Author: Robert Preston

At Thursday’s regular board of education meeting, the board unanimously voted to extend the contract of Dr. Morris Leis, school superintendent, for three more years. Dr. Leis came to the Coffee County School System from Wayne County, where he served as school superintendent. Prior to becoming superintendent, Dr. Leis was a teacher, coach, athletic director, and principal. He is a Douglas native and graduate of Coffee High School. “I am honored and humbled to have the opportunity to continue to serve the Coffee County Board of Education has the school superintendent. I am proud of the work that our teachers,…

Voncellies Allen, a former Coffee Trojan, is now a member of the Georgia Southern Athletics Hall of Fame. GSU inducted Allen on Saturday, Sept. 17, in Statesboro. Allen played just one year of football at Coffee High. He was good enough in that one season to receive several scholarship offers. Allen decided to attend Georgia Southern University, where he lettered for four years as a defensive lineman. He started 45 games, including all 15 of the 1999 national championship season. According to release from Georgia Southern, Allen recorded 77 total tackles, 30 tackles for a loss, 3.5 sacks, and had…

Crime Watch Daily, one of the only crime shows to air in daytime syndication, will feature a portion of its Thursday, Sept. 22, 2016, broadcast to the murder of Doris Worrell, who was shot and killed on Sept. 20, 2006, inside Jon’s Sports Park in Douglas. The case remains unprosecuted. In late summer, film crews from Crime Watch Daily spent a week in Georgia, interviewing Doris Worrell’s friends and family, as well as members of the media who covered the murder and law enforcement officials. Crime Watch Daily will devote half of its hour-long show on Sept. 22 to the…

Police have filed charges and made an arrest in the shooting death of Lea Merritt of Douglas, which took place Sunday afternoon at a North College Avenue address. According to a Douglas Police Department spokesman, officers have charged Merritt’s brother, Caleb Barrett, with involuntary manslaughter and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime. Barrett stands accused of shooting Merritt in the backyard of the family residence as a result of a family dispute. Barrett has been arrested and is being held in the Coffee County Jail. The investigation into Merritt’s death is ongoing and more serious charges…

I know we’ve already had several Tyreek Hill stories lately. But for the last couple of weeks, it seems as though he always does something worthy of another post. Sunday, Hill did what the Kansas City Chiefs drafted him to do – run kicks back for touchdowns. Late in the game against the Houston Texans, Hill took a kick 105 yards for a touchdown. Unfortunately, there was a holding penalty called that negated the score. But look at how Hill blows by the entire Texans’ coverage team. Nobody is even close to him. I don’t think there’s anyone in the…

Another day, another shooting death in Douglas. This afternoon, officers from the Douglas Police Department responded to a call at a North College Avenue address. There they found Lea Merritt of Douglas dead from a gunshot wound. According to multiple sources, the investigation led officers to Merritt’s brother, Caleb Barrett. Sources report that Barrett allegedly shot Merritt, possibly as a result of some type of family dispute, in the backyard of the residence. Officers took Barrett in for questioning this afternoon. Late today, two other officers remained at the residence processing the scene. Thus far, the police department hasn’t issued…

Junior defensive back/receiver Jarquavious Jefferson had one of the best back-to-back series of any Coffee Trojan player this season Friday night. Late in the second quarter, with the Trojans leading the University Christian Fighting Christians (Jacksonville, Fla., the school Coffee head coach Robby Pruitt’s formerly coached) 21-14, Jefferson took a UC punt into the end zone for a touchdown to give Coffee a 28-14 advantage with 1:58 left in the second quarter. After the kick, Jefferson intercepted a Donell Stubbs pass to give the ball back to the Trojans. Coffee then ran out the clock and took a 28-14 lead…

Police are investigating the death of a Douglas woman whose body was found in a room at the Fountain Inn Thursday morning. The Douglas Police Department is investigating the incident and hasn’t released much information. According to a police spokesman, the body of Martha Faye O’Neal, 62, was found at the Fountain Inn on the morning of Thursday, Sept. 15. The police department sent O’Neal’s body to the crime lab for an autopsy and toxicology tests. The autopsy has been completed but the results have not yet been made available. Toxicology testing could take as long as six months. If…

Sept. 20, 2006. It’s a day I will never forget. It has become one of the most significant days of my life. That morning, in broad daylight, inside Jon’s Sports Park, a children’s amusement park in Douglas, someone shot and killed Doris Worrell, a young mother of three, in cold blood. Her husband Jon found her body shortly after 11 a.m. and made the 911 call. Paola Yarberry, an 18-year-old immigrant from Venezuela who lived with the Worrells and worked at the facility, was inside at the time of the shooting. There were video cameras in the park; however, the…

Deputies responded to an odd call on Cypress Pond Road recently and arrested a female subject on marijuana charges as well as a probation violation. The call came in about 6:37 on an early August morning. A female called 911 but wouldn’t give the operator any information. Deputies went to the residence, 716 Cypress Pond Road, where they spoke with the homeowner, who said he was the female subject’s boyfriend. He stated that he woke up and noticed that the female, Jennifer Hearell, wasn’t in the house. He started looking for her but couldn’t find her. According to the incident…