Yesterday, agents from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation arrested three individuals and are searching for a fourth in relation to a home invasion that turned fatal in Jeff Davis County on Monday evening. On Tuesday, January 5, 2021, the GBI arrested Kegan B. Bennett, 39, of Hazlehurst, for Felony Murder, Home Invasion, Armed Robbery; Denver L. Wooten, 18, of Hazlehurst, for Felony Murder, Home Invasion, Armed Robbery; and Verlyttia Ivory, 32, of Hazlehurst, for Felony Murder, Home Invasion, Armed Robbery, Cruelty to Children 2nd Degree. An arrest warrant has been issued for Douglas L. Wooten, 39, of Hazlehurst, for…
Author: Staff Reports
On December 4, 2020, Coffee County deputies responded to a call about a possible child molestation. A detective with the Coffee County Criminal Investigations Division responded. Investigators have charged Carlos Morales, 30, of Douglas with child molestation. Morales had been arrested earlier in December by investigators with the Coffee County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigation Division after an investigation into a previous accusation of child molestation. In that case Morales was charged with aggravated child molestation and three counts of child molestation. He was denied bond by the Coffee County Magistrate Judge in that case and was in the Coffee County…
Michael Anthony Bryan, age 49, of West Green, Georgia passed away on Friday, January 1, 2021, at Shands Hospital, Jacksonville, FL. Mr. Bryan was born on July 29, 1971, in Opelika, AL, to Ottis Linwood Bryan and Frances Carolyn Courson Bryan. Survivors include: Wife, Jennifer Hope Bryan of West Green, GA; father, Ottis Linwood Bryan of Douglas, GA; mother, Frances Carolyn Courson Bryan of Douglas, GA; daughters, Ashleyn Adams of Douglas, GA, Allie (Ashley) Yarberry of West Green, GA, and Courtney Bryan of Springhill, FL; sisters, Michele (Greg) Penn of Douglas, GA, Mary Lawrence Douglas of Douglas, GA; grandchildren, Delta Sixtos, Peyton Yarberry, Ember…
Ms. Viola Thrower was born on October 1, 1939. She was born and raised in Rebecca, GA., to the late Eddie and Lee Holmes Thrower. She attended elementary and high school in Rebecca, GA. She later moved to Miami, FL, where she met her daughter’s father, the late P.V. Edwards, who passed before the birth of their daughter, Joan Edwards. Viola then moved to Douglas, Ga, where she met the late Vietnam War Vet PVT Edis Black, who was the father of her son Lee Roy Thrower, “Baby Boy,” as she called him. Ms. Viola worked at Harrell’s Dry Cleaners…
Clara Odums Owens Lewis was born on October 18, 1952, in Coffee County. She was born to the proud parents of the late George and Betty Jo Odums. Clara was also affectionately known as “Pumpkin” to all her family and friends. Clara attended the public schools of Atkinson County, where she graduated and became a school teacher. After working as a school teacher, she was employed by B.C. Moore. Clara accepted Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior. She joined the Church of God by Faith under the leadership of Elder H.N. Turner for 19 years. Mrs. Clara became…
Tiffany Keyona Rolax passed away on December 26, 2020. She was born on April 13, 1987, to the late Rutha Mae Rolax and Robert Lee Rolax. She was an active member of The Empowerment Center International Ministries. She graduated from Coffee High School in 2005. Tiffany was known for her love for God, which was demonstrated in the way she loved everyone. Tip had a keen sense of fashion. Her sense of humor was beyond incredible. Tiffany went above and beyond for everyone she was in contact with. She is preceded in death by her mother, Rutha Mae…
Former mayor of Willacoochee James “Jim” Darrell Mills, age 86, of Willacoochee, Georgia, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, December 29, 2020 in Olathe, Kansas. A graveside service will be held 1:00 p.m. at Willacoochee City Cemetery in Willacoochee, Georgia on Saturday, January 9, 2021. Jim was born in Willacoochee, Georgia on January 27, 1934 to Henry Felton Mills and Eva (Cox) Mills. After graduating high school, Jim served his country in the United States Air Force for twenty-one years. During that time Jim was joined in marriage with his late wife, Maxine “Pinky” Mills in May of 1955.…
On New Year’s Eve, Lisa Ray Martin, a Douglas native, went home from the hospital for the first time since Sept. 27, 2020, when she was admitted for COVID-19. Now living in Blackshear with her husband, Jeff, and their children, she reported to the Satilla Memorial Health emergency room in poor health after being diagnosed with COVID-19. What came next was a three-month nightmare that Lisa’s family wasn’t sure she would survive. Lisa’s family had gathered at the hospital to say their final goodbyes. She was hours away from being taken off a ventilator, to which she had been…
Special agents with the Georgia Department of Corrections’ (GDC) Office of Professional Standards are investigating the death of an inmate at Coffee Correctional Facility in Nicholls, as a suspected homicide. Agents have reason to believe offender Kendall Cromer (GDC#1000175901) died as a result of injuries sustained during an altercation involving another inmate on November 30. Medical personnel responded and life saving measures were performed. Cromer was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced deceased by a hospital physician, at approximately 1:17 a.m. The GDC is conducting an investigation into the death, as standard procedure. Cromer was sentenced…
According to a post published on the Jeff Davis County Sheriff’s Office’s Facebook page Thursday, the JDSO has made a number of significant drug arrests recently. According to Sheriff Preston Bohannon, many of these cases resulted from citizens reporting suspicious drug activity. Reporting such activity “will not only help suppress drug crimes but other crimes that derive from the presence of drugs and in the process help our families and children have a safer and stable home. As a result of our community reporting suspicious activity, several drug investigations were initiated by our office. During these investigations along with…