Author: Staff Reports

The Georgia Supreme Court has upheld Wallace Lee’s double murder conviction. In 2015, Lee was convicted of killing Meghan Bowen, 33, and Carlos Harden, 39. Lee had been in a volatile and violent relationship with Bowen prior to her death. Bowen and Harden were killed on Thursday, November 19, 2015, at 38 Meadowbrook Lane. Lee was arrested the following day and charged with two counts of murder. In 2016, he was convicted of both murders after a two and a half day trial. The jury deliberated just 35 minutes before rendering their verdict. Last year, Lee’s…

Legendary country music singer-songwriter Toby Keith passed away Monday night following an 18-month battle with stomach cancer. He was 62. Keith, born Toby Keith Covel in on July 8, 1961 in Clinton Oklahoma, burst onto the music in 1993 with his debut single “Should Have Been a Cowboy.” He went on to release 19 studio albums, two Christmas albums, and five compilation albums. Keith has sold over 40 million albums, charted 61 singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, had 20 number one hits, and 22 other top 10 singles. Keith received numerous awards and…

Robert Alan Britton, 47, of Douglas, has had an eventful week and a half. According to records from the Coffee County Sheriff’s Office, Britton has been arrested and booked into the Coffee County Jail three times since January 26, 2024. Records show he was arrested on criminal trespass charges on January 26 around 3:30 a.m. He was arrested again on January 28 at 7 a.m. on a disorderly conduct charge. His third arrest was on February 4 at 9 a.m. for simple battery. DouglasNow obtained a report for the January 28 incident. According to that report,…

On January 26, 2024, Douglas police officers carried a wanted suspect out of a home and placed him in a squad car after he wouldn’t walk on his own power, according to a report from the police department. The report states that on the above date, officers went to a home on East Baker Highway in reference to a wanted individual. The suspect was Charles Jerome Witherspoon, Jr., 36, of Douglas. After speaking with people at the home, the officers went inside and found Witherspoon in a bedroom. One officer handcuffed Witherspoon but the report states that Witherspoon…

A Coffee County grand jury has indicted Anastagia Carter, former principal at Indian Creek Elementary School, on two charges of cruelty to children. The indictment is dated January 30, 2024. Agents with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation arrested Carter on February 24, 2023, on eight different charges allegedly involving two students at Indian Creek Elementary. According to court documents, Carter allegedly held down two Indian Creek students and placed paper towels in their mouths. In both cases, Carter allegedly held her hands over their mouths after inserting the paper towels. Carter was initially charged with cruelty…

Friday morning, The Fitness Center in Douglas had an unlikely patron. Around 9:30 Friday, a small eastern rat snake emerged from an elliptical machine, much to the chagrin of members trying to get in an early end of the week workout. A patron caught the snake and removed it from the gym. Neither people nor the snake were harmed. Eastern rat snakes are one of the most common snakes found in Coffee County. Whenever a snake gets indoors, it’s almost always an eastern rat snake. Even though it’s January, snakes and other reptiles will emerge on…

A traffic stop that resulted from faulty headlights led to the arrest of Ashley Nicole Garner, 37, of Nicholls, on illegal drug charges. According to a report from the Coffee County Sheriff’s Office, just after midnight on January 20, 2024, an officer observed a 1988 Ford pickup driving with faulty headlights. The officer stopped the vehicle and spoke with the driver, identified as Garner. According to the report, Garner was acting “very nervous.” During the roadside investigation, the officer learned that Garner was on felony probation. He asked her to step out of the vehicle but…

January 18, 2024 was a big day for the Coffee County Drug Unit. Between about 1 p.m. and 5 p.m., drug officers made five arrests on illegal drug charges, all of which had one person in common. Right around the time officers were chasing and ultimately arresting Chance Casem and Danea Hope on Cleveland Street in Douglas (see accompanying story), drug officers were also arresting Hubert Brantley Anderson, 35, of Douglas, on drug possession charges. According to an incident report from the Coffee County Sheriff’s Office, detectives learned that something was happening on Wheeler Avenue. Officers…

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On January 18, 2024, a short chase inside the city led to a crash at First Academy while school was in session, two arrests on illegal drug charges at the scene, a search at another location, and one more drug arrest. The incident took place around 1:30 p.m. when a deputy saw a white Lincoln traveling east on Ashley Street fail to maintain its lane, according to a report from the Coffee County Sheriff’s Office. When the officer attempted to initiate a traffic stop, the Lincoln sped up, went through the intersection of East Ashley Street and South…