Author: Staff Reports

A Catoosa County man who had been convicted of computer pornography and was serving his prison sentence at Coffee Correctional Facility was taken into the custody of the Coffee County Sheriff’s Office on April 14, 2025, after he was released from prison. Nathaniel Kenneth Hartwell, 54, finished his prison sentence in Nicholls but was wanted in Tennessee on more sex crime charges. According to a report from the sheriff’s office, officials in Chattanooga, Tennessee, have a warrant on Hartwell for sexual exploitation of a minor dating back to May 29, 2013. Officers in Tennessee have notified the sheriff’s office that…

A disturbance call west of Douglas after a 51-year-old wouldn’t calm down following the arrival of sheriff’s deputies, according to a press release from the Coffee County Sheriff’s Office. The release states that on the evening of April 23, 2025, deputies responded to a disturbance call at a home located in the area of West Baker Highway and Willis Vickers Road. Upon arrival, law enforcement made contact with individuals at the residence and identified the suspect as 51-year-old Christopher M. Broome. The release states that Broome became aggressive and confrontational and was damaging property at the home. Deputies observed a…

A chase that began in the Oak Park area of Douglas went east into Nicholls then came back into Douglas before a deputy eventually PIT’ed the suspect on East Walker Street. Thursday night, an officer attempted to stop a black Lexus ES350 in the Oak Park community. The officer saw the vehicle traveling without headlights after dark and attempted a traffic stop. Initially, the driver appeared to comply. However, a passenger exited the vehicle and fled on foot. Moments later, the driver accelerated, leading deputies on a high-speed chase. The driver headed out New Forest Highway to Sandhill Church Road.…

If you’re riding a bicycle, you’ve got to follow the same rules of the road that a car driver does. On the evening of April 21, 2025, Anthony Charles McGuffin learned that lesson the hard way. According to a press release from the sheriff’s office, on the aforementioned date, an officer saw McGuffin riding a bicycle against the flow of traffic. Deputies conducted a traffic stop and found a small container containing a white powdery substance and a number of pills, according to the release. They conducted a field test and, the release states, confirmed McGuffin was in possession of…

A search warrant executed by detectives from the Coffee County Drug Unit yielded a quantity of suspected methamphetamine and landed a 48-year-old Douglas woman in jail on illegal drug charges. According to a report from the drug unit, detectives executed the warrant at 550 Greenfield Circle in Green Acres after receiving multiple complaints about illegal drug activity at the home. During the investigation, officers found suspected methamphetamine, digital scales, and other drug paraphernalia. As a result, the resident of the home, Sue Brown, 48, was arrested and charged with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. She was transported to…

A 72-year-old Douglas man was arrested and jailed after he allegedly exposed himself while standing in the yard of a home at Bear Creek Mobile Home Park. According to an incident report from the sheriff’s office, a deputy responded to a residence at Bear Creek on April 14, 2025, at around 4:30 p.m. The initial call came in reporting than an individual, later identified as Little Taft Roberson, 72, was masturbating in the front yard of the home. The deputy spoke with Roberson, who denied the allegation. In the report, the complainant stated that a minor child had reported seeing…

In a report issued by SafeWise, Douglas is the #2 safest city in Georgia. The report showed that Douglas has a violent crime rate of 0.0 thus far for 2025. In 2024, the violent crime rate was 0.9. It was also 0.9 in 2023. The property crime rate for this year is 3.2 compared to 2.0 last year and 6.2 in 2023. Here are the top 10 safest cities according to SafeWise: According to the latest State of Safety survey, crime in Georgia tends toward violence. Georgians reported the highest level of gun violence experiences in the nation and the fifth highest level…

The South Georgia State College Hawks didn’t have a good weekend in Barnesville. The Gordon State College Highlanders swept the Hawks in a Saturday doubleheader 6-5 and 8-4. SGSC is now 22-26 on the season. The Hawks have won a few games recently in walk-off fashion. In game one on Saturday, they were on the wrong end of a walk-off. The two teams were tied 5-5 through seven innings, necessitating another extra-inning contest. SGSC went 1-2-3 in the top of the eighth. In the bottom of the inning, the Highlanders ended up with the bases loaded and just one out.…

A Douglas man remains in jail on charges of false imprisonment, theft by taking, and battery – family violence (first offense) after allegedly beating a female victim all night and taking $130 from her. According to an incident report from the sheriff’s office, an individual dropped the victim and Trevor Maine McKinnon, 35, off at McKinnon’s home on McKinnon Road on April 3, 2025. The victim and McKinnon used to be in a relationship with each other but, as the report states, “are good friends now.” While the victim was at McKinnon’s house, the report says that “things got physical.”…

Jonathan Rutland and Blake Bryant homered while eighth grader Jett Hart picked up the win in the CCA Patriots’ 14-4 victory over the Trinity Christian Crusaders in six innings on Thursday. CCA is now 11-6-2 overall and 6-0 in region play. The Patriots jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first thanks to the pair of homers by Bryant and Rutland. Gray McLean led off the game with a single. Thomas Gentry then grounded into a fielder’s choice that forced McLean out at second. Bryant was next and he hit a 1-0 pitch out to left. Skyler Woods walked,…