Author: Robert Preston

A sex offender wanted by the Coffee County Sheriff’s Office ended up in a stand-off with deputies Saturday morning. The stand-off concluded when the suspect, William Franklin Goodwin, turned the gun on himself. The sheriff’s office had been looking for Goodwin for failing to maintain the requirements of his sex offender status after moving from his registered address. He moved from the address with notifying the sheriff’s office. Goodwin had bene convicted of multiple criminal sexual acts against a minor. He was also on probation and hadn’t maintained the requirements of his probation. The sheriff’s office had an arrest…

A sex offender wanted by the Coffee County Sheriff’s Office shot himself after being confronted by deputies Saturday morning. William Franklin Goodwin turned a gun on himself after pointing it at deputies inside a residence at Oak Park on Saturday. The sheriff’s office had been looking for Goodwin for failing to maintain the requirements of his sex offender status after moving from his registered address. He moved from the address with notifying the sheriff’s office. Goodwin had bene convicted of multiple criminal sexual acts against a minor. He was also on probation and hadn’t maintained the requirements of his probation.…

The GracePointe Baptist Church mission team is safely on U.S. soil after a harrowing ordeal in Haiti as a result of violent protests that erupted in the embattled island nation Friday. The team landed in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., around noon Tuesday. The Haitian government raised gas prices significantly, according to media reports, which caused citizens to take to the streets in Port-au-Prince and other cities on Friday. The GracePointe group, one of several American mission teams in Haiti, was scheduled to return home Saturday. However, protestors had closed the airport and airlines had cancelled flights into and out of…

It looks like the GracePointe Baptist Church mission team will be coming home from Haiti a little earlier than expected. Violent protests that have paralyzed the impoverished Caribbean nation have also stranded the GracePointe group, which is one of several mission teams in Haiti. Sunday, several of the team members’ families announced via social media that the group, which was supposed to leave Saturday, would be heading home on Wednesday. Until that time, they were advised to stay inside the homes in which they were staying. The team was safe but protestors weren’t far away. Monday, GracePointe announced via its…

Violent protests in Haiti have several church groups on mission trips to the impoverished Caribbean nation stranded, including a team from GracePointe Baptist Church in Douglas. Friday, parts of Haiti erupted in violence due to a sharp spike in gasoline prices. The Haitian government increased gas prices significantly, causing citizens to take to the streets in protest. The demonstrations have turned violent, with several people losing their lives during the protests. Haiti is a popular location for American churches to send mission teams. Several churches in Coffee County send teams throughout the year. At the moment, a team from GracePointe…

Embattled Bacon County attorney Kenneth E. Futch Jr. is facing charges in Coffee County after an investigation determined that he provided a cell phone for a female inmate in the Coffee County Jail. In May, Futch allegedly allowed Dana Larson Bowen, who is being held on a variety of serious charges from Pierce County and is a client of Futch’s, to use his personal cell phone during at least one visit. Coffee County detectives believe Bowen used the cell phone to place at least one outgoing call, which is a violation of Georgia law. Futch turned himself in at about…

When Randy Sprinkle headed out to the main lake at Baymeadows on Tuesday afternoon, it was supposed to be a nice little spin around the lake, testing out a boat to see if he wanted to buy it. It was an aluminum boat with a 60 horsepower Suzuki motor – a nice little set up – and he was interested. Very, very interested. Since he wouldn’t be out on the lake very long, Sprinkle didn’t wear a life vest nor did he attach the motor’s kill switch to his person. “The clip on the kill switch was broken. I could…

Keegan McGovern, the former Trojan who is now an outfielder with the Class A Clinton (Iowa) Lumberkings, reached an important milestone over the weekend: He hit his first home run as a pro. The 6’3”, 200-pound outfielder showed tremendous power in his senior season with the Georgia Bulldogs, belting 18 home runs to lead the ‘Dawgs in that particular offensive category. It took just eight minor league games before he put that power on display for the Seattle Mariners organization, which took him in the 9th round of this year’s Major League Baseball Draft. McGovern’s home run came on Sunday,…

Tyler Bashlor, a hard-throwing right-hander in the New York Mets organization and former South Georgia College Tiger, has been called up by the Mets. He reports to the big league team today, June 25, after receiving the call the day before. Bashlor, whom the Mets drafted in the 11th round after his sophomore year at then-South Georgia College (now South Georgia State College), has been working his way through the New York farm system since being selected. At SGC, Bashlor was a workhorse, playing every day. When he wasn’t on the mound, he was in the outfield. He was also…

A three-year-old child reported missing from West Green Friday afternoon was found unharmed later in that day. The call came in around 3:30 p.m. that the child had gone missing after waking up from a nap. According to a report on the Coffee County Georgia Police Scanner Facebook page, the boy and his mother laid down for a nap that afternoon. The little boy woke up before his mother did and apparently went outside. When the mother woke up, the child was gone and she couldn’t find him She called 911 and a number of local agencies responded, including the…