Officers from the Douglas Police Department are looking for the individuals responsible for passing over $160,000 in forged checks throughout Georgia, including Douglas. The Douglas Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Unit is currently investigating the deposit of several forged checks at numerous ATMs. These forgeries have taken place in Douglas as well as several other cities in Georgia. To date there have been 35 checks passed for over $163,000. If you know, or can identify, the person depicted below, please contact the Douglas Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Unit at (912) 384-2222. You may also contact investigating officer,…
Author: Staff Reports
By Kristen Kitchens This morning, a jury in the Superior Court of Coffee County acquitted James Henry Young on a Possession of Firearm by a Convicted Felon charge during what may have been the “shortest trial the court has seen.” Young was first arrested in 2019 on the charge after being pulled over for running a stop sign in front of a Douglas Police Department (DPD) officer. When Young was stopped, the officer said he smelled the odor of marijuana, which led to a pat-down and vehicle search. The officer discovered a quantity of suspected marijuana…
By Kristen Kitchens Just two days after her arrest last week, 28-year-old Alexandria Bowen received additional charges for her involvement in her fiancé Skylar Merson’s alleged heroin operation in Coffee County. Merson was also listed in the indictment and received two new charges. The indictment alleges that on February 2, Merson and Bowen possessed more than 28 grams of heroin at their residence in Coffee County. In Bowen’s first indictment last month, she was accused of having a quantity larger than 4 grams of heroin, with Merson initially charged with having more than 140 grams of…
By Kristen Kitchens A Douglas man will stand trial tomorrow in the Superior Court of Coffee County on one count of Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon following an incident that led to his arrest in 2019. According to a copy of the incident report, on June 9, 2019, a DPD officer saw a vehicle traveling west on Baker Highway. When the officer “turned around on the vehicle,” he noticed the driver, later identified as James Henry Young, began to drive faster and disregard a stop sign at the intersection of West Magnolia Street…
By Kristen Kitchens Following a two-week trial in the death of Tara Grinstead, Ryan Duke was acquitted last Friday for her 2005 murder but was found guilty of concealing a death after he admitted to the crime on the stand during his testimony. This morning, Ryan was sentenced to serve ten years in prison, the maximum sentence for the crime, and will receive credit for the last five years spent in the Irwin County Detention Center. The hearing began at 9:30 a.m., with Ryan’s defense attorney, Ashleigh Merchant, asking Judge Bill Reindhart to sentence him as a first offender and…
By Kristen Kitchens Reed’s Snack & Shack recently took 1st place in Barbecue News Magazine’s 2022 Sauces of Honor national contest for their homemade garlic sauce in the seafood category. Barbecue News Magazine holds the event annually and had 348 entries in 2022, including local sauce makers and some as far as the United Kingdom. The winners are chosen from four categories, including the best sauces for chicken, pork, seafood and beef. In the seafood category, each sauce entered is sampled with shrimp. Reed’s garlic sauce was developed by David Reed, who owns the restaurant with his wife, Shantrease Brockington…
By Kristen Kitchens The man accused of taking the life of 27-year-old Radderian “Rae-Rae” Barnes has officially been indicted on 5 counts, including felony and malice murder. The Douglas Police Department first released a statement in January reporting they were dispatched on Juanita Street in Douglas on January 13, 2022, and upon arrival, they discovered Rae-Rae suffering from gunshot wounds. He later succumbed to his injuries, and the investigation began. Officials with the DPD urged the public to send any information they may have into Rae-Rae’s death. Almost two months later. DPD’s Criminal Investigations Unit announced the arrest…
By Kristen Kitchens On Friday morning, at 11:30 a.m., Ryan Duke was found not guilty by an Irwin County jury following 7 hours of deliberations. As expected following Ryan’s admission, the jury did find him guilty on one count of concealing the death of another. Sentencing for the charge will take place Monday at 9 a.m. The trial began last Monday, May 9, with the state and defense hearing testimony from dozens of witnesses, including GBI investigators, friends and family of Grinstead’s, psychologists, and others involved in the case. The state accused Ryan of breaking into Grinstead’s home…
The trial for Ryan Duke in the murder of Tara Grinstead began last Monday morning, with several new details into her death and disappearance being revealed in the last seven days. The most compelling testimony came from Ryan himself, claiming to have given a false confession to GBI investigators in 2017 and accusing Bo Dukes of admitting to being the killer. The first week included opening arguments, followed by the state calling several witnesses over five days. Most of the state’s witnesses were investigators involved in the case, with testimonies from experts and Grinstead’s neighbors, friends, and family. Both the…
By Kristen Kitchens Alexandria Bowen, whose fiancé was arrested earlier this year in the “largest heroin bust in Coffee County,” was indicted and recently arrested on charges of trafficking and tampering with evidence. Bowen is accused of assisting her fiancé, Skylar Merson, in the operation and concealing Merson’s handgun during the investigation. The indictment alleges that “on or about the 2nd day of February 2022, [Bowen] possessed more than 4 grams of heroin, a schedule 1 controlled substance.” The grand jury also accused Bowen of “knowingly concealing physical evidence, to wit: a handgun said evidence involving the…