Author: Robert Preston

According to a statement released on the Douglas Police Department’s Facebook page, no charges will be filed in the shooting death of Larry Tyrone Webb, 41. Webb was shot on Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2019, at the In and Out store on East Baker Highway during an altercation. He initially survived the shooting and was transferred to Navicent Health Center in Macon, where he later passed away. Officers with the Douglas Police Department have wrapped the investigation and decided not to file charges. According to the statement, “the investigation shows that the actions taken during this altercation were justified…

Are you interested in revitalizing Wheeler Park? If so, mark your calendar for Wednesday, Feb. 27, at noon. The Community Foundation of Coffee County has received a private donation earmarked for Wheeler Park improvements. It has also received a grant that provide additional funding for the project. Wheeler Park is one of the most heavily-used parks in the city. In the not too distant past, the park has received some new playground equipment, including tennis court improvements. However, the picnic shelter and the small baseball field are quite dated and in need of a facelift. This project through…

Monday night, the Douglas city commission hired Capt. Shane Edmisten of the Suwannee (Ga.) Police Department as the new chief of the Douglas Police Department. Assistant chief Brannen Pruette had served as interim police chief since Gary Casteloes retired last summer. Pruette had also applied for the chief of police position. Originally, the city selected five applicants to interview for the position: Edmisten, Pruette, Broxton police chief Scott Harper, Robert K. Ellison (an officer with the Milton Police Department), and Calvin Troy (former chief of the Quitman Police Department). An interview panel comprised of city department heads…

The driver of a tractor-trailer hauling peanuts walked away from a spectacular truck v. train accident on the railroad tracks at Barrington Road west of Douglas. The truck, a Peterbilt day cab tractor, was taking a load of peanuts to Premium Peanut when the accident occurred. There are no crossing arms at that crossing, which is used heavily by big trucks going to and from Premium Peanut. The train, which was traveling east, struck the hood of the truck. The impact knocked the hood off and separated the engine, transmission, and front axle from the truck. The trailer rolled…

SunTrust and BB&T, two banking companies with branches in Coffee County, have announced that they are merging into a new bank, which will be the sixth-largest in the United States. The two institutions have referred to the transaction as a “merger of equals” that will, according to an email sent by SunTrust to its customers, “create a distinctive client experience enhanced by increased capacity for investments in transformative technology.” Exactly what that means remains to be seen. The merger is an all-stock transaction valued at $66 billion. According to a story posted by NPR, the merger is titled in…

News broke late yesterday afternoon that two bodies had been discovered near Nicholls. DouglasNow.com has confirmed that the two bodies are those of Kristian Bell, 25, who had been reported missing from the Nicholls area, and Steven Ward, described by friends alternately as either her boyfriend or ex-boyfriend. Earlier this week, the Coffee County Sheriff’s Office issued a press release and photo seeking information regarding Bell, who had not been seen since Jan. 20. Bell and Ward were found yesterday buried behind a residence on Deep Woods Road, which is off Roberts Cemetery Road in the Nicholls area. …

Motorists using Highway 135 Friday morning encountered a macabre scene near the city limits sign, almost directly across the road from the entrance to Optima Chemical. A male subject, identified as John Aubrey Pond, 28, of Willacoochee, had been struck and killed by a vehicle before daylight Friday. First responders covered Pond with a sheet; however, it was visible for several hours to passersby while officers completed the investigation. Law enforcement treated the scene as a hit and run. Apparently, Pond had been walking home from a nearby convenience store when he was struck by a vehicle. Officers were…

Wednesday night, a shooting took place at the In and Out store on East Baker Highway in Douglas. The Douglas Police Department posted a press release on its Facebook page late Thursday afternoon. Larry Tyrone Webb, 41, was shot multiple times in the parking lot of the store around 7 p.m. Wednesday night. He was transported from the scene and flown by Air Evac to a trauma center with life-threatening injuries. At the scene, officers learned that Webb was shot inside of a vehicle during an altercation with another individual who had left the scene. Investigators were able to obtain…

A fatal tractor-trailer accident in Irwin County on Tuesday afternoon claimed the life of a Coffee County man and closed Highway 32 near Irwinville for several hours while authorities, firefighters, and hazmat officials cleaned up the accident site. The accident took place when a tractor-trailer driven by Walter Stubbs left the roadway. Details of the accident have not been released. However, the rig, a tanker owned by Fletcher Oil Company in Douglas, crashed then exploded into flames and burned for a long time on the side of the roadway. Stubbs did not survive the accident. A hazmat team from…

The greatest mystery in Coffee County has been solved: Holt’s Bakery is re-opening on Saturday, Feb. 16, 2019. Holt’s has been closed since a fire destroyed the interior of the building on May 16, 2018. After the fire, the Holt family took the time to completely renovate the building. Initially, there were unsubstantiated reports that Holt’s would re-open for the 2018 holiday season. The holidays came and went, and Holt’s remained closed. DouglasNow.com has received a number of messages – too many to count – asking if we knew when Holt’s would re-open. The answer was always the…