Author: Staff Reports

On Wednesday, February 7, 2024, a Douglas woman was arrested and charged with animal cruelty after a horse was found on her property unable to walk with barbed wire around its back leg. A report from the Coffee County Sheriff’s Office states that a deputy received a call that a horse was on a piece of property on Ben Carver Road lying on its side with barbed wire on its back leg. The owner was not at home at the time. The deputy found the horse lying on its side. The report says that the horse was weak and had…

At the February meeting of the Coffee County Board of Commissioners, the commission approved a rezoning request for an area on Iron Road. Tyrone Jordan brought the request to the commission and asked to rezone 5.01 acres at 1264 Iron Road from R2, Residential to RM, Residential Mixed. Jordan would like to put duplexes or quadraplexes on the property. Commissioners had held the first reading in January and came back in February for the second reading and public hearing. The Planning Commission and county staff agreed with the request. There had been no opposition to the request as it worked…

State Court Judge Katy Paulk is seeking election for State Court Judge seat. Gov. Brian Kemp appointed her State Court Judge last year to fill the unexpired term of retiring Judge Robert Preston, who had served in the position since 2004. Here is Judge Paulk’s election announcement: “Judge Katy Peters Paulk is excited to formally announce her campaign to “Keep Judge Katy” State Court Judge of Coffee County. Katy was humbled when Governor Kemp, other elected officials, and so many supporters in this community gave her the opportunity to take the place of the Honorable Robert Preston as…

A Coffee County Drug Unit officer stopped a vehicle for having a severely cracked windshield and ended up arresting a passenger on methamphetamine charges. According to a report from the sheriff’s office, the stop happened around 1:30 p.m. on Friday, February 9, 2024. The officer was patrolling RS Brigmond Road and Clyde Rollins Road when he noticed the cracked windshield on a black Ford Ranger. The driver was identified as Thomas Irving Jackson. During the stop, the officer noticed that a passenger, Valerie Michelle Lammers, 52, of Douglas, was acting suspiciously. The officer knew Lammers from a previous…

The Georgia Department of Corrections currently houses 38 death row inmates. Thirty-seven are male, one is female. And one was sentenced in Coffee County. Ashley Lyndol Jones, now 49, has been on Georgia’s death row since June 19, 1995, after he was convicted for the brutal murder of Keith Holland, 39, of Coffee County, on March 31, 1993. The events that led to Holland’s death actually began in Ware County on March 30, when Jones and an accomplice, Allen Bunner, and three others were riding around drinking in a stolen vehicle. They had stolen…

District 2 County Commissioner Jimmy Kitchens has announced his intention to seek a sixth term as commissioner. He released the following statement: “I, Jimmy Kitchens, am pleased to announce my candidacy for re-election as County Commissioner for Coffee County District 2 in the upcoming November general election. I have had the honor of serving District 2 and Coffee County for the past 19 years. “A lifelong resident of Coffee County, I am married to Beth Kitchens, with whom I share three children – Kristen, Justen, and Hannah. We also have a 6-year-old grandson named Beckham. In my leisure time, I…

On February 3, 2024, just before 3:30 a.m., Douglas police officers responded to the Comfortel Inn on North Peterson Avenue in reference to a domestic incident and possible hostage situation. Upon arrival, an officer spoke with a witness who said that he heard a commotion coming from a room, according to a report from the Douglas Police Department. He looked into the room, the report says, and he saw an individual identified as Marcus Winn, 44, of Douglas, standing in front of the door blocking it while a female was trying get out with three children. …

It’s been a few weeks since severe weather rolled through Coffee County. That streak should end this afternoon. Shortly after lunch, another squall line will pass through South Georgia, bringing high winds and potentially heavy rainfall. Winds could gust between 50-70 mph with non-thunderstorm winds approaching 40 mph. Isolated tornadoes are also a possibility. The storms are moving west to east and are predicted to get to Coffee County between 1-3 p.m. These kinds of weather systems don’t typically hang around for very long – move in quickly, do their damage, then are gone equally quickly.…

Last week, officers with the Coffee County Drug Unit served a search warrant and made one arrest on cocaine charges. On Wednesday, January 31, 2024, as officers served the search warrant at an Alderman Drive address, they saw Marquavious Deundre Walker, 23, whom they knew was on probation, leaving the home. They stopped him and found that he had $618. They then searched his home and found suspected cocaine, digital scales, and $2,500. He was arrested and charged with possession of cocaine with intent to distribute. He is still in jail.

A 40-year-old Douglas man remains in jail after he allegedly assaulted an elderly female repeatedly over the course of several days, according to a report from the Coffee County Sheriff’s Office. On January 30, 2024, a deputy responded to Bear Creek Road to what was initially reported as a domestic dispute. The report states that the deputy opened the back door of the home and saw a man identified as James Wesley Harris, 40, standing over an elderly woman screaming at her. The deputy ordered Harris outside and noticed two spots of blood on his face.…