Newspaper Page Text
The
Commerce News
SEPTEMBER 16, 2009
PAGE 6A
On The Record
Robert Clark
Gets life For
Killing Grandson
Commerce Police Department Arrests
Driver Yells At Police, Flunks Sobriety
Test, Winds Up In Jackson County Jail
By Angela Gary
A Commerce man pled
guilty Monday to murder
ing his 6-year-old grandson
in June.
Robert Clark, who
appeared before Judge Joe
Booth in Jackson County
Superior Court, was sen
tenced to serve life in jail
without the possibility of
parole. If he had pled not
guilty, the state could have
sought the death penalty.
Clark killed Michael
Levigne, a kindergarten stu
dent at Commerce Primary
School, shooting him in
the chest at Clark’s Troy
Street, Commerce, home.
Police say Clark shot his
wife, Linda Dale Clark, 58,
in the chest/stomach area
before he himself was shot
by police officers after he
fired a weapon at them.
Police believe Clark shot
and killed his grandson in
a fit of rage over a dropped
watermelon.
In court Monday, Clark
had a cast on his arm from
injuries he sustained in the
shooting. He was given the
opportunity to speak but
made no statement. He only
answered questions from
Booth, acknowledging that
Robert Clark will spend
the rest of his life in pris
on for the June murder
of his 6-year-old grand
son Michael Levigne.
it was his decision to plead
guilty and that he under
stands the consequences.
Seven deputies and two
bailiffs were present during
the court proceedings, as
well as other court and law
enforcement officials. Six
family members were also
in court but did not ask to
speak during the proceed
ings.
One family member did
abruptly leave the court
room as the proceedings
ended and yelled, “I hope
you rot in hell,” at Clark.
Items Stolen From 2 Vehicles
The Commerce Police
Department investigated
two cases of entering an
auto during an otherwise
uneventful past week.
One was at Wayne Neal
Chevrolet, South Elm Street,
where an employee found
the radio, speaker and two
amplifiers missing out of his
personal vehicle.
He didn’t report the theft
right away, but after some
one called a co-worker and
identified a suspect who
allegedly bragged about
stealing the items, he decid
ed to call police.
The co-worker gave police
the name of the alleged thief
and the information that the
stolen goods were in the
man’s car, which at the time
was disabled on U.S. 441
South.
The report did not indi
cate whether police recov
ered the stolen items.
In the other case, a woman
told police that someone
stole her checkbook and
$25 cash from her unlocked
vehicle while she was shop
ping at Ingles, U.S. 334.
Other Incidents
Other incidents requiring
police attention during the
past week include:
• shoplifting at CVS, North
Elm Street. The store clerk
reported that a woman who
had previously stolen items
came back to the store. She
showed the officer a store
security video showing the
woman stealing hair prod
ucts.
NOTICE OF
DUI CONVICTION
Driving Under The Influence
Pursuant to O.C.G.A.
Code Section 40-6-391
NAME: Ashley Gillespie
ADDRESS: 120 Coles Cl., Commerce, GA
CASE NUMBER: ST09CR1872
ARREST TIME & DATE: 01:29 A.M. on 05/09/09
ARREST LOCATION: Hancock Ave.
DISPOSITION: Ct. 1) 30 days confinement w/credit, 12
mos. probation, $800 fine + sic, 240
hrs. community service, evaluation/
treatment @ DHR facility, any tag in
name to be surrendered, Ct.2) Nolo
plea -12 mos. probation consecutive to
ct.1, $500 fine + s/c, Ct.3) 2 days
confinement concurrent wI ct.1,12 mos.
probation concurrent w ct.2, Ct.4) No
sentence.
Banks-Jackson Risk Reduction
DUI SCHOOL
706-336-6777
Maybe they should print
a warning on alcoholic bev
erage containers: “Don’t
yell or curse at police dur
ing or immediately after
the use of this product.”
Last week, two Banks
County men ended up
going to jail after one, while
intoxicated, yelled obsceni
ties at police.
This past week, a
Commerce man who attract
ed attention to himself by
yelling at a police officer he
passed on Jefferson Road,
wound up in jail on drunk
driving and disorderly con
duct charges.
According to the incident
report, the officer passed
Bryan Oneil White, 21, of
544 Martin Luther King
Jr. Drive, on the Jefferson
Road. He heard White
yell at him, and when the
officer turned his vehicle
around, he saw White turn
onto Lakeview Drive in
what the officer considered
an attempt to elude the offi
cer.
It didn’t work.
The officer pulled White
over and asked White why
he yelled, the report said.
The officer said White
“started stuttering and
could not give a reason”
then later claimed he was
talking loudly to a passen
ger.
The officer noted the
smell of alcohol, and asked
White to perform a field
sobriety test. After arguing
that he had trouble with the
test because he was “slow”
and had difficulty under
standing the directions,
White took the test and, in
the officer’s view, failed. A
roadside Alcosensor pro
duced a .119 reading.
The officer said that
when he asked White if he
had any weapons on his
person, White said no, but
the officer found a “large
knife” in his pants pocket,
the report indicated. White
allegedly told the officer
he “forgot” about the knife,
then said he carried it “in
case someone tried to get
him.”
When the officer arrested
White, the suspect alleg
edly began yelling at the
officer, claiming the officer
was “setting him up,” the
report said.
Other Charges
Others charged or cited
during a routine but busy
past week include:
• Judy Vernice Smith,
49, 183 Hogan Street,
Maysville, driving under
the influence (DUI) of
drugs, no proof of insur
ance and driving without
a license. She was arrest
ed after she pulled out of
the Flying J parking lot,
clearly under the influence
of medications, according
to the officer, who had
been summoned to the
business to investigate
“two intoxicated females.”
Smith had told the offi
cer she was on numerous
medications, and he told
her to get someone else
to come pick her up. The
report said she agreed, but
the officer pulled out and
parked across the road to
see if she complied. Five
minutes later, she pulled
out. Her passenger, Karen
Frances Whitfield, 46, of
the same address, was
charged with disorderly
conduct for allegedly curs
ing at the police.
•Ronson Westmoreland,
55, 2185 Cabin Creek
Road, Nicholson, speeding
(52/35) and driving with a
suspended license.
• Steven Russell Moon,
26 , 5737 Jot Em Down
Road, Danielsville, driving
with a suspended license
after an officer ran his tag
and learned of the suspen
sion.
•Steven Corrine David,
33, 384 Cedar Drive,
Commerce, driving with a
suspended license. He was
charged after an officer
who knew of the suspen
sion spotted him driving.
•Louis Madere Jr., 68,
765 Parkleigh Court SW,
Atlanta, speeding (86/70)
and driving without a
license on Interstate 85.
•Daniela L. Radu, 31,
1441 Culverstone Drive,
Lawrenceville, reckless
driving and speeding after
she was clocked doing 100
mph on 1-85. She told the
officer her speedometer
had indicated 75 mph.
•Jerry Lee Gillespie, 43,
572 Woodpecker Lane,
Nicholson, on an unspeci
fied warrant from Jackson
County.
•Shannon Marvin
Harper, 32, 541 Carruth
Road, Jefferson, shoplift
ing. He was arrested fol
lowing a foot chase after he
allegedly stole a 12-pack of
beer from Ingles. An offi
cer lost his badge during
the foot chase.
• Trevor Lee McCullough,
19, 4030 Warren Road,
Flowery Branch, underage
consumption of alcohol.
He was charged following
an accident on Ila Road.
•Jorge Armando Garfias,
25, 173 Steven B. Tanger
Boulevard, Commerce,
driving without a license
after he was pulled over for
a headlight violation.
•Jennifer Marie Waters,
24, 3126 Cedar Way,
Gainesville, arrested at an
Ash Street residence on an
unspecified Hall County
warrant.
• Ronald Dunlap, 45,3261
Glenco Drive, Decatur,
arrested on an unspecified
warrant.
•Dejon M. Brown, 20,
115 Sautee Street, Toccoa,
picked up at the Franklin
County Jail on a probation
violation warrant.
•Lisa Glenn Wright,
43, 217 Clayton Street,
Commerce, failure to
obtain registration, driving
with a suspended license
and driving without insur
ance. The charges came
after she was pulled over
for a tag violation.
Busy August
The Commerce Police
Department responded to
2,486 calls for service dur
ing August.
Some 2,282 were dis
patched from 911, 35 were
walk-ins at the Public
Safety Complex and 169
came through the school
resource officer.
In addition, the animal
control officer received 58
animal control reports and
issued one citation.
For the month, officers
levied 233 charges includ
ing 67 for speeding, 34 for
seat belt or child restraint
violations, 12 for theft, 10
for drunk or disorderly,
eight for insurance viola
tions, eight for burglary
and seven for license viola
tions.
The department made
six felony and one misde
meanor drug cases during
August, according to police
chief John Gaissert.
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