Rusty Spell of Broxton strikes again. Allegedly, of course. Spell was recently arrested and charged with his third offense of theft by taking since May 2021 after he allegedly stole a cargo trailer from a local business. Spell has spent time in prison previously for similar charges, with his most recent release being in 2019 after a burglary conviction in Coffee County. According to a Douglas Police Department incident report, an officer was dispatched to a location regarding a possible theft on September 6 around 10:56 a.m. When the officer arrived, he spoke with a sales…
Author: Staff Reports
Bo Dukes will carry out his 25-year sentence for concealing the death of Irwin County teacher Tara Grinstead after the Court of Appeals denied him a new trial last week. Dukes appealed his conviction shortly after his trial in 2019, where a Wilcox County jury found him guilty on four charges, including two counts of making false statements, one count of hindering apprehension or punishment of a criminal, and one count of concealing the death of another. In Dukes’ motion, his defense counsel argued that the courts should not have allowed his confession to the GBI…
Several individuals appeared before Judge Andy Spivey this week for bonds hearings on pending charges, with only two defendants, Shedrick King and Quanda Standifer, having their motions approved. King, according to a copy of an arrest warrant, was adjudicated guilty in 1997, at the age of 18, on one count of purchase, possession, manufacture, distribution, or sale of marijuana, which led to a felony conviction. In Georgia, any person convicted of a felony is prohibited from owning or possessing a firearm and can face a prison sentence of 5 years if found guilty of the offense. …
A former Coffee Correctional Facility inmate is headed back to prison after he returned to the facility shortly after his release and threw a book bag containing contraband, some of which were weapons, over the fence for another inmate to retrieve. Anthony Derek Franklin Jr. pleaded guilty to the charges on Thursday morning, with the judge sending him back to the place he just couldn’t seem to leave behind. According to the Georgia Department of Corrections website, Franklin Jr. was serving a 3-year prison sentence for a possession of methamphetamine conviction in Columbia County between the dates of…
The Douglas Police Department arrested Antonio Reynolds II for allegedly shooting at a vehicle and residence on Lonnie Street and Roper Street on Halloween 2021. According to a copy of a Douglas Police Department incident report, around 10:03 p.m. that night a corporal with the agency responded to Jet Foods 855 on Bowens Mill Road Southwest to meet with a 23-year-old man from Douglas regarding a shooting. The man told the officer that he was driving east down Roper Street to meet a friend and heard several gunshots. After realizing his vehicle had not been struck by a…
Jared Highsmith is back in the Coffee County Jail after allegedly committing yet another TPO violation against his ex-girlfriend. At the time Highsmith reportedly committed the offense, he was serving weekends in jail for a previous violation of the no-contact order. According to a copy of a Douglas Police Department incident report, on September 1, an officer responded to a local business on Shirley Avenue about a violation of a TPO. When the officer arrived, he spoke to the caller, who identified herself as the victim’s sister. The witness told the officer she was traveling east…
The Lady Trojans lost a couple heartbreakers in extra innings last week but started region play with a bang behind a perfect game by sophomore Erin Robinson. Coffee knocked off Jenkins 15-0 in 3 innings and Robinson struck out all 9 she faced without allowing a baserunner. Hannah Capps had 3 hits while Morgan Hodges, Imani Paulk, Kaci Thacker, and Ella Winters all had 2 hits in the win. Robinson, Karlee Thomas, and Imori Paulk all added 1. Coffee also traveled to Wayne County and dropped an 8 inning game to the Lady Jackets 3-2. Morgan…
On Friday morning, the Office of Commissioner of Insurance and Safety Fire announced the arrest of 33-year-old Jesse Floyd, of Broxton, who was charged with arson in the first degree following a fire that occurred last weekend. According to a copy of Floyd’s arrest warrant, he is being accused of setting fire to a structure listed at 450 West Ocmulgee Street in Broxton. The release from the Georgia State Fire Marshal’s office reported that the fire began around 7:19 p.m. and caused severe damage to the 910-square-foot structure at the address. The warrant also states that…
A Coffee Correctional inmate, Joshua Dustin Carnes, who was charged with murder in January for a death that occurred in the prison, has filed a motion claiming the act was justified in self-defense. Carnes was recently released from prison but is now being held in the Coffee County Jail awaiting an evidentiary hearing this month when the judge will hear his motion for immunity. Carnes was indicted by a Coffee County grand jury earlier this year on one count of malice murder in the death of 42-year-old Hendricks Riley Gunn, another inmate held in the facility at the…
A Bulloch County jury has reached a verdict in the trial of Marc Wilson, a man with connections to Douglas who was facing life in the 2020 shooting death of a 17-year-old in Statesboro. Wilson was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter but acquitted on charges of murder and two other charges. Wilson, a biracial 23-year-old, was charged a few weeks after the shooting occurred, which resulted in the death of Haley Hutcheson, a white female from Reidsville. Wilson and his girlfriend, who was in the truck with Wilson at the time, claimed that a truck with young white…