Newspaper Page Text
On The Record
The
Commerce News
FEBRUARY 25, 2009
PAGE 7 A
Commerce Man Faces
Child Molestation Charge
A Commerce man was
arrested by the Madison
County Sheriff’s Office
Feb. 18 on a charge of child
molestation stemming
from an alleged incident
that occurred in Madison
County sometime between
June 24, 1999, and June 24,
2000.
Phillip Mark David, 49,
of 8849 Hwy. 98 West,
Commerce, was charged
with one count of child
molestation.
According to Investigator
Pat Holl, the incident was
reported to the sheriff’s
office Feb. 11. Holl said the
statute of limitations for
child molestation is two
Phillip Mark David
years, but that the time peri
od begins when law enforce
ment is made aware of the
alleged crime.
Athens Wreck Kills
Madison County Couple
A Colbert couple died fol
lowing a head-on collision
on the Athens Perimeter
near Chase Street Tuesday,
Feb. 17.
According to Lt. David
Coker of the Athens-
Clarke County Police
Department’s traffic divi
sion, 79-year-old Floree
Wilkins, Colbert, drove a
Ford minivan eastbound
near Chase Street around
5:41 p.m., when her vehi
cle crossed the median,
bounced off a guardrail
in the opposing lanes of
traffic and then struck a
Chevrolet blazer head on.
Mrs. Wilkins was pro
nounced dead at Athens
Regional Medical Center a
short time later.
Her husband, William
Wilkins, 85, a passen
ger in the minivan, died
as a result of his injuries
Saturday, Feb. 21, at Athens
Regional.
The driver of the blazer
was not seriously injured,
according to Coker.
Marty Seymour Indicted
For Dec. 4 Murder Of Wife
A Jackson County Grand
Jury Monday indicted
Martin Lewis Seymour,
31, of 211 Arlington Lane
Commerce, on murder
charges stemming from the
Dec. 4 shooting death of his
wife, Jamie Sue Seymour,
29.
Seymour faces arraign
ment Monday, March 9.
He is charged with firing
four .380 caliber bullets into
his wife as she lay asleep on
the couch in the couple’s
Brentwood Estates home.
Their 3-year-old daughter
slept through the incident,
police say.
Seymour then allegedly
summoned his parents and
called 911 to say he had just
shot his wife. Police said
when they arrived on the
scene, Seymour was sitting
in the driveway. The couple’s
daughter was in a vehicle
with Seymour’s parents.
Commerce police who
investigated the circum
stances said Seymour was
upset because his wife had
been having an extramari
tal affair. He’d purchased
the gun the day before, and
appeared intoxicated at the
time of the shooting.
Mrs. Seymour had planned
to return with her parents
and the couple’s daughter to
Indiana the next day, police
said.
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Commerce Police Department
$21,000 Cash Stash Confiscated
After Traffic Stop On Interstate 85
A Greenville, SC, man
faces a misdemeanor mari
juana possession charge in
Commerce, but that’s the
least of his problems.
Gustavo Alexi Gomez
Bonilla, 31, also suffered
the loss of $21,000 in $100
bills wrapped in plastic and
hidden in a coat in the
back seat of the vehicle
that an officer pulled over
for following too closely.
Officers searched the
car after noting the smell
of marijuana and a strong
covering odor, explained
Detective Chad Knight.
The cash — and a small
amount of marijuana
— were found in a coat.
Bonilla claimed the cash,
and since the drugs were
with it, he got credit for
owning that as well, Knight
explained.
Bonilla and another occu
pant admitted to having
smoked marijuana.
“He said he was going
to Atlanta to buy a trac
tor and trailer to take
back to Honduras,’’ Knight
explained.
Police are skeptical about
that story. They confiscat
ed the money and have
asked the Federal Bureau
of Investigation to conduct
a currency investigation.
Part of the police skepti
cism about Bonilla’s story
is tied to the two other
occupants of the vehicle.
“The driver has done time
for attempted murder in
South Carolina,’’ Knight
said, adding that both the
driver and another passen
ger had extensive criminal
records that included drug
convictions.
Other Arrests
Others arrested or cited
during the past week
include:
•Matthew Paul Kroncke,
18, 195 Collier Road,
Toccoa, terroristic threats
and acts after he alleg
edly threatened to burn
down the residence of a
McArthur Street man fol
lowing a dispute. Police
were summoned to a
report of a fight in prog
ress. Upon arrival, officers
found a 35-year-old white
male in his yard, irate, car
rying a baseball bat and
talking about a group of
teenagers wanting to start a
fight. The man said he and
his wife were driving home
when they came across a
group of teenagers walking
in the middle of the road,
who refused to let the vehi
cle pass, who threatened
the victim and claimed
to be part of a gang. The
couple eventually got by
and went to their nearby
home. When the man saw
the group walking toward
his residence, he got the
bat for “self defense,’’ he
told police. One of the
youths threw a brick at
the man and Kroncke alleg
edly threatened to burn his
house down. A number of
witnesses confirmed that
statement, although those
in the “gang’’ alleged that
the victim and his female
companion instigated the
fracas.
• Larry Patrick Clark,
46, 234 Leachman Road,
Commerce, picked
up in Banks County on
unspecified warrants from
Commerce.
• David Wayne Anglin,
44, 668 Gloucester Drive,
Norcross, arrested on a
probation violation war
rant after an officer found
him sitting beside a fire
behind Lanier Technical
College on South Elm
Street. When the officer
asked Anglin what he was
doing, he replied, “trying to
keep warm.’’
Four Cases Of Criminal Trespass Reported
Commerce police officers
investigated four cases of
criminal trespass last week,
including two in which
vehicles were vandalized
with eggs.
The first incident of
“egging’’ took place at a
Williford Street address,
where a 36-year-old white
male said he came outside
to find both his vehicle and
his wife’s had been struck
by eggs.
The second was on Wood
Street, where a 55-year-old
white male found that his
wife’s vehicle had been
egged.
Other incidents requiring
police attention during the
past week include:
• criminal trespass report
ed at the Quality Foods
parking lot, Maysville
Road, where a 19-year-old
white male came out of the
store and found a window
in his vehicle broken.
•criminal trespass at a
Washington Street address
where a 49-year-old white
male complained that his
neighbor cut hedges that
were on his (the complain
ant’s) property. When police
talked to the neighbor, a
48-year-old white male, he
told police the hedges were
on his property. The officer
advised the complainant
that if he could prove the
hedges were on his proper
ty he could pursue a crimi
nal case; the man said he
was not interested.
•a report of an unsafe
driver who turned into
the one-way section of
Lakeview Avenue. The
police found the driver, a
76-year-old black male, had
trouble finding his license,
never found his insur
ance card and could not
recall his date of birth. A
female companion said he
was in the early stages of
Alzheimer’s disease. When
police advised the two to
get a note from a doctor
stating he was competent
to drive, the woman told
the officer that the man
gets upset when his family
talks to him about driving.
• damage to a vehicle
reported on Interstate 85
by a 32-year-old black male
who said a tractor trailer
veered into his lane, forc
ing him off the road. The
driver said he did not hit
anything, but the rumble
strips on the edge of the
pavement bent the wheels
on his vehicle. The officer
confirmed that the wheels
were bent.
• harassing phone calls at
a Shankle Road residence
where a 26-year-old white
female reported that some
one has been sending her
and her father “disturbing’’
emails.
•theft of $190 in diesel
fuel from Flying J, Maysville
Road, by a black male who
pumped the fuel into a trac
tor trailer rig. The clerk got
the company name, the
truck’s ID number and its
tag number.
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International
Star Search
Beauty Pageant, Model
and Baby Contest
BE DISCOVERED AT
INTERNATIONAL STAR SEARCH!
March 14,2009*5 p.m.
Commerce Civic Center • Commerce Room
To have an entry mailed to you phone (813) 926-2303
Visit our web: www.sunburstbeauty.com
Grove Recreation
Announces:
T-BALL AND BASEBALL
REGISTRATION
When: Saturday, February 21
9:00 am -12:00 pm
Saturday, February 28
9:00 am -12:00 pm
Where: Grove Level Baptist Church
Recreational Building, Maysville
Cost: $55 per child (Includes
complete uniform & trophy)
Age Groups: T-Ball 4-6 & Baseball 7-9
Registration is open to the public.
Contact:
David Vaughn - 706-870-1989
david.recreation@grovelevel.com
david.vaughn@grovelevel.com
www.grovelevel.com
)QOOQOQOQO
(706) 789-2313
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