Author: Staff Reports

Video courtesy, ‘Coffee County Ga. Police Scanner’ on Facebook

The Georgia Department of Education recently released its new ratings for local schools, and Coffee County’s Eastside Elementary stands out as a top performer. The ratings, referred to as the College and Career Readiness Performance Index (CCRPI), are based on student performance on state standardized tests, but also include some other factors. Eastside earned a rating of 90.7 and was recently featured as part of an article in the Atlanta Journal- Constituion that featured 29 Georgia public schools that are making a difference in low-income areas. The article can be read here.

Friday evening, May 13, the Alma Police Department and the Bacon County Sheriff’s Office arrested three individuals, recovered three stolen vehicles, two stolen firearms, and responded to an arson. The events began just after 9 p.m. when a BCSO deputy sheriff discovered a vehicle on U.S. 1 north of Alma that had been reported stolen from Appling County. Deputies gave a description of the last known driver, who was apprehended twenty minutes later by APD officers on W. 8th St.; officers observed the suspect walking out of the bushes behind the senior center on W. 8th St. David Hughes…

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…