Author: Staff Reports

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…

Judge Kelly Brooks has granted a change of venue for Jeffrey Harper’s trial in connection with the death of Vann Brown, 39, who lost his life during an altercation at a wedding party at Harper’s house on January 1, 2020, in Ambrose. Harper’s attorneys had petitioned the court for a change of venue because his legal team did not believe an impartial jury could be found in Coffee County due to extensive news coverage and social media commentary regarding the case. The change of venue hearing was initially scheduled for early December but had to be postponed. Judge…

Less than two weeks after being arrested on methamphetamine charges, Julian Roberson, 54, of Douglas, was arrested again – this time for allegedly shoplifting from Walmart. According to an incident report from the Douglas Police Department, on January 14, 2024 just before 9 p.m., an officer responded to a shoplifting in progress call at Walmart. A store representative told the officer than an individual, identified as Roberson, was at self-checkout skip scanning items. As the officer approached Roberson, the report says he attempted to leave the store. The officer asked Roberson to go with him for questioning. …

A Douglas man was charged with aggravated assault as a result of an alleged domestic dispute on January 14, 2024, according to a report from the Douglas Police Department. Officers responded to the call just after 4:30 p.m. on January 14 and found a chaotic scene. The report states that the initial call was an altercation between Kenneth Williams, 47, and a female at the residence. The report says that Williams stated that the female was “acting up and throwing things at him.” He said that he wrapped his arms around her in an effort to get her…

Ear, Nose, and Throat Clinic of Coffee County is wishing you a safe and healthy new year!