 28170
Harvill Road, Calvert, AL, public
drunkenness.
•Quincy D. Strickland, 31,
229 Martin Luther King Drive,
Commerce, arrested on two
unspecified warrants.
•Erica Anne Wade, 32, P.O.
Box 82, Alto, shoplifting. When
confronted with stolen goods
including Cheerios, cereal bars,
steak sauce, razors, hot dogs
and rib eye steaks valued at
more than $50, the woman said
she got the food to feed her
child, according to the arrest
report. The report also indi
cated that Wade and another
woman had been seen carrying
merchandise out of the Family
Dollar store.
•James Michael Brewer, 34, 151
Pine Street, criminal trespass and
loitering and prowling related to
him asking people for money
for gasoline. The report indicates
Brewer has done the same thing
on previous occasions.
• Kenneth Edward Allen, 46,880
Old Airport Road, Commerce,
driving with a suspended license
and failure to obey a traffic con
trol device.
•Arthur Harold Bernard, 42,
1288 Stephens Drive, Toccoa,
driving without insurance.
•James Edward Smith, 63, 229
Olympic Place, Apt. 8, Decatur,
no insurance and driving with a
suspended registration.
Commerce Traffic Checks' Result In 23 Charges
The Commerce Police Depart
ment performed four “traffic
checks” Sunday night. They result
ed in 23 charges, including one
felony drug charge.
According to the incident report,
Jerry Harper Lee, 44, of 1319
Groaning Rock Road, Commerce,
was charged with possession of
crack cocaine and misdemeanor
possession of alcohol after an offi
cer noticed the smell of alcohol
on his breath at a traffic check on
South Elm Street at Stark Street.
The report said Lee refused an
officer’s request to search the
vehicle, but the officer got his
“probable cause” for the search
when the department’s drug dog
“alerted” on the vehicle.
The report said another officer
found a bag of marijuana on Lee,
and the officer writing the report
said Lee told the other officer that
there was crack cocaine in the
console.
Others cited at the traffic stops
include:
• David Kyle Chester, 24, 10477
Hwy. 334, Commerce, driving
under the influence (DUI) and
violation of the open container
law. The smell alerted the offi
cer, who eventually found two
open beers and one open bottle
of tequila in the vehicle.
•Kevin C. Rapier, 20, 1553
Johnson Hollow Road, Gray, KY,
consumption of alcohol under
age. He was in the bed of a pick
up truck pulled over at a traffic
check.
•April Reidling Goodrich, 35,50
Preston Court, Commerce, driv
ing with a suspended license. She
reportedly executed a U-turn to
avoid the traffic stop on Hospital
Road.
•Noe Ricardo-Hernandez,
30, 1319 Groaning Rock Road,
Commerce, driving without a
license.
•Antonio Bernard Dorsey, 30,
122 Croons Mobile Home Drive,
Homer, driving with a suspended
license.
•Daniel Alen Raabun, 22, 43
Sycamore Street, Jefferson,
DUI. A passenger in his vehicle,
Christopher Justin Brown, 20,
3481 Stonevine Way, Buford, was
charged with underage possession
of alcohol.
Officers conducted traffic
stops at Waterworks Road and
Lakeview Drive from 6:30 to 8:30;
on Hospital Road at Ridgeway
Road from 8:00 to 9:45; on Mt.
Olive Road at Ridgeway Church
Road from 9:45 to 10:30; and on
South Elm at Stark Street from
10:30 to 1:55 Monday morning.
Thieves Break Into
Maysville Elementary
School Classrooms
By Sharon Hogan
The Maysville Police Department is investigating
a break-in Sunday at Maysville Elementary School.
Maysville Police Chief Clarence Sullens said 14
classrooms were entered by breaking windows in
the outside doors.
“They never entered the hallways where the
alarms are located,” Sullen said.
A custodian at the school discovered the break-in
Sunday afternoon. Sullens said based on the time
that the custodian had entered the school earlier
in the day Sunday and the time she returned, the
break-in is believed to have happened sometime
Sunday afternoon.
Two laptop computers and a digital camera have
been reported missing so far.
Sullens said his department is working with the
Jackson County Sheriff’s Office on the case.
Police: Thirsty Thief Steals 60 Beers
The Commerce Police
Department investigated
two theft cases during the
past week.
One occurred at The
Corner Station, Jefferson
Road, where a “stocky
white male” grabbed two
30-pack cases of Coors
Light beer, ran out of the
store and over to Andy
Court, where he got into
a black two-door car and
drove off.
The beer was valued at
$40. Police were
hoping that the store secu
rity camera might have
captured the incident, but
the clerk on duty at the
time did not know how to
operate it.
The other case was the
theft of a bicycle from a
front porch on Clayton
Street.
Police also investigated
a report of simple bat
tery that took place at a
Maysville Road business.
A 31-year-old Latino male
told police he was doing
auto repairs for another
man, and the man kept
changing the agreement,
then demanded that the vic
tim pay him some money.
The victim said the sus
pect told him he’d “bet
ter have the money by
Monday,” to which the vic
tim replied that the matter
could be handled in court.
The report said that the
man told the victim: “My
court is to kill you.”
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Reward Offered For
Bank Robbery Info
A $1,000 reward is being
offered for information lead
ing to the arrest and convic
tion of the man who robbed
the Northeast Georgia Bank on
Hwy. 441 at Banks Crossing last
Thursday afternoon.
The Banks County Sheriff’s
Office received the call just
before 1 p.m. Thursday and offi
cers were on the scene within
minutes. A black male, wearing
a New York Yankees baseball
cap and black shirt and pants,
entered the bank and told a
teller he wanted $50 and $100
dollar bills. He then told the
teller, “I’m serious.”
The suspect made off with
less than $6,000, Banks County
Sheriff Charles Chapman
said. He reportedly folded the
money into his hands and left
the scene.
A tracking dog picked up the
trail through the bank park
ing lot, but then lost the trail.
Chapman said he believes the
suspect left in a vehicle, pos
sibly a cream colored Honda
Civic seen going around the
bank twice near the time of the
robbery.
Officers immediately pro
cessed the scene and recovered
one “good” print, Chapman
said, as well as a thumbprint
and a shoe print. The Georgia
Bureau of Investigation is assist
ing with the case.
“We were fortunate there was
nobody (customers) in the bank
at that time,” said Rick Massey,
senior vice-president and man
ager of Northeast Georgia Bank.
“We had a couple of people
Know this man? That infor
mation could be worth $1,000
to officials seeking to solve
last Thursday’s robbery of
Northeast Georgia Bank at
Banks Crossing.
in the drive-through, but none
inside. He was in here a minute,
maybe a little longer.”
After the suspect left, employ
ees quickly locked the doors
and called 911 and cordoned off
the door and area of the teller
line to help preserve the crime
scene. Staff members filled out
“robbery incident forms” trying
to preserve all details.
The bank stayed closed the
remainder of the afternoon as
the BCSO and GBI processed
the crime scene.
Major Kyle Bryant said the
department is pursuing “a num
ber of leads.” Asked if he thought
the suspect was local, Bryant
said, he’d “been seen around the
area a number of days the week
before.”
The bank’s security cameras
captured two images of the sus
pect during the robbery.
Vandalism, Theft Reported At Subdivision
JEFFERSON - Vandals spray-
painted the solar yard lights at
Scenic Falls Subdivision last
week and stole a meter box,
according to an incident report
filed at the Jackson County
Sheriff’s Office.
Other incidents reported to the
sheriff’s office last week include
the following:
•a Brockton Loop, Jefferson,
residence said she and her hus
band paid someone $3,000 to
repair hail damage to their home
and they have not done so and
have not contacted them.
• a fight between two brothers
at an Upland Drive, Maysville,
location.
•forgery and fraud against a
Trotters Ridge Road, Jefferson,
man by an ex-girlfriend.
•identity theft against a J.S.
Williamson Court, Nicholson,
woman.
•trespassing at a Smith Lane,
Commerce, address.
•a Commerce Road, Athens,
resident reported a missing car
tag.
• a Hwy. 332, Jefferson, woman
said gravel from a dump truck
damaged her vehicle.
• a Jefferson man said his teen
age daughter threatened him.
• a Dogwood Lane, Hoschton,
woman said another dog killed
her mother’s dog.
•vehicle struck a tree at a
Lebanon Church Road, Athens,
location.
•damage to a home under
construction at a Cypress Place,
Jefferson, address.
•trespassing at a Jefferson
River Road, Athens, location.
• harassing phone calls at
a Hampton Creek Drive,
Commerce, address.
•a Holly Springs Road,
Pendergrass, man said his ex-
wife came to his residence and
began hitting his new girlfriend.
• domestic dispute and simple
assault at a Hwy. 124 location.
•a Pinetree Circle, Maysville,
resident reported being harassed
by someone she knows.
•verbal dispute at a Brooks
Road, Pendergrass, address.
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