Author: Staff Reports

The threat of severe weather for Friday has been downgraded though things are by no means going to be pleasant. Coffee and the surrounding areas were bracing for another round of potentially damaging wind and rain forecasters had predicted for Friday afternoon. The pattern was supposed to follow the same one that brought heavy rain, high winds, and at least one tornado that hit eastern Coffee and western Bacon counties on Tuesday. A pair of squall lines moved through South Georgia that day; the first one rolled through in the predawn hours while the second — and more severe…

The Miami Dolphins are the walking wounded headed into this weekend’s first round playoff match-up with the Kansas City Chiefs in Kansas City. The Dolphins have several key players, including receiver Tyreek Hill, who are ailing. Miami barely resembles the team that looked like a serious Super Bowl contender just a few short weeks ago. Adding to the injury factor is another subplot swirling around Saturday’s game: It’s the first time since the Chiefs traded Hill to the Dolphins that Hill has returned to Kansas City. Hill was a Chief for the first six years of…

The two storms that came through Coffee County Tuesday left their mark on the eastern portion of the county, destroying property near Nicholls and into Bacon County. And the bad weather isn’t over yet; more severe weather is expected to arrive on Friday. The storms were part of a large system that wreaked havoc throughout the country. The storms were responsible for four deaths, including one in Georgia, and significant damage in the Southeast and up the east coast. The Florida panhandle, particularly Panama Cty, was hit especially hard. A tornado formed near Saginaw…

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Here’s the good news: The approaching squall line that is expected to bring severe weather to Coffee and surround counties won’t take long to pass through. Here’s the bad news: For the time it’s here, it will bring sustained winds of 35-45 mph with gusts of 60 mph or more. One squall line, the lesser of the two, has already moved over South Georgia. It rolled through in the pre-dawn hours and downed trees and resulted in losses of power for some residents of the area. The second squall line is moving quickly and emergency officials…

This year, 2024, is an election year. In addition to the federal officials on the ballot this year, there are a number of local offices up for grabs. Below you will find the contested offices and their accompanying qualifying fees: County Commission Districts 2, 4, and 5 — $127.17 (Partisan) Board of Education Districts 3 and 5 — $303.19 (Non-Partisan) Clerk of Court — $2,016.11 (Partisan) Coroner — $404.25 (Partisan) Magistrate Court Judge — $2,056.44 (Non-Partisan) Probate Court Judge — $2,016.11 (Non-Partisan) Sheriff — $2,512.52 (Partisan)…

Those traffic stops will get you every time. On December 18, a detective with the Coffee County Drug Unit made a traffic stop because the drive was not wearing his seatbelt. During the stop, the officer noticed an open alcoholic beverage in the vehicle and more alcoholic beverages on the floor, according to a report from the Coffee County Sheriff’s Office. The officer asked the driver, identified as Anthony Lee, 26, and a passenger, Joshua Hodge, 24, to get out of the vehicle. He placed them in handcuffs and called a K9, which alerted on the vehicle. …

Agents from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from the Jeff Davis County Sheriff’s Office, Hazlehurst Police Department, and Georgia State Patrol, made three arrests in the New Year’s Eve murder of LeCeddrick Mitchell of Hazlehurst. According to a release posted on the Jeff Davis County Sheriff’s Office’s Facebook page, agents and officers made the arrests Thursday afternoon around 3:15. The three subjects arrested are Brad Smith, 18; Keil Smith, 25; and Kaniya Maxwell, 24. Brad Smith and Keil Smith were charged with aggravated assault and murder while Maxwell was charged with murder and conspiracy…

An officer from the Douglas Police Department arrested two people in Douglas who were wanted out of Alpharetta and North Carolina the day after Christmas. According to a report from the Douglas Police Department, an officer on patrol saw Stacie Lynn Zompetti, 70, and Aaron Shah Khan, 48, in Douglas. Both were known to have active warrants and had been arrested numerous times for various thefts. The officer contacted the Alpharetta Police Department and the department in North Carolina. The Alpharetta PD wanted them held on felony shoplifting warrants. North Carolina wasn’t interested in holding them.…

It worked — until it didn’t. Allegedly, of course. On December 18, an individual identified as Tudarries Qua’Shun Eiland, 28, of Douglas, allegedly walked into the Circle K on the south end of town shortly before 9 p.m., picked up a 12-pack of Modelo beer, and brazenly walked out without paying. According to a report from the Douglas Police Department, video footage from the store showed Eiland get out of a black Chrysler 300, walk in the story by himself, get the beer, and then leave. The responding officer knew Eiland lived on Shirley Avenue and…