Newspaper Page Text
The
Commerce News
MAY 27, 2009
PAGE 6A
On The Record
City Police Have Busy But Routine Week
Madison County
Bank Robbery
Similar To April
Jackson County Heist
The Commerce Police
Department reported the
arrest of 21 people on 28
charges during the past
week, virtually all of them
misdemeanors.
Among them was a
17-year-old Commerce High
School student who ended
his school year on a bad
note.
Police charged Christopher
Lee Stokes of 203 Baugh
Street, Commerce, with
simple assault and disrupt
ing a public school after he
refused to calm down when
he was sent to the office last
Wednesday.
The report did not indi
cate why Stokes was sent
to the office, only that once
there he began cursing and
threatened to fight (“whip
your -ss”) the assistant prin
cipal. The officer noted that
as he was talking to Stokes,
Stokes continued to curse
the officer.
Others arrested or cited
during the past week
include:
• Kristina M. McDaniel,
17, and James Timothy
McDaniel, 20, both of 3565
Neese Commerce Road,
Hull; Melissa Dawn Elkins,
36, 3569 Neese Commerce
Road, Hull, all with disor
derly conduct; and William
Taylor Turney, 27,2462 Hwy.
63, Homer, on an unspeci
fied warrant. The four were
allegedly involved in a fight
on Old Maysville Road,
but the report provided no
details of that incident.
• Valeria Elaine Vandeford,
39, 192 Louise Drive,
Commerce, simple battery
under the Family Violence
Act. According to the inci
dent report, when her son
told her that the landlord of
the house they shared want
ed her to pay the rent or
leave, and the son offered to
put her belongings outside,
Vandeford attacked her son,
a 22-year-old white male,
scratching his back and hit
ting him in the face. He said
when his girlfriend came to
his aid, Vandeford attacked
her too, leaving only when
he struck her. The officer
noted that Vandeford had
cut lips, a bruised eye and
other cuts and scratches, and
that the son had scratches
consistent with his version
of events.
• Donald Fleming Gilman,
50, 4340 Holly Springs
Road, Gillsville, arrested at
a traffic stop on an unspeci
fied warrant from Hall
County.
• Mack Arthur Hardeman,
46 , 394 Cedar Drive,
Commerce, obstruction of
an officer, driving with a
suspended license, failure
to maintain a lane and vio
lation of the open contain
er law. The officer making
the arrest passed a vehicle
driven by Hardeman, rec
ognized him and knew he
did not have a license, and
gave chase. The officer said
Hardeman and a second
person, George Phillip Land,
34 , 5272 Mt. Olive Road,
Commerce, jumped from
the vehicle and ran, but the
officer caught McArthur
and found Land a few min
utes later. Land was charged
with an open container vio
lation stemming from the
recovery of a bottle of whis
key in the vehicle.
•David Lee Patrick, 52,
210 Ward Road, Commerce,
arrested on an unspecified
local warrant after a vehicle
in which he was a passenger
was stopped for a wind
shield violation.
•Justin C. Ward, 22,
8915 Creek Hollow Road,
Panama City, FL, driving
with a suspended license.
He was pulled over for a tag
violation.
• Brandon Grayson
Merrill, 23, 24 Gannet Point
Road, Beaufort, SC, pub
lic drunkenness. Officers
responded to the Flying J,
where Merrill told them he’d
had one beer and was ask
ing people for gas money.
The officer arranged for
Merrill to leave his car in
the parking lot and sleep
in the truckers’ section of
the facility, but 20 minutes
later was called back to the
Flying J because Merrill
was back out at his car. At
that point, he was escorted
to the Jackson County Jail.
•Sebastian Figueroa
Gallardo, 25, 425 Glencraft
Drive, Wingate, NC, speed
ing (86 mph on 1-85) and
driving without a license.
•Timothy Martin
Williams, 48,316 Sam Brown
Boulevard, Commerce, driv
ing with a suspended reg
istration and a windshield
violation. A passenger was
ticketed for violation of the
Open Container law.
• Randall Eugene Cash, 50,
2212 Allen’s Chapel Road,
Parrotsville, TN, picked up
in Banks County on a fail
ure to appear warrant.
• Alberto Delano Douglas,
58, 12225 Creek View
Circle, Woodsbridge, YA,
driving with a suspended
license and no tag light.
•Dwayne Shipirso, 37,
2085 Thomas Drive, Hull,
picked up at the Athens-
Clarke jail on an unspeci
fied local warrant.
•Bryon Ross Ivie, 21,
142 Smallwood Drive,
Commerce, driving without
insurance and a taillight vio
lation.
•Thomas Aaron
Holderfield, 22, 100 Ashley
Circle, Apt. 12103, Athens,
picked up at the Athens-
Clarke jail on a failure to
appear warrant. He was
released after friends met
him in Commerce and paid
$157 in fines.
The robbery of a Madison
County bank last week
bears strong similarities to
the robbery of a bank in
Commerce in April.
Merchants and Farmers
Bank in Ila off Hwy. 98
was robbed for the second
time this month Friday.
And authorities believe
the suspect is the same
person who robbed that
bank May 4.
No one was injured in
the incident.
Sheriff Kip Thomas said
the robber left on foot, exit
ing into a tree line to the
left of the front entrance.
He left with an undisclosed
amount of cash.
The armed robbery
occurred around 3 p.m.
Friday. The lone masked
gunman fit the same
description as the person
who robbed the bank ear
lier this month: a black
male, 5’5” to 57” and
approximately 150-160
pounds. He wore a red
hooded sweatshirt and
carried a small pistol.
Police are looking at the
robbery for possible con
nections to the April 9 rob
bery of United Community
Bank on Homer Road in
Commerce.
Anyone with infor
mation regarding the
crime is urged to call the
Madison County Sheriff’s
Department at 706-795-
6202 or the Athens post
of the Georgia Bureau of
Investigation at 706-542-
7901.
The similarities between
the robbery in Commerce
and the most recent one
in Ila goes as far as the all-
points-bulletin put out that
was later rescinded.
In the Commerce case,
a lookout was initially
placed for a small red car,
but officials later conclud
ed that there was insuf
ficient reason to be that
specific.
Last Friday, right after
the robbery, an APB was
placed for a little red car.
There were unconfirmed
reports that officials
stopped such a vehicle
shortly after the crime, but
determined that the driver
was not a suspect.
Commerce Police Officer Interrupts, Prevents Possible Suicide Attempt
Officers of the Commerce
Police Department investi
gated only six matters —
other than those involving
arrests (see separate story)
— during the past week.
The most serious was a
suicide attempt in which an
officer noticed a car pulled
off Homer Road at Pittman
Creek and found a despon
dent woman contemplating
suicide.
The woman, from
Lawrenceville, told the offi
cer that she did not want to
live, that her husband had
died in April and that she
was about to lose her job.
The officer noted that
she had a bottle of insu
lin and a package of hypo
dermic needles on the seat
beside her. He called for an
ambulance and contacted
Gwinnett County authori
ties, who got in contact with
the woman’s son.
Other incidents reported
last week include:
•criminal trespass at an
Ila Road business in which
someone pushed down the
parking signs. The owner
gave police the name of a
suspect.
• criminal trespass at a
Laura Lane address where
a 55-year-old white male
reported that someone
threw eggs at his front door
two nights in a row.
•damage to property on
Homer Road. A 22-year-old
white female told police
she was driving on Homer
Road when a black male
she knows threw something
at her car. The report said
the item made a dent near a
door handle.
•a report of a missing
juvenile by a 41-year-old
black female who said her
son left the house without
permission. She said the boy
repeatedly stayed out late
at night with other people
at the Commerce Crossing
apartment complex.
Banks-Jackson Risk Reduction
DUI SCHOOL
706-336-6777
DEFENSIVE DRIVING
1728 North Broad Street, Commerce, State Certified 5010 and 2007
Next DUI Class begins on June 6, 2009
Next Defensive Driving Class will be held on May 30,2009
Fri .iSyVA<r4
Sponsored by: The Commerce
Downtown Authority and
5
fJ^Community B E(pR
yVJty Bank & Trust i | ™
AEJS
program
Call 706-335-1270
Applications Available at
www.WJJC.net
WJJC Radio Presents:
The 2009 Colgate
Country Showdown!
Friday, May 29
At the Commerce Cultural Center
Enter to Win! Over $100,000.00 in
prizes for the National Winner!
Take the First Step and Enter Today!!
MOVIE IN
THE PARK
HoteiTPos
Dreamworks Presents:
"Hotel for Dogs"
Friday, May 29
PG-rated Movie Starts at Dusk
BEACH PARTY
Enjoy DJ music, games and more! Concessions
will be available (popcorn, soda, candy, etc.)
Friday, June 6
6:00 p.m. start time
Events take place in Spencer Park
Downtown Commerce
706-335-2954
& Surgical
Services
BANKS
JACKSON
COMMERCE
MEDICAL
CENTER
“ Last week was my first visit to BJC. On the day I
came for my pre-op testing, l was met by smiling
faces. As I was ushered from department to
department for each test, my treatment was the
same. On the day of my surgery, every procedure
was explained in a way that let me know 1 was in
good hands. My surgery was a success, and I feel
as if I have acquired new family members. Thank
you all for making what could have been a trying
time, a time of peace. ”
- Evelyn Douglas
4/15/2009
“We tneat you tide family”
Sewing fronds -facffaan-Gommexce fox ouex 49 ‘tyeaxs
70 Medical Center Drive • Commerce, GA 30529
706.335.1000 • www.bjcmc.org