Author: Jerry A. Hudson

Alma police are attempting to locate a husband and wife duo suspected of passing of thousands of dollars in forged checks recently at two area businesses. Officers received a complaint of forgery at Parker’s Food Mart on Aug. 1 and, over the course of several days, Parker’s received 17 forged checks exceeding a monetary value of $6,000. On Aug. 2, Jay’s IGA reported receiving three forged checks that reportedly exceeded $1,000. Investigators determined two individuals, identified as Amy Anissa Altman Thornton and Gregg Franklin Thornton, are the persons responsible for forging and passing the fraudulent checks. APD has…

Telfair County officials are searching for a man who disappeared Friday morning after entering a wooded area near his home. 40-year-old Tommy James Hulett is described as a white male, approximately 6’0″, 260 lbs., with blue eyes. He was last seen wearing a white t-shirt and is known to have a health issue that requires frequent monitoring. Anyone with information pertaining to Hulett’s whereabouts is asked to contact the Telfair – Wheeler 911 Center at 229-868-7833 or The Telfair County Sheriff’s Office at 229-868-6621.

Wallace David Lee, who is accused of the 2015 murders of 33-year-old Meghan Bowen and 39-year old James Harden, will remain behind bars after being denied bond for a third time Thursday morning. Lee was also denied bond last January during an appeal hearing in front of Judge J. Kelly Brooks, who refused Lee’s request based on the defendant’s potential to commit a new felony while awaiting trial. Judge Brooks also cited Lee as a potential a danger to other people in the community during that hearing. Lee faces two counts of malice murder and one count of possession of…

Alma police issued an emergency alert just before 2:30 p.m. Tuesday for a missing nine-year-old boy. Authorities say Michael Anthony (Mike) Dixon was last seen by his siblings around 8 a.m. wearing blue shorts and a gray and white shirt. Dixon is a black male, approximately 4’0″, 60 to 80 lbs., with short black hair. Anyone with information regarding his whereabouts is asked to contact 911 immediately or the Alma Police Dept. at (912) 632-8751. UPDATE: Alma Police Chief Michael Leslie reported around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday that Michael Anthony Dixon was located in safe condition shortly after the publication of…

Douglas police arrested a man Thursday they say is responsible for two armed store robberies that occurred last week. Officers responded to an armed robbery at the Flash Foods store on N. Peterson Ave. last Saturday, June 25, and another similar incident at Clyde’s Market on the Willacoochee Hwy. the following Sunday, June 26. Witnesses reported an individual entered both locations wearing similar clothing and approached store clerks in the same manner, placing his right hand in his jacket pocket as if he had a weapon and demanding money. Both clerks complied, and the assailant left both locations with an…

Douglas Mayor Pro Tem Olivia Pearson, who appeared in Coffee County Superior Court two weeks ago to plead not guity on multiple felony counts for alleged voter fraud activities, was elected to the board of directors of the Georgia Municipal Association (GMA) during the association’s annual meeting in Savannah on Monday. According to a press release issued by the City of Douglas, Pearson will serve as President of GMA’s 11th District, which includes cities in Ben Hill, Coffee, Bacon, Pierce, Brantley, Charlton, Clinch, Echols, Lowndes, Brooks, Lanier, Cook, Berrien, Atkinson, Irwin, Tift and Turner Counties. District presidents are first elected…

There would be little debate in Christian circles that the United States continues to become more secularized. The failings of some Christians to respond to this secularization in a Christ-like manner and how a new generation of reformers are stepping out to live the gospel in every facet of American life serve as the main themes of Gabe Lyons’ book The Next Christians. I believe, as Lyons apparently does, that once American Christians accept the fact that the United States is (and will remain) a pluralistic society, as the forefathers intended, we will be able to move forward with a…

A 58-year-old Douglas man faces domestic violence and aggravated assault on law enforcement charges following an incident Wednesday in which he allegedly attacked his wife and a sheriff’s deputy with a pair of scissors. According to an incident report obtained through the Coffee County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to a residence on Bethel Rd. shortly after 11 a.m. A witness at the location told authorities the assailant, whom he identified as Wendell Corbitt, Sr., had attacked his sister (the wife of the alleged offender) with a pair of scissors. Law enforcement entered the residence and, according to the report, found…

Two men face an array of charges following an incident Tuesday that revolved around an empty gas tank, a botched attmept to steal fuel from two locations, a wanted criminal, and a quantifty of methamphetamine. Coffee County sheriff’s officials stated a deputy located a red Ford Explorer wanted in connection to a gas drive-off at Clyde’s Minit Mart pulling into the parking lot of Chaney Motors on the Willachoochee Hwy. The deputy initiated a traffic stop in the parking lot of the business and identified the driver as James Wesley McDermitt. A passenger in the vehicle was identified as David…

Douglas City Commissioner and Mayor Pro Tem Olivia Pearson entered not guilty pleas Thursday in Coffee County Superior Court to four felony counts for her alleged role in election fraud activities that occurred during the 2012 general election cycle. Pearson faces two counts of improper assistance in casting a ballot and two counts of false swearing after being indicted by a Coffee County grand jury last month. She was jailed on May 31, but quickly released on a preset bond. Thursday’s arraignment was her first appearance in court. Assistant District Attorney Ian Sansot did not rule out the possibility of…