For almost six years, Wallace Lee has been in prison serving a life sentence for the double murder of 33-year-old Meghan Bowen and 39-year-old James Harden. Next month, Lee will return to the Superior Court of Coffee County for a judge to hear his motion for a new trial. Evidence during Lee’s trial, according to a statement from the district attorney’s office following his conviction, “showed a history of violent acts Lee committed against Bowen, including beating in her front door with an ax, smashing the windows of her vehicle, physically attacking her, and threats that he ‘better…
Author: Staff Reports
The GBI has arrested Georgia Department of Corrections Warden Brian Dennis Adams, age 48, of Waycross, and charged him with Conspiracy to Violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act (Georgia RICO Act), Bribery, False Statements and Violation of Oath by Public Officer. Adams was terminated prior to his arrest on Wednesday, February 8, 2023 and is currently in the Tattnall County Jail. Adams is the former Warden at Smith State Prison in Glennville. On Tuesday, May 31, 2022, the Georgia Attorney General’s Office requested the GBI to investigate corruption at Smith State Prison based on…
Two individuals were recently arrested on drug charges following a search at a home in Nicholls. According to the report, officers discovered quantities of methamphetamine and cocaine as a result. An incident report states that on February 2, officers with the Nicholls Police Department, the Bacon County/Alma Crime Suppression Unit, and the Coffee County Sheriff’s Office K-9 Unit executed the search at 102 South Middleton Street in Nicholls. The search was conducted at the residence of 53-year-old Russell Anthony Waters. According to the report, after the search was completed, Waters and two other individuals…
The defense teams for both Ryan Duke and Bo Dukes are currently fighting to dismiss the charges against the two men in Ben Hill County. A hearing for Ryan was set soon after new charges came following his conviction and acquittal during his trial last May, with Bo’s attorney later filing a motion claiming his previous charges in the county were tolled by the statute of limitations. Less than two weeks after Ryan was acquitted of Tara Grinstead’s murder in a two-week trial in May, he was indicted on six additional charges. According to a copy of the…
Two individuals were recently arrested on felony charges after leading deputies on a chase, with one fleeing on foot after running the vehicle into a ditch. A female was booked on drug charges, while the driver, who fled from law enforcement, was found to be allegedly intoxicated at the time. According to a Coffee County Sheriff’s Office incident report, on February 3, a deputy was dispatched to Ivy Road in reference to a white Dodge Charger that “kept driving by a residence and stopping in the roadway.” The report states that while the officer was responding to the…
Two individuals were recently arrested by the Coffee County Sheriff’s Office and their Drug Unit following a traffic stop that led to the discovery of suspected methamphetamine and alprazolam. One of the suspects was released on bond less than two weeks before his most recent arrest. A report states that on January 23, a county drug detective received a call from a sergeant in reference to a vehicle stop near Burl Mill Road. The sergeant notified the detective that he had located suspected methamphetamine and a blue pill marked “B707,” suspected alprazolam, a Schedule IV narcotic. …
Abelardo (Abel) Lopez, 26, who was out on bond in Coffee County on an aggravated assault charge, is back in jail in Montgomery County for reportedly committing the same offense. According to the report, Lopez assaulted and “severely beat” his wife, a Douglas native, which led to her receiving severe injuries that required hospitalization, including multiple fractures, bruises, and a break in her cervical spine, late last year. According to a copy of a Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office report, the victim, a 25-year-old female, called 911 to report that she had been assaulted by her husband, Lopez. When the…
A convicted felon who allegedly threatened to kill a 28-year-old female was recently arrested after officers discovered a firearm in his truck. A Douglas Police Department report states that on January 23, a woman reported that 36-year-old Ahmad Rashad Cross was calling and threatening to kill her daughter. The woman said that Cross was supposedly on the way from Valdosta in a black Chevy Silverado with a Lowndes County tag. A short time later, an officer responded to the complainant’s residence after being informed that Cross was at the home, then got into a black truck…
Officers from the Douglas Police Department recently charged 37-year-old Grant Moore with multiple drug offenses after they allegedly discovered substances including methamphetamine, marijuana, and two types of pills during a search of his vehicle. A captain with the department reported that on January 19, he was near the intersection of Fales Avenue when he observed a vehicle traveling east on Ward Street. The officer stated that the vehicle was driving 55 mph in a 45 mph zone. The officer stopped the vehicle, with the driver pulling into the lot of T&R Food Market on the West Green Highway. …
Officers from the Douglas Police Department recently charged 37-year-old Grant Moore with multiple drug offenses after they allegedly discovered substances including methamphetamine, marijuana, and two types of pills during a search of his vehicle. A captain with the department reported that on January 19, he was near the intersection of Fales Avenue when he observed a vehicle traveling east on Ward Street. The officer stated that the vehicle was driving 55 mph in a 45 mph zone. The officer stopped the vehicle, with the driver pulling into the lot of T&R Food Market on the West Green Highway. …