Author: Staff Reports

On Wednesday, March 13, 2019, the GBI arrested Jonathan Douglas Vann, 20, of Nashville, in connection to the disappearance of three persons and subsequent death of two of them. The two deceased are not yet positively identified. The third person is still missing. The Berrien County Sheriff’s Office requested the GBI to assist with the missing persons investigation following the discovery of a vehicle on fire. On Tuesday, March 12, 2019, at approximately 5:30 a.m., the Berrien County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene of a vehicle on fire in the area off Highway 135 at the Alapaha River…

Between Sunday morning and Tuesday morning, three armed robberies took place in Douglas, two of which appear to be related. No arrests have been made in any of the robberies. According to a statement released Monday afternoon on the Douglas Police Department’s Facebook page, the first incident happened between 3:30 a.m. and 4:00 a.m. on Sunday, March 10, 2019, at the north Flash Foods store, 1716 North Peterson Avenue. The DPD’s statement says two black males entered the store and held the clerks at gunpoint while they stole an undisclosed amount of cash. Only one of the subjects brandished…

Saturday, March 2, officers from the Douglas Police Department investigated two unrelated shootings, both of which resulted in arrests. The second shooting was the more interesting of the two. It took place around 7:30 a.m. on March 2. According to a post on the Douglas Police Department’s Facebook page, officers received a call from Coffee Regional Medical Center that an individual, Tadoshi Alexandra Moore, 22, had been brought in with a gunshot wound in the back of his leg. He stated that he was walking along near South Daughtry Avenue and Magnolia Street when he heard a gunshot. The…

According to a story posted on The Waycross Journal-Herald’s web site, Dana Larson Bowen, 53, of Blackshear, pleaded guilty in Superior Court to three counts of failure to report insurance premiums, two counts of felony insurance fraud, and one count of felony perjury. She was accused of insurance fraud, specifically “knowingly and willfully making fraudulent statements or representations to insurance companies, knowingly and willfully creating and submitting false certificates of insurance or insurance binders, and knowingly and willfully receiving money for the purpose of purchasing insurance and converting such money to her own use without providing the amount of insurance to…

Sunday afternoon, officers from the Douglas Police Department arrested Anton Marquise Phillips, 20, of Homerville, while he was in Douglas. Phillips had been the target of a months-long operation among the DPD, the Clinch County District Attorney’s Office, and several other agencies. When approached by officers, Phillips fled, according to a press release posted on the DPD’s Facebook page, and was caught hiding in a storage building. Phillips was charged with possession of marijuana and obstruction of an officer at the time of his arrest. However, he was wanted for a number of violent felonies, including kidnapping, aggravated assault,…

The Nicholls Police Department and Coffee County Sheriff’s Office assisted authorities from Bacon County and Pierce County solve a multi-county burglary case. The incident originated in Pierce County; the first of two suspects was arrested in Bacon County after hiding out near Nicholls. According to a press release from the Alma Police Department, a burglary took place on Feb. 25, 2019, in Pierce County. Stolen items included 14 guns, two side by side vehicles, an ATV, and a trailer with a zero-turn lawn mower. Together, officers from the Piece County ACE Unit, Alma Police Department, and Bacon County Sheriff’s…

“The Greatest Legislation: An American Legion Salute to the GI Bill” has arrived at the Satilla Regional Library. The display is traveling to multiple sites throughout the country and this is the first stop in Georgia. U.S. Rep. John Gibson from Douglas saved the GI Bill, formally known as the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944, from being defeated. The bill, which The American Legion drafted and endorsed, nearly died in committee. To ensure its passage, the bill’s supporters needed one more vote to get it to President Franklin Roosevelt’s desk by June 22, 1944. The final vote was set…

Christopher Lane Jones, 21, has been arrested in San Diego County, California, and charged with murder in the deaths of Kristian Bell, 25, and Steven James Ward, 35. Bell and Ward were located buried in a makeshift grave on property off Deep Woods Road just outside of Nicholls on Feb. 9 during an investigation into Bell’s disappearance. Both had suffered apparent multiple gunshot wounds. Detectives have also located and arrested two other individuals in connection with the killings of Bell and Ward, 25-year-old Joseph James Osburne Burch of Waycross and 29-year-old Dedrick Allen Johnson of Nicholls. Burch and Johnson have…

The Coffee County School System is the Chamber of Commerce’s Community Partner of the Year. This award recognizes the community partner of the year as a valued member of the Chamber of Commerce and celebrates the contributions of a community agency or organization who has an on-going commitment and partnership with the business community to address the needs of the Douglas-Coffee County area. The Coffee County School System was named the Georgia Charter System of the Year, recognizing a school system that has demonstrated excellence in leadership, governance, partnerships and achievement. As a charter system, the district is given…

At last Thursday’s annual Chamber of Commerce event, Premium Waters received the Industry Partner of the Year Award. This award recognizes the industry partner as a valued member of the Chamber of Commerce and celebrates the contribution of the industry to retain and grow jobs, and may consider capital investment, direct or indirect job growth and innovative approaches to business operations. Mike Lord, plant manager, accepted the award on behalf of Premium Waters. Premium Waters is a tremendous asset to our community. The company was founded in 1994 when it was incorporated by the Chesterman Company in Minneapolis, Minnesota…