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THE BANKS COUNTY NEWS • THE COMMERCE NEWS
WEDNESDAY, JULY 13, 2016
Commerce Police Department arrests
18-year-old loses fight, faces charges
An 18-year-old man who got
in a fight while intoxicated not
only wound up arrested on
three charges, but he also go
the worst of the fight.
Police charged Jeremy
Joseph Goralczyk, 18, 54
Brumbalow Road, Pender
grass, with battery criminal
trespass and underage con
sumption of alcohol following
an altercation at a South Broad
Street residence.
When police arrived,
they found a woman who
said Goralczyk had pushed,
grabbed and choked her. She
had blood all over her arms,
clothing and legs and said that
Goralczyk was intoxicated and
became upset for unknown
reasons. The officer observed
a large amount of blood on the
kitchen counter, the kitchen
floor, the living room carpet,
the TV stand, the couch and
on the carpet going to another
room.
The woman told the officer
that Goralczyk began throwing
things and had cut himself in
the process. All of the blood,
she said, was from the sus
pect.
The victim showed where
Goralczyk had grabbed her
around the neck, at which
time another male in the resi
dence intervened.
That person said he
attempted to get Goralczyk off
of the woman he was choking
by getting him in a chokehold,
but Goralczyk got out of the
chokehold. That witness was
also covered in the suspect’s
blood.
The officer tried to locate
Goralczyk by following the
blood trail, but was unsuccess
ful. He eventually found him
after someone called the res
idence and reported where
Goralczyk was hiding.
EMS responded to the
scene and treated Goralczyk
for his injuries, after which he
was taken to jail.
Others Charged
Other people cited or arrest
ed between Friday July 1, and
Monday July 11, include:
•Shawn Lee Ledford, 40,
118 Willoughby Homes, Com
merce, criminal trespass and
obstruction of officers. Police
found him hiding in the attic of
a Central Avenue residence he
had allegedly entered illegally
for the second time that day.
The owner of the property
had previously had Ledford
served with a criminal trespass
warning.
•Shawn Lee Ledford, 40,
1698 Sims Bridge Road, Com
merce, battery and criminal
trespass in connection with an
incident at Georgia RV Park,
Mt. Olive Road, in which he
allegedly attacked a man in a
camper who was entertaining
Ledford’s estranged wife. The
incident report noted that Led
ford’s hand was injured and
bleeding because the victim
slammed the camper door on
it.
•Karl Stuart West, 52, 37
Old Antioch Road, Carroll
ton, leaving the scene of an
accident. Police charged West
after West was involved in an
accident on Interstate 85 and
drove away instead of stop
ping. The arrest report said
West told the officer he drove
off because he was scared.
•Tina Renee Tate, 54, 391
Spring Street, Commerce, mis
demeanor possession of mar
ijuana. She was arrested as
police investigated a report of
reckless driving and encoun
tered her in a residence on
Wildcat Lane where, smelling
marijuana, they asked if there
was any of the drug in the
residence. Tate answered in
the affirmative, showed police
where it was and admitted
ownership.
• William B.Canup, 23,5224
Crossing Place, Commerce,
criminal damage to property
and obstruction of officers in
connection with his vehicle
damaging the gate at Heritage
Crossing Apartments. The
report pointed out that while
Canup conceded that it was
his car that caused the dam
age, he did not know who was
driving it at the time.
•Claude Lee Bradley 23,
222 Tuckaluge Creek Road,
Clayton, possession of meth-
amphetamine, driving while
unlicensed and possession of
a firearm during the commis
sion of a crime. An officer
stopped the vehicle Bradley
was driving because it had
black paint obscuring the
brake lights. Bradley’s license
was expired, and he had an
active probation violation war
rant from the Dillard Police
Department. Bradley told
police he had a firearm in
the vehicle, and police found
a 9 mm handgun in a holster
attached to the bottom of the
steering column and hidden
by Bradley’s legs. During a
search, an officer removed
several small plastic bags from
Bradley’s pockets, along with
another bag with a substance
that tested positive for meth-
amphetamine. Police also
found a .22 caliber revolver
in a backpack and a .22 rifle
behind the seats.
• Rammy S. Beczewski,
58, 1005 Landing Loop, Talla
hassee, FL, driving without a
license and a violation of the
open container law. An offi
cer cited her after responding
to a domestic dispute on 1-85
south in which Beczewski and
her mother got into an argu
ment and her mother tried to
jump out of the car. When the
officer asked for her driver’s
license, she told the officer
she did not have it with her.
The officer ran her name and
date of birth through dispatch
in Florida and she returned
not licensed. An officer also
noticed an open container
of alcohol in the vehicle. The
passenger, the police report
said, “wasn’t drinking, but was
not in good mental health to
drive.” An officer gave her
a courtesy escort to Banks
Crossing where she got a hotel
room.
Warrant Arrests
Commerce police also
announced the following
arrests on outstanding war
rants:
• Brigett Lee Farley 32, 463
Penny Worth Place, Demor-
est, arrested on Steven B. Tan-
ger Boulevard on a failure to
appear warrant from Forsyth
County after an officer stopped
her for a traffic violation.
•Daniel Vanderford, 29,
396 WL Williams Road, Com
merce, arrested on an unspec
ified Jackson County warrant
during the investigation of a
domestic disturbance. Accord
ing to the arrest report, Van
derford volunteered the infor
mation that he was the subject
of a warrant.
• Pang Yang, 26. 317 Almon
Lane, Pineville, NC, picked up
at the Barrow County Jail on
a bench warrant from Com
merce for failure to appear.
• Joseph Lee Snyder,
20, 1577 Macedonia Church
Road, Danielsville, picked up
at Midway Farm Supply on Ila
Road from a Madison County
deputy on a failure to appear
warrant related to a speeding
ticket.
Commerce Police Department incidents
Attempt to cut into ATM with torch fails
Commerce police are look
ing for two men who tried to
enter the ATM at United Com
munity Bank on Homer Road
by using a blowtorch.
They were unsuccessful.
On July9, atabout5:10a.m.,
police were summoned to
the bank where an employee
reported that she’d received a
call from the alarm company.
She advised the company not
to dispatch police, thinking a
rodent might have caused the
alarm, and went to the bank,
where she saw a man in dark
clothing with his face covered
around the ATM. She said he
had a “tank on his back” and
ran into the woods behind
the bank.
She told police that when
she pulled into the bank, the
ATM was rolled out and its
rear door was open. As she
pulled her vehicle around
back to the ATM door, she
saw the man with dark cloth
ing, a mask and a torch come
out of the ATM door.
“She laid on the horn and
saw him run into the woods.
The bank’s security system
also recorded pictures of the
theft attempt.
Other Matters
Other matters requiring
police attention during the
period from Friday, July 1, to
Monday July 11, include:
•damage to property at
the South State Bank drive-
through facility North Elm
Street., where a woman drove
her vehicle into a pole, dam
aging a bank sign. The driver
cooperated with police.
•a death investigation at
Northridge Medical Center
where Charles Randall Hag
gard, who had been involved
in a fight in Madison County
along with his son, had died.
The victim’s son said he and
his father got into a fight with
another person in Madison
County and that his father
collapsed after the altercation.
Madison County officials are
investigating the accident.
• Suicide threats at a Neal
Street address where a 19-year
old male had a handful of pills
and made threats to harm
himself because of problems
with his ex-girlfriend and his
best friend. The victim had
a history of wanting to harm
himself. Police took him to
Northridge Medical Center for
evaluation.
•threats via phone and
social media reported by a
Heritage Hills Apartments
resident who said a woman
he contacted on Facebook
threatened to publish nude
images and photos of the
man on social media if he did
not pay $1,500 to a charity for
orphaned children. In anoth
er instance, the woman tried
to get $500 from the victim.
• recovery of a stolen trail
er at a Spring Street address
by the owner, who had found
it. The trailer had been sto
len in Banks County. Police
released it to the owner.
•recovery of suspected
methamphetamine and mari
juana from a vehicle on which
police had conducted a traffic
stop. Police determined that a
female, who had walked over
to the vehicle, opened the
door and talked to the driv
er when the officer pulled it
over, owned the contraband.
The woman walked over to
a convenience store as the
officer cited the driver and
did not return. The police had
her vehicle towed.
• battery reported at a
Homer Street address by a
woman who said she and
a male got into a verbal
argument during which he
pushed her, choked her and
threw her glasses against the
wall. The man returned to the
residence and presented a
different account of the inci
dent, saying she snatched a
phone out of his hand, after
which he grabbed her arm
and got the phone back. She
then pushed him, he pushed
her and then he left. He told
police the woman threw her
glasses at him and he threw
them back at her.
•theft by taking at a South
Elm Street residence where
someone stole an 8-year-
old Shitzu. The victim gave
the police a description of a
suspect who had appeared
unannounced at the house
for no apparent reason.
•a domestic dispute at
Heritage Crossing Apart
ments, where a woman got
mad, began throwing things
and said she was going to
“end it all.” When the man
returned in the afternoon, she
went into the apartment and
locked him out, and he could
hear her hitting things with
a bat.
•damage to property at
Commerce Burgers, South
Broad Street, in which a crew
working on the railroad some
how caused a rock to break
the window of the front door.
• harassing phone calls
from a “recovery” company
demanding that a woman pay
an outstanding bill. Since nei
ther the woman nor anyone
else at the address owes any
outstanding bills, the woman
told police she figures it’s a
scam.
•theft of a pickup tmck
and a laptop computer from
a Bennett Street residence.
The two victims gave police
the name of a suspect who
had access to the keys of the
tmck.
•criminal trespass at the
Boys and Girls Club, Ridge
way Street, in which a young
male refused to obey a staff
member’s commands. Police
issued a criminal trespass
warning.
• identity theft reported by
a man who said someone
used his Social Security num
ber to try to acquire service
through Verizon on three
lines the victim currently uses.
•theft by taking at a Jeffer
son Street residence where
someone stole a license tag
off a Ford F-150 tmck.
• theft by taking at the Geor
gia RV Park, Mt. Olive Road, in
which a man reported that his
girlfriend moved out to return
to her ex-husband, taking a
number of the victim’s fire
arms with her.
•criminal trespass at a
North Broad Street residence
by a man who returned
home to find his front and
rear doors, which had been
locked, unlocked and open.
The victim said nothing was
missing from the residence.
Maxwell trial put off until November
Former Nicholson Mayor
Ronnie Maxwell got a con
tinuance until November for
his trial on charges of theft by
taking and violating his oath
of office.
“I got a voicemail from
the office of the district attor
ney saying it was continued
until the next session, which
will be in November,” said
Mayor Jan Webster. “He said
there will be new subpoenas
issued then.”
Maxwell was arrested
last August after the Geor
gia Bureau of Investigation
raided Nicholson City Hall
and seized documents in
connection with the use
of $10,607 in special pur
pose local option sales tax
(SPLOST) revenue to pave a
road that served only Max
well family property. His
case was among several on
the trial calendar for the July
term of the Superior Court of
Jackson County.
Webster said that Maxwell
has not paid the city back
for the expenditure, which
was deemed an inappropri
ate use of SPLOST funds by
the SPLOST 5 Review Com
mittee.
Banks County incidents
Shopper reports
purse snatching
at Walmart store
The Banks County Sheriff’s Office recently responded to
Walmart at Banks Crossing to the report of a purse snatch
ing.
A 45-year-old female stated she was walking to the
unlocked passenger side of her vehicle when a small pickup
truck pulled into the parking space next to the passenger
side of her vehicle.
She said as she opened the door to grab her purse “a guy
from the truck got out, grabbed her purse and got back in
the truck and left.”
She said the purse contained a $170 watch, a set of keys,
several pictures, an emergency card and $275 in cash.
Other Incidents
Other recent incidents reported to the BCSO include:
• a dispute at a Hancock Way, Baldwin, residence, where
a man attempting to repossess a 2002 Ford Excursion said
a 40-year-old male got in the vehicle and drove away, almost
hitting the complainant.
• a lost tag at an unknown location.
• a custody dispute at a Bellamy Road, Homer, residence,
where a man reported he had received a text message from
his child’s mother stating she was not going to bring the
child home at the agreed-upon time.
• an animal complaint at an Andres Road, Baldwin, res
idence, where a man reported his neighbor had shot his
dog. The complainant stated the dog had to be put down
due to the injuries.
• a recovered stolen vehicle at a Brewer Road, Lula, resi
dence, where a 1997 Chevrolet Z71 tmck reported stolen out
of Jackson County was located.
•a stolen tag at a McClure Road, Gillsville, residence,
where a female reported she had been contact by the Hall
County Sheriff’s Office advising that her 2000 Jeep Cherokee
tag had been located displayed on a Chevrolet tmck.
•a custody dispute at a Steven B. Tanger Boulevard,
Banks Crossing, location. A female reported her ex-husband
who lives in Hall County picked their child up from her
home in Jackson County and began sending threatening
messages; she told him to bring the child home and then
he stopped responding to calls or messages.
•warrant service at a Highway 51 South, Homer, location,
•theft of lost/mislaid item at Lucky Inc. Valero, Banks
Crossing, where a woman reported she set her phone
down to get food, left and realized she had left her phone,
returned to get the phone, but was unable to locate it.
•an open door/business check at Commerce Pain
Management, Banks Crossing, where a door was found
unsecured.
Residents invited to
'Coffee with a Cop'
Officers of the Commerce Police Department will
hold their second “Coffee with a Cop” event Wednes
day, July 20, from 7:30 to 9 a.m. at the Railroad Cafe,
located at the corner of South Broad Street Extension
and Ila Road.
Police will provide free coffee. Police chief Bandon
Sellers, Capt. Ken Harmon and various officers invite
the public to join them for conversation about any topic
of interest to the citizens who attend.
Jackson State Court
delivers sentences
State Court sentences reported from recent proceedings in
Jackson County include the following:
• Brian Humphries, battery and criminal trespass — six days
in jail, 12 months probation and $500 fine.
• Tanner Barnett, theft by taking — 90 days in jail.
•Jan Price, failure to stop at an accident, reckless driving
and failure to obey a traffic control device — five days in jail, 12
months probation, $1,650 fine and restitution. A charge of open
container violation was dismissed.
• Keith Hix, criminal trespass — 12 months probation and
$500 fine. A charge of possession of marijuana was dismissed.
•Dustin Gaddy driving with a suspended license — 12
months probation and $1,000 fine.
• Brian Prather, driving with a suspended license (reduced
to no license) and deposit account fraud — 12 months proba
tion, $750 fine and six days in jail.
• Greg Martin, failure to yield as pedestrian crosses road and
pedestrian under the influence — 20 days in jail, 12 months pro
bation, $1,000 fine and drug and alcohol evaluation.
• Sonia Johnson, theft by shoplifting — 30 days in jail, $1,000
fine and 12 months probation.
• Kathryn Stovall, riving with a suspended license — 30 days
in jail.
•Amanda Laport, no insurance, 12 months probation and
$750 fine. A violation was dismissed.
• Steven Whitehead, failure to report an accident and driving
without insurance — 12 months probation and $1,250 fine. A
charge of failure to stop for an accident was dismissed.
•Thomas Cash, drivimg with a suspended license, no
insurance, fleeing and attempting to elude a law enforcement
officer, reckless driving, speeding and improper transfer of tag,
12 months probation, $3,500 fine and 60 days in jail.
Banks-Jackson Risk Reduction DUI School
1728 North Broad Street, Commerce, State Certified 5010, 2007 and 631
706-336-6777
Next Defensive Driving Class
will be held on July 16, 2016
Next DUI Class begins on July 23, 2016
Driver Education 30-Hour Day Class ($60)
will be July 18-21. Driving time-flexible.