Author: Staff Reports

According to City Manager Charlie Davis, developers are currently in their “final stages” of contracts in bringing three national chain businesses to Douglas. Since the City of Douglas and its developers announced the plans for Douglas Square in 2019, national and international chain businesses immediately started showing interest in Douglas being the home of their newest location. The list continues to expand, with City Manager Davis telling Douglas Now that contract completion is underway between developers and a chain supermarket (the second national grocer in the works for the community), a fast-food restaurant, and a retail store. …

By Kristen Kitchens William Clarence Chaney of Atkinson County was denied bond after threatening to kill multiple individuals, including law enforcement officers, which resulted in a 5-hour standoff with the Georgia State Patrol SWAT team. The threats were made after law enforcement was called to the property in reference to a domestic issue, which began after Chaney, who is 46-years-old, accused his father of “taking his meth.” Atkinson County Sheriff David Moore confirmed to DouglasNow that on Saturday, May 28, deputies with the Atkinson County Sheriff’s Department were dispatched to a camper on a property off…

By Kristen Kitchens A Coffee County grand jury has officially indicted former George Washington Carver Freshman Campus teacher and coach Nathan Brant Garrett on two counts of child molestation and two counts of sexual battery. Garrett was accused of the crimes following an investigation by the GBI in February, and resigned from his position with the school system shortly before his arrest. According to a copy of the indictment, Garrett is accused of “transmitting images of a person engaging in any immoral or indecent act” by sending an inappropriate video of himself to a child who…

By Kristen Kitchens Douglas “D.J. Doug” Wooten, a 39-year-old Jeff Davis man who appeared in an episode of “90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days,” could now spend his life behind bars after pleading guilty to committing murder and armed robbery in January 2021. While the motive of the theft, according to officials, was to “score a large sum of money,” Douglas and the three others involved fled the home with only $2 in cash. According to Jeff Davis Sheriff’s Office officials, on January 4, 2021, Wooten and his 18-year-old son Denver L. Wooten, 39-year-old Kegan B. Bennett, and 32-year-old…

Officers from the Douglas Police Department are looking for the individuals responsible for passing over $160,000 in forged checks throughout Georgia, including Douglas. The Douglas Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Unit is currently investigating the deposit of several forged checks at numerous ATMs. These forgeries have taken place in Douglas as well as several other cities in Georgia. To date there have been 35 checks passed for over $163,000. If you know, or can identify, the person depicted below, please contact the Douglas Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Unit at (912) 384-2222. You may also contact investigating officer,…

By Kristen Kitchens This morning, a jury in the Superior Court of Coffee County acquitted James Henry Young on a Possession of Firearm by a Convicted Felon charge during what may have been the “shortest trial the court has seen.” Young was first arrested in 2019 on the charge after being pulled over for running a stop sign in front of a Douglas Police Department (DPD) officer. When Young was stopped, the officer said he smelled the odor of marijuana, which led to a pat-down and vehicle search. The officer discovered a quantity of suspected marijuana…

By Kristen Kitchens Just two days after her arrest last week, 28-year-old Alexandria Bowen received additional charges for her involvement in her fiancé Skylar Merson’s alleged heroin operation in Coffee County. Merson was also listed in the indictment and received two new charges. The indictment alleges that on February 2, Merson and Bowen possessed more than 28 grams of heroin at their residence in Coffee County. In Bowen’s first indictment last month, she was accused of having a quantity larger than 4 grams of heroin, with Merson initially charged with having more than 140 grams of…

By Kristen Kitchens A Douglas man will stand trial tomorrow in the Superior Court of Coffee County on one count of Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon following an incident that led to his arrest in 2019. According to a copy of the incident report, on June 9, 2019, a DPD officer saw a vehicle traveling west on Baker Highway. When the officer “turned around on the vehicle,” he noticed the driver, later identified as James Henry Young, began to drive faster and disregard a stop sign at the intersection of West Magnolia Street…

By Kristen Kitchens Following a two-week trial in the death of Tara Grinstead, Ryan Duke was acquitted last Friday for her 2005 murder but was found guilty of concealing a death after he admitted to the crime on the stand during his testimony. This morning, Ryan was sentenced to serve ten years in prison, the maximum sentence for the crime, and will receive credit for the last five years spent in the Irwin County Detention Center. The hearing began at 9:30 a.m., with Ryan’s defense attorney, Ashleigh Merchant, asking Judge Bill Reindhart to sentence him as a first offender and…

By Kristen Kitchens Reed’s Snack & Shack recently took 1st place in Barbecue News Magazine’s 2022 Sauces of Honor national contest for their homemade garlic sauce in the seafood category. Barbecue News Magazine holds the event annually and had 348 entries in 2022, including local sauce makers and some as far as the United Kingdom. The winners are chosen from four categories, including the best sauces for chicken, pork, seafood and beef. In the seafood category, each sauce entered is sampled with shrimp. Reed’s garlic sauce was developed by David Reed, who owns the restaurant with his wife, Shantrease Brockington…