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THE BANKS COUNTY NEWS • THE COMMERCE NEWS
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 22, 2016
Crime/Public Safety
Commerce Police Department arrests
Commerce police incidents
Hiding from warrant service
leads to obstruction charge
A Commerce woman
who acknowledged that she
had an outstanding warrant
from Jackson County got an
obstruction charge added for
trying to hide from a Com
merce police officer.
An officer on patrol on
Martin Luther King Jr. Drive
spotted Karen Stephanie
King, 43, 20 Martin Luther
King Jr. Drive, Commerce
sitting on the front porch at
that address.
The officer knew Jackson
County had a warrant on
King and told her to walk
over to him.
“Mrs. King said ‘I know,’
and walked into the house,”
the officer said in his written
report of the arrest.
The officer called for her
to come back out and when
she did not he went into the
house. He found her hiding
in a bedroom closet. She
refused to come out, and he
had to pull her out, resulting
in the obstmction charge.
The report did not include
information on the nature of
the warrant.
Others Charged
Other people arrested or
cited by Commerce police
during the past week include:
•Marquez Daeon Sand-
ford, 26, 135 Rock Forge
Lane, Jefferson, misdemean
or possession of marijuana,
violation of the open con
tainer law and having an
unrestrained child in the
vehicle. An officer pulled
Sandford over on North
Broad Street after clocking
him doing 47 miles per hour
in a 35-mph speed zone.
He also observed that the
license plate cover was bro
ken, obscuring the tag. The
officer reported the smell of
alcohol, but Sandford blew
only a .02 on the roadside
alcosensor. The arrest report
said Sandford gave verbal
permission to search the
vehicle, and the officer found
a plastic bag of marijuana in
the glove box. Both Sand
ford and a male passenger
denied ownership of the
drugs, but Sandford eventu
ally told the officer they were
his. A 6-year-old male in the
vehicle was not wearing a
seat belt. The report indicat
ed that the passenger was
cited for violation of the open
container law.
•Phillip Dean Bell, 50,
1775 Heatherton Road, Dacu-
la, misdemeanor possession
of marijuana and violation
of the open container law.
He was a passenger in a
vehicle stopped at 11:30 p.m.
on U.S. 441 for doing 75 mph
in a 55-mph speed zone. The
officer administered a hand
held alcosensor breath test to
the driver, which produced a
reading of .025 grams. During
a pat-down, the officer found
what he thought was a pipe,
and the driver pulled out a
metal pipe containing mar
ijuana residue. The officer
then removed Bell from the
vehicle and searched the
vehicle, during which he
found a half-full can of beer
between the passenger’s seat
and the passenger-side door
and a metal container and
pipe containing marijuana,
of which Bell claimed own
ership. The report indicated
that the driver was cited for
speeding.
• Clifford Justin Peyton, 25,
269 Baugh Street, Commerce,
speeding and driving with a
suspended driver’s license.
An officer pulled Peyton over
on State Street for going 75
mph in a 55-mph speed zone.
Peyton told the officer that his
license was suspended.
•Charieigh Ann Thomas,
20, 121 Walnut Street, Com
merce, arrested on a Jackson
County warrant for theft by
deception after she turned
herself in at the police station.
Banks County Sheriffs Office arrests
7 face drug charges in Banks County
The Banks County Sheriff’s
Office recently arrested seven
people on drug charges.
Those arrested and their
charges included:
• Sharee Rosalee Lunsford,
26, 126 Blackberry Lane,
Gillsville, obstmction of law
enforcement officers, escape,
possession of an open con
tainer, driving too fast for
conditions, driving under the
influence (DUI) of drugs, fail
ure to maintain a lane, pos
session of marijuana and driv
ing without driver’s license on
person.
•James Harrell Fisher, 20,
13490 Providence Lake Drive,
Milton, possession of a Sched
ule I controlled substance,
possession of a Schedule II
controlled substance and sale
of a Schedule III, IV or V con
trolled substance.
•Timothy Troy Ward, 52,
2061 Ward Road, Cornelia,
possession of methamphet-
amine and possession of mar
ijuana.
•Antwon Devontay Calla
way 23, 437 Minor Street, Ath
ens, possession of marijuana.
• Comeo Nicole Westmore
land, 23, 131 Canoe Topper,
Big Canoe, possession of mar
ijuana.
•Joshua Taylor Westmo
reland, 21, 131 Tree Topper
Circle, Jasper, possession of
a Schedule II controlled sub
stance.
Other Arrests
Other recent arrests report
ed by the Banks County Sher
iffs Office include:
•Christopher Keith John
ston, 24, 187 Woodland Hills
Drive, Jefferson, theft by taking.
• Christopher Lawrence
Dalton, 37, 172 Mount Sinai
Road, Lula, obstmction of law
enforcement officers.
•Lindsey Alexa Gaby 23,
308 Westover Drive, Asheville,
N.C., driving with a suspend
ed driver’s license and driving
without insurance.
•Billy Joe Gragg, 33, 119
Canup Road, Alto, failure to
appear.
•Reginald Dasean Webb,
25, 1309 Armstrong Circle,
Raleigh, N.C., driving with a
suspended driver’s license
and improper turn.
• Dana Alisha Whitlock, 39,
950 Old Ila Road, Hull, proba
tion violation.
•Charles Haze Ferguson,
19, 395 Ferguson Road, Bald
win, theft by taking.
•Kadin Jarrard Carian, 19,
796 Barefoot Road, Lula, theft
by taking.
•Jerald Glenn Aldridge, 23,
121 Apple Pie Ridge Circle,
Alto, DUI - alcohol and tag light
violation.
•Cody Lee Grissom, 24,
2929 Highway 330, Bogart,
driving with a suspended driv
er’s license, a tail light violation
and a tag light violation.
•James Trey Kennedy 47,
2847 Rock Quarry Road, Toc-
coa, stalking.
• Cathy Lynn Bond, 58, 259
Hebron Road, Commerce,
simple assault, public drunk
enness, public indecency and
disorderly conduct.
•James Richard Bryson,
56, 784 Highway 59, Com
merce, DUI - alcohol and
an open container violation.
• Christopher Michael
Chandler, 43, 729 Borders
Road, Commerce, driv
ing with a suspended driv
er’s license, reckless driv
ing, DUI, possession of a
firearm or knife during the
commission of a crime, pos
session of marijuana, aggra
vated assault, false imprison
ment, terroristic threats and
acts, battery and possession
of a firearm by a convicted
felon.
•Jose Hernandez Barrera,
21,1617 Parr Hill Drive, Gaines
ville, driving without a valid
driver’s license, an open con
tainer violation and failure to
maintain a lane.
• Devon Brooke Nabors, 35,
260 Pettit Lane, Athens, proba
tion violation.
•Gustavo Saul Perez, 29,
308 Sutton Cove Court, West
minster, S.C., driving without
a valid driver’s license and a
window tint violation.
• Jodi Lee Pressley Jr., 27,16
Landway, Commerce, failure
to appear.
•Tommy Chester Tench,
38, 217 Church Street, Mays-
ville, probation violation.
•Thomas Peter Whalen,
61, 653 West Freeman Street,
Maysville, DUI - alcohol.
• Nathan Shawn Mosley
40, 5479 Highway 63, Toccoa,
DUI - alcohol, failure to wear a
helmet and failure to maintain
a lane.
• Clinton Morris Quinn, 46,
18805 Highway 59, Carnesville,
aggravated assault, theft by
extortion, public drunkenness
and possession of a firearm or
knife during the commission
of a crime.
• Taylor Lauren Roark,
24, 581 Glenn’s Farm Way,
Grayson, theft by shoplifting.
Jackson County Sheriffs Office arrests
11 arrested for probation violation
Argument over
basketball referee
leads to attack
Dissatisfaction with a referee in a pickup basketball game
left one person hospitalized, according to the Commerce
Police Department.
Staff investigators will investigate the incident that occurred
Sunday June 19, on the courts on Ridgeway Drive.
An officer met the victim, an adult male, at the emergency
room of Northridge Medical Center. He told the officer that
several people were playing basketball and that one of the
players began making disrespectful remarks about the refer
ee, an adult female.
The victim said he took up for the referee, and that he and
the instigator began a heated argument when the other man’s
son came up from behind and struck the complainant in the
back of the head.
According to the incident report, the victim had a two-inch
laceration in the back of his head. The victim said he did not
know if his attacker had something in his hand or just used
his fist.
The referee confirmed that the man’s son hit the victim
more than once, but she did not see anything in his hand.
The officer referred the matter to the department’s inves
tigators.
Nursing Home Theft
A resident at Hill Haven Nursing Home, Ridgeway Road,
told police that someone entered her room and stole her
wallet, which contained $82. The administrator said any staff
member or patient could enter the room at any time.
Lawn Equipment Stolen
Police reported three incidents where thieves made off
with lawn equipment over the past week. They include:
• A Park Street woman said someone stole a push mower
valued at $600 from behind a shed in her back yard. The offi
cer checked out the area but could find no evidence.
•A Piedmont Street man reported that someone stole a
push lawnmower off his front porch. The missing mower
reportedly had a broken throttle cable and was missing a
wheel. The owner said his neighbors reported seeing two
suspicious men in the area recently.
•At a Madison Street location, a man reported that a leaf
blower and a jigsaw were taken from a storage shed. The
shed was not locked. The blower was valued at $200 and the
jigsaw at $60.
Other Incidents
Other matters requiring police attention during the past
week include:
• criminal trespass at the old Fuel Mart, Maysville Road,
where someone tried unsuccessfully to break a window after
disabling security cameras. Other video cameras may have
captured the attempt to break a window by throwing a brick.
• damage to property on Ridgeway Street where a woman
said she was driving west when something struck her wind
shield and caused it to shatter.
•the removal of 20 pounds of drugs from the drug drop
box in the police department lobby. The evidence custodian
and another officer weighed and stored the materials in the
evidence room.
•an officer-involved traffic accident where an officer
stopped at a traffic light at Washington and Elm streets and
his vehicle was struck from behind by another. The mishap
did not appear to cause any damage to either vehicle, and no
citations were issued.
•the towing of a 2011 Mazda following a traffic stop near
the Boys & Girls Club for suspended registration and driving
without insurance.
• the towing of a vehicle from the edge of the road at Baugh
Street and Brandy Drive where it had been parked for two to
three days. After police were unable to contact the owner,
they had it towed. The report indicated that the owner came
by the police station later that day and inquired about the
vehicle.
•the towing of a vehicle parked at the stop sign at Hill
Street and Homer Street. The tag came back to a Flowery
Branch woman, and when police could not locate her, they
had the vehicle towed.
Commerce police to hold
forum on 'use of force'
The majority of the arrests
made by the Jackson Coun
ty Sheriff’s Office in the past
week were for probation
violation. Eleven of the 21
people arrested were cited
for probation violation.
Those arrested last week
were:
• Steven Marco Lester,
31, 1393 Broad River Scenic
Drive, Tignall, probation vio
lation.
• Christopher Brian
Meyer, 28, 312 North Bluff
Road, Athens, probation vio
lation.
•Michael Terry William
son, 27, 818 Cabin Creek
Drive, Nicholson, probation
violation.
• Richard Douglas
Adams, 49, 982 South Broad
Street, Commerce, proba
tion violation.
• Angel Jossue Garcia,
38, 145 Heelstone Avenue,
Athens, probation violation.
•Brian Kevin Powers, 41,
probation violation.
•Kathryn Maria Stovall,
33, 102 Creekview Court,
Athens, driving with a sus
pended driver’s license and
probation violation.
•Lisa Dine Allen, 36,
4903 Timber Ridge Road,
Gainesville, probation vio
lation.
• Daniel Adam Simmons,
30, 353 Mt. Zion Road, Dan-
ielsville, probation violation.
• Amanda Nicole Day, 34,
509 Jaden Lane, Winder,
probation violation.
• Joseph Bradley Kelly, 21,
236 Athens Street, Jefferson,
probation violation.
•Kurt Owen Heese, 49,
9831 Commerce Road,
Athens, driving with a sus
pended driver’s license and
failure to obey traffic control
device.
• Marco Antonio Leanos,
20, 3282 Apache Circle,
Oakwood, failure to appear.
• Ivan Lynn Oliver, 52,235
Sycamore Drive, Athens,
failure to appear.
• Geraldine Lee Allen,
54, 120 Forest Lake Road,
Pendergrass, possession
of methamphetamine and
possession of drug-related
object.
• Christopher Len Nation,
23, 214 Apple Valley Road,
Commerce, driving with a
suspended driver’s license
and improper exhaust.
•Tamala Kay Prather, 1,
958 Hale Road, Maysville,
failure to appear.
•William Tyrone Hum
phrey, 36, 109 Sierra Vista
Circle, Cornelia, driving
under the influence (DUI)
and failure to maintain lane.
•Trevious Omar Bugg,
21, 240 Lombardy Circle,
Athens, reckless conduct,
driving with a suspended
driver’s license, fleeing or
attempting to elude a law
enforcement officer, reck
less conduct, reckless driv
ing and s safety belt viola
tion.
•Zachary Ryan Theriot,
26, 2700 Ward Road, Bay-
town, Texas, driving in an
emergency lane and driving
with a suspended driver’s
license.
• Alice Faye Dean, 61, 530
The Commerce Police Department will hold a public
forum at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 28, at the Commerce
Police Department.
Command staff from the department will present a pro
gram on “police use of force,” that is designed to help the
public better understand why and how police officers in
Commerce use force.
“We will discuss the pertinent laws and policies that offi
cers operate in compliance with,” explained Lt. Ken Harmon.
“We will also discuss how incidents of force are investigated
and how the police department insures compliance with
applicable laws and policies. We welcome any community
member that would like to hear about this topic or to spend
some time with officers and Command Staff of the Com
merce Police Department.”