Author: Staff Reports

A fourth defendant in Fulton County district attorney Fani Willis’s RICO investigation into former President Donald Trump’s alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election has pleaded guilty. Attorney Jenna Ellis, who had been charged with violation of Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) and solicitation of violation of oath by a public officer by Willis’s team, entered a guilty plea to one count of aiding and abetting false statements and writings, a felony. In exchange for her plea, she was sentenced to five years of probation, a $5,000 fine, and, like other defendants before…

Monday morning didn’t go so well for a few folks on the New Forest Highway. A car rear-ended a school bus while the bus was picking up kids on the New Forest Highway this morning. School bus manufacturers know that buses are at risk of such collisions and do a good job of reinforcing the back end of their buses. As such, these types of accidents are usually much worse on the cars/pickups/SUVs than they are on the buses. Officers responded to the scene. Thankfully, no one suffered any serious injuries. The car sustained some damage…

It’s election season in Coffee County. Most of the time has been spent discussing the races in Douglas and Broxton. There is, however, one county-wide election on the ballot: An eSPLOST for the Coffee County School System. Early voting is currently underway at Central Square in the Dogwood Room Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. This Saturday, early voting will be available from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Election day is November 7 and all precincts in the county will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. for voters to cast ballots in favor of or…

Thursday afternoon, officers from the Valdosta Police Department’s Narcotics division recovered a handgun, rifle, and over 36 grams of cocaine off of a 15-year-old. On October 18, 2023, at approximately 2:45 pm., detectives with the Valdosta Police Department’s Narcotics Unit were patrolling the area of Ora Lee West Homes. While patrolling, they observed a juvenile male walking through the complex holding on to a handgun that was in his front pocket. As detectives approached the juvenile to investigate the incident, the 15-year-old male took steps leading detectives to believe he was going to run. The juvenile…

Thursday evening, police and other first responders investigated a traffic accident that took place at the intersection of the 206 Connector and Highway 441 on the north side of the town. The accident slowed traffic during a time when several ball games were ending and there were more motorists than usual traveling through that area. The crash resulted in several injuries and an occupant of one of the vehicles was transported from the scene via Air Evac. An ambulance carried the patient to Coffee Middle School, where the helicopter landed. Around the time this accident took…

Officers from the Atkinson County Sheriff’s Office, Willacoochee Police Department, and Pearson Police Department helped break up a crime spree in Coffee and Atkinson counties, according to Atkinson County Sheriff David Moore. According to a post on Sheriff Moore’s Facebook page, Cornel Quintavious Billington, 26, is in custody in Valdosta after Atkinson County officers tracked him throughout the area. Billington was suspected of burglarizing or attempting to burglarize churches and cars in Coffee and Atkinson counties. Officers eventually tracked him to a home in Valdosta, where Valdosta police served a search warrant on Wednesday, October 18. VPD officers found many…

Former Donald Trump attorney Sidney Powell has pleaded guilty to assisting the former president in his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. In September, Powell had originally pleaded not guilty to the charges against her, which included conspiracy to commit election fraud and racketeering. Her trial was set to begin Monday; however, on Thursday, she avoided prosecution by pleading guilty to six misdemeanor counts of conspiracy to commit intentional interference with performance of election duties. She has been sentenced to six years’ probation, a $6,000 fine, and she must write a letter of apology to the…

An Atkinson County deputy has been fired after he allegedly sent messages to a 16-year-old female asking for inappropriate photos. According to Atkinson County Sheriff David Moore, the deputy, Jesse Booth, was fired last week after the girl’s father reported the messages to Sheriff Moore. Though Booth was employed at the time he sent the messages, he was not on duty. At the moment, Booth has not been charged with a crime. According to Sheriff Moore, Booth knew what lines he could and could not cross to avoid criminal charges. “He may not have crossed the fence but…

Two undefeated teams are in the Albany area high school football ranking top 10 along with one team with a losing record and three more with a .500 record. The Colquitt County Packers are the top team in the area. The 7A Packers are 7-0 on the season with one region game under their belts — a 37-16 win over Camden County last Friday night. Colquitt’s biggest test of the year thus far came on September 22 when the Packers defeated Cedar Grove 50-42. The Packers are ranked third in Georgia and 12th in the nation, according to MaxPreps.…

Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill is leading the NFL in receiving yards and is on pace for a record-setting season. Six games in, Hill has 42 receptions for 814 yards and six touchdowns. He’s averaging over 135 yards per game, which has him on pace to amass over 2,300 yards for the season if his production continues at this level. The single season receiving record stands at 1,964 yards, set by Calvin Johnson in 2012. In Sunday’s 42-21 win over the Carolina Panthers, Hill caught six passes for 163 yards and a touchdown. …