Author: Kristen Kitchens

Leroy Allen Welch of Douglas, 39, a convicted felon who previously spent five years in prison on local burglary convictions, is back behind bars after being accused of telling two individuals he would “shoot them in their face” and then firing a gun near both men. The victims also reported that Welch made several other remarks, one in which he allegedly threatened to “disassemble their bodies and spread them across the county.” According to a Douglas Police Department incident report, on September 8, after being informed of a possible assault, officers were dispatched to a local business and…

A former Deep South Fuel employee was arrested in June after allegedly stealing and shooting the company’s vehicle and trailer before setting it on fire. Amanda Rena Lott has now been charged as a second suspect in connection to the case on charges of arson and theft. As previously reported, deputies arrived at the location of the burning truck on May 31, and found the truck destroyed by the flames but were able to identify that the truck belonged to Deep South Fuel. Deputies spoke with representatives at Deep South Farm Supply, who said they had an employee,…

In November 2021, a Coffee High School graduate and longtime resident of Coffee County, Jacob Daniel Price, was arrested in Florida after allegedly walking into a local police department and confessing to killing his parents, along with two of their dogs. However, after close to three years, the outcome of the case will not come to a close soon, as Price has been deemed “not competent to stand trial.” The tragic double homicide of the Price family, 51-year-old Jolene Price, and 56-year-old Robert Price, caught the attention of people all over the country, making national and local headlines…

A total of fourteen pending cases in the Superior Court of Coffee County are now ready to be presented to a jury during September’s criminal trial week scheduled for the end of the month. According to a copy of the court’s trial calendar, half of the cases set to move forward consist of defendants facing aggravated assault, with other charges including arson, burglary/theft, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, obstruction of law enforcement, child molestation, and entering an automobile. The calendar lists seven individuals charged with aggravated assault, including James Gregory Burch (two counts); Tomas James…

Clayton Lundy, a man who made headlines last year for allegedly sexually assaulting a young female in Walmart, pleaded guilty this week in the Superior Court of Coffee County. While Lundy was facing life in prison, the plea deal resulted in a lesser sentence, which included 20 years in prison. A Douglas Police Department report accused Lundy of approaching a female from behind in the baby department at Walmart between 8:00 p.m. and 8:15 p.m. on October 31, 2021, and pulling a pocket knife on her. The victim reported that he pressed the knife against her neck, reached…

An altercation that reportedly began over a pair of misplaced AirPods caused Charles William Thrift Jr. of Douglas to receive felony charges last week. The lost item led Thrift Jr. to allegedly hit two family members and threaten to shoot a victim while pointing a shotgun at her. A Coffee County Sheriff’s Office report states that on September 7 around 7:30 p.m. he spoke to a woman at a residence on Rolling Hills Lane in Douglas regarding an altercation that had occurred involving 69-year-old Thrift Jr. The woman reported that she had been asleep but woke up to…

The Douglas Police Department recently arrested Kavonte Shiqwan Debro in connection to a 2020 shooting. Debro was the third suspect to receive charges related to the assault, with the other two apprehended in 2020 and recently pleading guilty. The shooting that led to Debro’s charges occurred on August 8, 2020, with officers reporting that they arrived at a location on East Baker Highway and discovered the victim, Travion Snell, bleeding from the neck with a gunshot wound. Snell ended up being life-flighted to Savannah for treatment, but survived his injuries. According to the report, a witness…

A Coffee County Jail jail officer, Siejdra Harrell of Douglas, has been charged on two counts after she allegedly brought in contraband to an inmate held in the jail. DouglasNow received a copy of the incident report from the arrest, but no details of the case were included. On Friday, DouglasNow reached out to an official with the Coffee County Sheriff’s Office about the jailer’s arrest. The official responded, “After a cell search, jailers with the Coffee County Sheriff’s Office found cell phones and other contraband. After a brief investigation, it was determined that an employee…

Rusty Spell of Broxton strikes again. Allegedly, of course. Spell was recently arrested and charged with his third offense of theft by taking since May 2021 after he allegedly stole a cargo trailer from a local business. Spell has spent time in prison previously for similar charges, with his most recent release being in 2019 after a burglary conviction in Coffee County. According to a Douglas Police Department incident report, an officer was dispatched to a location regarding a possible theft on September 6 around 10:56 a.m. When the officer arrived, he spoke with a sales…

Bo Dukes will carry out his 25-year sentence for concealing the death of Irwin County teacher Tara Grinstead after the Court of Appeals denied him a new trial last week. Dukes appealed his conviction shortly after his trial in 2019, where a Wilcox County jury found him guilty on four charges, including two counts of making false statements, one count of hindering apprehension or punishment of a criminal, and one count of concealing the death of another. In Dukes’ motion, his defense counsel argued that the courts should not have allowed his confession to the GBI…