Author: Robert Preston

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…

Roscoe Allen has been released from jail after pleading guilty to aggravated assault and aggravated stalking charges stemming from two separate incidents – one in March of 2019 and the other in July of 2020. Allen had been incarcerated since his arrest on aggravated stalking charges in the 2020 incident. The aggravated assault charge came after Allen allegedly pulled a gun on another individual on March 24, 2019, inside Time Out Sports Bar in Douglas. Allen was arrested and released following the incident. A grand jury indicted him on those charges in July 2019. In February 2020, Superior…

Ward 3 city commissioner Olivia Pearson entered a not guilty plea and requested a jury trial in State Court of Coffee County yesterday. The appearance stemmed from her arrest on Oct. 27, 2020, at the Coffee County Elections Office on criminal trespass charges. Commissioner Pearson was arrested when she allegedly refused to leave the elections office after being asked by elections officials to vacate the premises. The charge is a misdemeanor. If convicted, the maximum sentence is a $1,000 fine and/or one year in jail. A date for Commissioner Pearson’s trial has not been set. She is being represented…

Mr. Christopher Vawn “Spanky” Luke, age 45 of Nicholls, passed away late Wednesday night, March 3, 2021 at Navicent Health in Macon due to injuries received in an automobile accident. Mr. Luke was born March 21, 1975 to the late Lavawn Luke and the late Shirley Ann Raper Luke. Mr. Luke, a native of Coffee County, was employed with American Truck Parts as a wrecker truck driver. He was also a farmer and a member of Young Farmers Association. He was a member of Pineview Church of God in West Green, GA Survivors include: His wife: Angela Renee Lewis Luke…

On Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021, two employees of the Coffee County Elections Office, Misty Hampton and Jil Riddlehoover, resigned, leaving the office temporarily closed in the aftermath. The county has not made any statement regarding the resignations. DouglasNow.com submitted an open records request to the county regarding this incident. The county responded quickly and sent DouglasNow.com copies of the resignation letters submitted by Hampton and Riddlehoover. Hampton’s letter states the following: “. . . the County contends that I submitted time sheets for time worked, and was thereafter paid, when in fact I did not work all the hours…