Author: Robert Preston

Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner John F. King announced today that a fire that occurred at the offices of Shann Peanut Company on Bowens Mill Road in Ambrose was intentionally set. The fire occurred around 11:30 a.m. on Sunday, June 13, and caused heavy damage to the 30-year-old, 4,000- square-foot structure. Crews with the Coffee County Fire Department fought the fire all day, but the double roof on the wood framed structure hindered firefighting efforts. “Investigators with my office examined the scene on Monday and found evidence of an intentionally set fire originating in the attic area,” said…

Friday afternoon, Bobby Worthy and Paul L. Nally turned themselves in to the Coffee County Jail after a Coffee County Grand Jury issued a Special Presentment last week, charging the duo with filing false documents. Both were booked into the jail and posted bond shortly thereafter. If convicted, the charge, a felony, carries a sentence of one to five years in prison. On March 5, 2021, Worthy and Nally filed a petition with the Clerk of Court requesting that they be given an opportunity to present evidence to the Coffee County Grand Jury and requesting that they file a…

Thursday night about 11:30, former state rep. Chuck Sims was arrested and charged with DUI. It was his fourth DUI arrest and his first since 2013. According to a report obtained from the Douglas Police Department, a police officer observed Sims make two improper turns and pulled him over. The officer stated that he noticed the smell of alcohol on Sims’s breath during the stop. Sims admitted to having two drinks, according to the report. Sims then told the officer that had to go because he had a call, which the officer believed to be a death call for…

Thursday night about 11:30, former state rep. Chuck Sims was arrested and charged with DUI. It was his fourth DUI arrest and his first since 2013. According to a report obtained from the Douglas Police Department, a police officer observed Sims make two improper turns and pulled him over. The officer stated that he noticed the smell of alcohol on Sims’s breath during the stop. Sims admitted to having two drinks, according to the report. Sims then told the officer that had to go because he had a call, which the officer believed to be a death call for…

A convicted sex offender who was on probation for child molestation is headed back to prison for admitting to having sex with a pig. Scarber Jonal Smith of Wray pled guilty to child molestation in 2014 for an incident that occurred the previous year. He was sentenced to 20 years, seven of which he would serve in state prison. He would finish the remainder of his sentence on probation. Smith had been released from prison and during a meeting with his probation officer, the officer discovered that he had violated the terms of his probation during a polygraph test. Smith…

A local daycare center that opened in 2017 has been ordered closed for up to three weeks after a nine-month-old infant died following an alleged choking incident at the facility. According to documents obtained by DouglasNow.com, Bright from the Start, the division of the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning that licenses childcare facilities in the state, has closed Akim Academy, located on 441 South in Douglas, after the agency learned of the death of an infant. The documents that the infant died on May 3, 2021; however, Akim Academy did not report the death until May 6,…

Two weeks after he was jailed for allegedly violating his probation, Roscoe Allen found himself in court once again – this time to see if he would be released or if he would remain in jail. He’s staying in jail. Superior Court Judge Kelly Brooks re-sentenced Allen Wednesday morning after he allegedly violated his probation just two weeks after pleading guilty to aggravated assault and aggravated stalking charges stemming from two separate incidents – one that took place in 2019 and the other last July. In his initial plea, Allen pled under the first offender act. Had…

Willie Spence, 21, one of American Idol’s Season 19 top three finalists, had quite a homecoming Tuesday. Spence, accompanied by an American Idol film crew, arrived in Douglas Monday night after landing at the Valdosta airport. A motorcade from Douglas escorted him back home, where he spent the evening with family and friends for a little downtime before hitting the ground wide open Tuesday morning. Spence started off the day at the Coffee County Courthouse, where film crews from area television stations spent a few minutes with him. Then he visited people and places around town that were…

Keegan McGovern has picked up where he left off in 2019. After missing last season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, McGovern was promoted to the Class AA Arkansas Travelers of the AA Central division. In five games this season, McGovern, an outfielder, is hitting .286 with a home run, one RBI, and four runs scored. His home run came last week in the first game of the season. McGovern, who was serving as the team’s designated hitter, and teammate Jake Scheiner went back-to-back in the fourth inning to score the Travelers’ first runs of the season. Arkansas ended up…

Two weeks. That’s how long Roscoe Allen to end up back in jail after his release in late April. Wednesday morning, Allen was arrested for violating his probation after he pled guilty to two charges and was released from jail on April 20, 2021. He pled guilty to aggravated assault and aggravated stalking charges stemming from separate incidents that occurred in March of 2019 and July of 2020. Allen had been incarcerated since his arrest on aggravated stalking charges in the 2020 incident. Allen was given 10 years’ probation and six months house arrest when he was released…