Author: Staff Reports

Southern District U.S. Attorney Bobby L. Christine joined the Department of Justice in announcing more than $70 million in grant funding to bolster school security, educate and train students and faculty, and support law enforcement officers and first responders who arrive on the scene of a school violence incident, including $468,537 for a partnership of Coffee County agencies including the Coffee County Sheriff’s Office, Douglas Police Department, Wiregrass Technical College Police Department, the Coffee County School System, and two private schools. According to Dr. Morris Leis, school superintendent, the grant will focus on upgrading the system’s communication network between the system…

The Coffee County School System has been named 2018 Charter System of the Year. The announcement came on Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2018, at the Charter System Foundation awards luncheon in Athens. Lieutenant Governor Casey Cagle hosted the 4th Annual Charter System Foundation Awards Luncheon, in the Classic City, highlighting the numerous achievements of Georgia Charter Systems. Coffee County Schools was also awarded a $10,000 grant by the Georgia Association of Realtors to further enhance their reforms. Dr. Morris Leis, Superintendent of Coffee County Schools, accepted the award and shared his appreciation to the students of Coffee County, teachers and staff,…

A portion of South Gaskin Avenue, which closed in late August due to the removal of an old culvert, has been open now for several days. The closure was part of the Georgia Department of Transportation project to widen and reconstruct perimeter road (U.S. 221/SR 135). A contractor installed a new culvert in June 2017. Removal of the old culvert was delayed to minimize the amount of time a detour would be required. The culvert accommodates the stream that runs under Gaskin Avenue and the widening of perimeter road. The $32.7 million Georgia DOT project is about 64 percent…

A female subject who has allegedly broken a law of some kind is quite possibly headed to Coffee County. WALB is reporting that a woman named Aushalina Leggett has fled Jenkins County and could be traveling to Coffee County. No other details have been given. A photo of Leggett is included with this story. If you have any information regarding Leggett’s whereabouts, contact the Millen Police Department at (478)-982-2750 or the Jenkins County Sheriff’s Office at (478)-982-4211.

Earlier this week, the City of Douglas removed several different banners from the sides of roadways in town. Many of the banners were announcing this weekend’s annual Childhood Cancer Awareness Group of Coffee County’s fundraiser. The CCAGCC is an important local organization that performs a tremendous work throughout the community. The banner removals resulted in a great deal of discussion on social media. To address the issue, the city released the following statement: The City of Douglas would like to issue an apology to several organizations in the community who were not aware of the roadside banner ordinance. Due…

D’Mark Smith, 36, may have a short fuse but thankfully he’s a bad shot. Officers from the Broxton Police Department, with assistance from the Coffee County Sheriff’s Office, arrested Smith for allegedly shooting at another person on Saturday, Sept. 22, 2018. According to a press release posted on the Broxton Police Department’s Facebook page, officers responded to the 900 block of North Railroad Street after there was a report of shots being fired. Broxton police officers and deputies conducted a lengthy investigation, during which a witness said that Smith had been shooting at him. Officers discovered a number of…

A Douglas man is on the run after allegedly shooting a woman on South Manila Avenue Friday. According to a release posted Tuesday morning on the Douglas Police Department’s Facebook page, officers responded to a home on South Manila Avenue on Friday, Sept. 21, 2018, where a shooting had been reported. When officers arrived, witnesses stated that Sammy Reed, 51, had forced his way into the home with a large caliber handgun and threatening to kill everyone inside. Reed found his estranged girlfriend in the house, Tamakie Moore, 40. She was in her bedroom asleep at the time.…

According to a post made by Telfair County Sheriff Chris Steverson on his Facebook page, the Telfair County Sheriff’s Office is looking for a West Green resident who allegedly vandalized a Telfair County Sheriff’s Office patrol car in Jacksonville, Ga. Sheriff Steverson wrote that early in the morning on Sunday, Sept. 2, a several people were seen near an unoccupied patrol car located just outside the city limits of Jacksonville. One of the individuals approached the car and shattered the windshield. The offender then left the scene. Telfair County authorities, with help from Coffee County deputies, determined that Jordan Cornett,…

A suspected methamphetamine dealer attempted to discard his drugs along the roadway as officers were closing in during a traffic stop earlier this week, but apparently forgot about the noticeable amount of the drug sitting in his lap. On Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018, a Coffee County K-9 unit conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle for a traffic violation. The vehicle failed to yield to the officer and continued driving. Minutes after the initial attempt to stop the vehicle, the officer observed a substance being thrown out of the passenger area and, soon thereafter, the vehicle came to a…

Two teenagers were killed in a traffic accident that occurred on Saturday, September 8, after two vehicles collided at the intersection of Cross Road and the Broxton-Westgreen Highway. According to local law enforcement officials, 18-year old Reba Marie Cremer and 14-year old Esteban Fernando Mazariegos, Cremer’s nephew, were passengers in a car being driven by Cecil Brad Harrell. Harrell, who was driving with a suspended license, is alleged to have ran a stop sign at the intersection, and a truck being driven by Marcus Jones “t-boned” the car on the passenger side. …