Author: Staff Reports

Amanda Jacobs Coleman, who was convicted of murder in 2019 in connection with the death of two-year-old Brooklyn Aldridge, has been denied a new trial by the Supreme Court of Georgia. Brooklyn died on March 6, 2018, due to severe blunt force trauma to her head. Coleman found Brooklyn deceased at the home she shared with her boyfriend, Ron Lott, in Douglas. Coleman was arrested and charged with murder. After a two-day trial in October of 2019, a Coffee County jury found her guilty of malice murder and she was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.…

A 57-year-old Douglas man who was on probation as a result of a guilty plea stemming from an April 2022 home invasion that resulted in an aggravated assault charge is back in jail after he allegedly stole a payment from the City Hall night drop box. An incident report from the Douglas Police Department states that on June 17, 2025, Michael Sheldon Clark, 57, of Douglas, allegedly took a customer’s utility payment from the night drop box at City Hall while he was making his own payment. A city employee didn’t find out about the alleged theft until June 23,…

The fight over the proposed 60-house commercial poultry operation on Highway 441 South in Coffee County has been destined to end up in a courtroom battle since the project began. It’s finally happened. On Friday, July 18, 2025, a group of local citizens filed suit in Superior Court against several defendants seeking “an injunction to prevent the continued construction and operation of the Defendants’ commercial chicken operation.” The plaintiffs are listed as Bruce Brooker, Rebecca Temple, LeGrand Roberts, Hamp Adams, and Sims Funeral Homes, Inc., all of whom own property adjoining to or nearby the poultry farm. The defendants are…

A 19-year-old who was arrested last month for allegedly punching a Douglas police officer in the groin and fleeing has been arrested again, this time on family violence charges. The incident report from the Douglas Police Department states that Deuntra Wesley Esther, 19, was asleep in a family member’s bed on July 12, 2025, at a residence on North Pearl Avenue. Just after 1 a.m., the family member attempted to wake him up, the report says, so she could go to bed. The family member stated that Esther got up and was angry. He got in her face then pushed…

A 43-year-old Douglas woman was jailed after she allegedly threatened to shoot the father of her child when he attempted to pick up the child for a weekend visit as instructed by court order. The incident report from the Douglas Police Department states that on July 11, 2025, the father of the child went to Amberwood Apartments to pick up the child for their every-other-weekend visit. The report says that when the father pulled up, he turned on his phone’s video camera. In the video footage, the mother, April Roberts, 43, of Douglas, is outside of the vehicle telling him…

One suspect was arrested and another remains on the run in connection with an alleged burglary that took place on Old Axson Road on July 2, 2025. Mark Anthony Sanchez, 25, of Douglas, was arrested and remains in jail while his alleged accomplice, Mitchell Shaun Taft, 44, is at large and wanted by deputies. The incident report states that around 7:30 p.m. on July 2, 2025, a deputy received a call about a possible burglary at an Old Axson Road address. The home at the address has been vacant for a while and it had been burglarized multiple times. The…

On July 5, 2025, a Coffee County deputy arrested an Eastman man on illegal drug charges during a traffic stop on Bowens Mill Road and the Willacoochee Highway. The incident report states that the deputy stopped a 1999 Chevrolet Silverado at around 6 a.m. on July 5 because a cooler rack obscured the license plate. During the stop, the deputy learned that the driver, identified as Joseph Clenton Payne, 48, of Eastman, had a suspended license. The report says that the officer told Payne that his vehicle would be towed and asked him if there was anything of value inside…

Once again, the way Coffee County voted in the Public Service Commission election differed from the way the state went. Locally, former state representative and Atlanta city council member Keisha Sean Waites won Tuesday’s runoff for the PSC District 3 Democratic primary 30-14 over energy advocate Peter Hubbard. Out of 24,522 registered voters in Coffee County, only 44 cast a ballot. Statewide, Hubbard won 66,084 to 47,501 (58.2 percent to 41.8 percent). Hubbard won most of the northern counties, along with the Savannah and Brunswick areas, while Waites won most of the central and southern counties. In last month’s primary,…

An officer who responded to a potential domestic issue took a Douglas woman into custody when he found that she had three active warrants. The incident report states that on July 2, 2025, just before 8:30 p.m., an officer responded to a domestic incident. When the officer arrived, Patricia Williams, 39, of Douglas, asked her if she had a valid driver’s license and if she had any warrants for her arrest. The report says that her husband told her she had warrants but she “knew she didn’t.” The officer ran her information, according to the report, and found that Williams…

On July 7, 2025, a Douglas police officer arrested a subject, later identified as Brian Keith Fuller, 47, of Douglas, on several alleged violations after the officer stopped him for allegedly unlawfully walking in the street. The incident took place at South Fales Avenue and Bryan Street Circle. The incident report states that around 12:30 a.m. on July 7, the officer saw Fuller walking in the roadway. He got out with Fuller and ran his information. The officer discovered that Fuller had a warrant for his arrest, according to the report. He verified the warrant and took Fuller into custody.…