Author: Staff Reports

A 38-year-old Douglas man was killed in Valdosta when he was struck by a vehicle while walking along a state highway. Authorities say Lester Brooks was walking eastbound on Ga. Hwy. 38/U.S. 84 in the area of Moore Crossing Rd. in Lowndes County when he was struck by an unknown vehicle. The vehicle fled the scene, and Brooks was pronounced dead shortly after authorities arrived. The Georgia State Patrol’s Valdosta Post continues to work the incident and suspects the vehicle that struck Brooks may have been a tractor trailer. Officials are asking anyone who may have information pertaining to the…

Around 5 a.m. last Thursday, May 5, the Douglas-Coffee Drug Unit (DCDU), along with members of the Georgia Department of Corrections Probation-Parole, conducted a sweep of probationers and parolees who were purported to have previous and possibly current links to organized criminal activity. The action was a coordinated part of a statewide crack-down on organized criminal activity. The Department of Corrections personnel checked for probation and parole compliance, and DCDU agents investigated any signs of ongoing drug activity. As a result of the investigation, three probationers /parolees were arrested for violations of the Georgia Controlled Substance Act. Those arrested…

Clayton Mathis, age 73 of Douglas, passed away Saturday, May 7, 2016, at Memorial Health in Savannah following a brief illness. Mr. Mathis was born January 22, 1943, in Avon Park, Fl to the late John Mathis and Mary Mathis. Survivors include his wife, Nedra Mathis of Douglas; daughter, Elizabeth Mathis of Philadelphia, Pa.; sister, Mary Jane Wishart of Gainesville, Fl.; and several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by a brother, Nelson Mathis. Visitation will be held Tuesday, May 10, 2016 from 6 to 9 p.m. Funeral services will be held Wednesday, May 11, 2016 at 11…

A 34-year-old Coffee County man was jailed last week on methamphetamine trafficking charges after authorities discovered a substantial amount of the drug hidden within his vehicle. Sheriff’s officials initiated a traffic stop on Richard Alan Morla last Tuesday. After making contact with Morla and a passenger, officers gained consent to search the vehicle by utilizing a canine. The canine showed a positive response on the vehicle; officers conducted a search and discovered approximately five ounces of methamphetamine hidden in a compartment in the vehicle’s frame. Both Morla and the passenger were taken into custody, and, after conducting a…

Officials with the Coffee County Sheriff’s Office provided further information today on two raids that occurred Wednesday involving multiple local and federal law enforcement agencies. Douglas Now reported the raids Wednesday afternoon after receiving information that they centered on a suspected large scale fraud operation that crossed state lines and involved multiple individuals. According to the authorities, Coffee County Sheriff Doyle Wooten initially received information that a scam operation was possibly being conducted at 904 N. Madison Ave. in Douglas. Wooten consulted with Douglas Police Chief Gary Casteloes and the two reached an agreement that the Douglas P.D. and Coffee…

Local and federal law enforcement agencies, including the United States Secret Service, conducted raids today at two locations on the north end of Douglas in an investigation one official described as a large scale fraud operation that crossed state lines. Authorities conducted the raids at a business located in the Spivey’s Corner shopping center on N. Peterson Ave. and another location just blocks away. Law enforcement is remaining quiet on the details of today’s raids, but one representative stated further information would be provided to the media at a later time.

Two traffic accidents that occurred around the same time Tuesday afternoon, one involving a school bus, caused a few traffic problems for a short time. Around 4 p.m., a school bus (pictured above) collided with a Chevy pickup truck at the intersection of Rocky Pond Rd. and R.S. Brigmond Rd. Students were on the bus at the time, but no injuries were reported. The Coffee County Sheriff’s Office, the Georgia State Patrol, and personnel with the Coffee County Board of Education responded to the scene. In a seperate accident (pictured below), a car rear-ended another car on Highway 32 West…

Thursday afternoon, a fisherman on the Satilla River near Highway 64 in Atkinson County found a truck submerged in the river. He called Atkinson County 911, which sent officers from the Atkinson County Sheriff’s Office and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources to the scene. They also called in the Coffee County dive team to assist. Dive team members went in the river and secured a chain to the truck. A wrecker pulled the truck from the river, and officers discovered that the truck had been reported to the Atkinson County Sheriff’s Office as stolen a month ago. The investigation…

Coffee County students Slater Brown, pictured third from left, and Madison Dill (third from right) were recently presented the Buck Preston and Willie Pearl Davis Awards from the Douglas Lions Club. Each student received a $500 scholarship. Also pictured are the students’ parents. Pictured below, Liz Batten and Kevin Tatum with the local 4-H office receive a donation from the Lions Club to send a local 4-Her to camp.

Brandon Levi Williams, wanted in connection for the murder of Kavozia Walker, was arrested Thursday in Hollywood, Florida by U.S. Marshals. Williams had been on the run from the law since February and is currently in the Broward County (Fl.) Jail awaiting extradition back to Coffee County. Officers from the Douglas Police Department responded to 120 McNeal Drive in Douglas on Feb. 19, 2016 to investigate the shooting death of Kavozia Walker, who suffered a fatal gunshot wound to the neck. The subsequent investigation found the individual responsible for the death was 30-year-old Brandon Levi Williams. Investigators from the Douglas…