A former deputy with the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office is in custody after reportedly opening fire in the gardening department of Walmart early Wednesday. No one was injured.

Deputies were forced to use a Taser on Jesse Jackson to get him under control in the bizarre episode at the Walmart on Dean’s Bridge Road in Augusta, according to WGAC’s Austin Rhodes.

“I am told Jackson ‘lost his mind’ and opened fire with a shotgun in the gardening department. This was around 3 am,” Rhodes reported on his Facebook page. “Jackson was wearing all black, and had a shotgun wrapped in plastic. He was tazed and taken into custody with no one else injured. …  Ironically, Jackson had been working as a store security manager for Walmart/Sam’s Club in Augusta.”

Richmond County authorities have not issued a press release on the incident, but our sources have confirmed a similar report. Jackson has not been booked into the jail as he is being evaluated at a local facility.

Jackson is the veteran sergeant fired by then-Sheriff Ronnie Strength in June 2011 for falsifying a hit & run report for someone else.

According to a press release at the time, the  24-year veteran of the Sheriff’s Office completed a hit and run accident report for an acquaintance of his who stated the accident happened in Richmond County. The Sheriff’s Office received information from a citizen who advised that the accident actually happened near Atlanta. During the course of the investigation, it was determined that the subject that reported the accident made an insurance claim and had received payment for the damages.

Before his firing, he had multiple disciplinary suspensions, including an incident in which he was found sleeping on the job. He was also disciplined for lying to a supervisor, being absent for an assignment and failing to perform preventative maintenance on his service vehicle.`

UPDATE FROM RCSO:

“In response to numerous media inquiries, the Sheriff’s Office confirms the arrest this morning of former Richmond County Deputy Jessie Jackson.

“Former Deputy Jackson was arrested for two felony counts: Criminal Damage to Property in the 2^nd Degree and Possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime. This incident took place at approximately 3:50 am at the Wal-Mart on Deans Bridge Rd. Jackson was observed by Richmond County deputies as he fired a 12 gauge shotgun into the garden center area of the store. Jackson then attempted to leave and failed to stop at deputies commands. Jackson was “tased” to gain compliance and was taken into custody at the scene.

 ”We commend the deputies for their due diligence of patrolling areas and parking lots at 4:00 in the morning to deter these types of crimes.”

Want to avoid a surprise arrest during a routine traffic stop?

Aiken County is making that possible for hundreds of people. The sheriff’s office is by holding a Fraudulent Check Bond Court from 5-8 p.m. Thursday (Nov. 6) at the Central Traffic Court, located next to the Sheriff’s Office at 420 Hampton Avenue in Aiken.

Any person with an outstanding fraudulent check warrant issued in Aiken County can surrender to deputies at court, be processed and taken immediately before the judge for bond to be set. In most cases defendants can be released on a personal recognizance (PR) bond.

This style of court is conducted in hopes of allowing defendants with these warrants an opportunity to dispose of the warrants in a timely manner.  If you don’t, people who have outstanding fraudulent check warrants may be incarcerated for this warrant by any law enforcement officer in the State of South Carolina at any time.

For inquiries in reference to having a fraudulent check warrant people may contact the Aiken County Sheriff’s Office Warrants Division at (803) 642-1775 or (803) 502-1831.

The list of those with warrants is below. If your name appears more than once, it is because you have multiple warrants for fraudulent checks:

Richmond County authorities are looking for a killer.

Javarius Donte Walthour, 20, of Inez Street, Augusta, was found shot to death on Cornell Street in Augusta at 8 p.m. Wednesday.

At the same time, deputies were called to shots fired on Cornell Street as well as Shirley Avenue. Walthour (pictured here) was found dead on Cornell Street from at least one gunshot wound, the coroner said. An autopsy is scheduled for Thursday.

No arrests have been announced.

Two men were charged Friday morning with murder in Wednesday’s shooting death of 20-year-old Javarius Walthour on Cornell Street in Augusta.

Demarco Mandrell Williams, 34. (left) and Jeffrey Houston Burns, 54 (right), are each charged with murder and possession of a weapon during the commission of a crime.

According to warrants, the victim was shot in the head with a .32-caliber handgun.

The Richmond County Sheriff’s Office would not disclose a possible motive in the killing. They have refused to disclose any possible motive in recent rash of murders or give any explanation for the deadly violence in the county.

In this homicide, the young victim was found shot to death on Cornell Street in Augusta at 8 p.m. Wednesday. At the same time, deputies were called to shots fired on Cornell Street as well as Shirley Avenue.

The suspects each have a previous criminal history. According to criminal records, Williams was previously charged with cocaine possession, but the charge was dropped. In 2008, he was charged and later convicted of possessing a sawed-off shotgun, fleeing police, obstruction of law enforcement and driving with a suspended license.

Burns is a convicted felon charged in 1999 with aggravated assault, weapon possession and weapon possession by a convicted felon.

Two people are dead after a triple shooting in Augusta on Monday night and persons of interest are in custody, authorities said.

Jerald Carter Jr., 17, of Augusta, and  Ian Roberts, 21, of Augusta, were both shot to death Monday night. (The Jail Report is seeking photos of the victims. Please send decent photos of them to publisher@thejailreport.com)

According to authorities, deputies were called at 8:15 p.m. Monday to Ethan Way at Mathews Court in reference to a shooting. Two victims were shot. One person was injured and one deceased. A second incident occurred in Apple Valley subdivision and claimed the life of another victim.

“The original incident was related to the second incident. Persons of interests are being held at this time,” sheriff’s Sgt. Monica Belser said in a press release.

Residents should not expect to hear a motive in the continuing deadly violence in Richmond County. The sheriff’s office will not discuss the reasons behind these killings.

Both victims died from at least one gunshot wound, Coroner Mark Bowen said in a press release.

Roberts died on the scene and was pronounced dead at 9:35 p.m. Monday, the coroner said. Carter died at Georgia Regents University Hospital and was pronounced dead at 9:12 p.m. Monday.

Autopsies are scheduled for Thursday at the GBI Lab in Atlanta.

WRDW-TV is reporting that deputies don’t believe the public is in danger and these incidents are isolated.

An Augusta woman is dead and her son claims he killed her before setting her house on fire on Wicklow Drive, according to Richmond County authorities.

Authorities were first called to the home for a “white male subject lying partially clothed in the roadway,” according to a press release from Sheriff Richard Roundtree.

“The subject was claiming that he had killed his mother in their residence and then set the house on fire.  Entry was made into the residence by the Fire Department where an unknown female was found deceased and the body was partially burned,” the press release said.

The suspect was taken into custody at the scene.

The victim has been identified as 92-year-old Agnes Caviston. An autopsy is scheduled for Monday.

The names of the suspect has not been released. Stay tuned…

Richmond County authorities have booked a local man on murder and arson charges in the bizarre death of his elderly mother.

Robert “Bob” Caviston, 56, was booked into the jail early Sunday in the death of 92-year-old Agnes Caviston on Wicklow Drive in Augusta.

At 5 p.m. Saturday, witnesses called 911 to report that the suspect was naked outside his mother’s home screaming that he had killed his mom and set her house on fire, authorities said. Firefighters found the victim inside her living room on a mattress, and her body was partially burned.

The suspect was taken into custody at the scene. A motive is unclear.

Richmond County Sheriff Richard Roundtree announced today that inmates will no longer be transported to court for initial appearances and hearings. It will be done over video.

“In an effort to modernize the court hearing system, The Sheriff’s Office with the co-operation of the Judges from Civil and Magistrate court have begun video conferencing of initial appearances and hearings,” the sheriff said in a press release. “The system was added with the recent renovations of the CBWDC and allows for increased security of inmates by keeping them enclosed at the facility.”

Sheriff Roundtree also said the new video conferencing will also save on the expense of moving inmates from the facility to the courtrooms.

Aiken County authorities are investigating the cause of a house fire that killed two people in North Augusta home on Wednesday night.

The names of the dead have not been released, pending notification of kin.

But authorities say there were eight people in the home when the fire broke out at 1067 Wormrath Road. But the other six residents, which included two children, were gone from the scene prior to the Coroner’s arrival.

According to a press release, neighbors of the home called 911 around 10 p.m. Wednesday, reporting that the house was on fire and possibly someone was trapped in the fire.

“North Augusta Department of Public Safety responded to the home to extinguish the fire. When emergency crews arrived on scene, one victim was found outside of the home unresponsive. Fire crews located a second victim inside the residence (front bedroom) which they rescued from the burning home,” sheriff’s Capt. Eric Abdullah said in a press release.

Both victims were transported to an area hospital where they were pronounced dead. A preliminary investigation revealed that the home was occupied by eight people who were all asleep when the fire started. No other injuries have been reported.

An Aiken couple are dead this morning from an apparent murder-suicide, authorities say.

Preliminary indications are that 62-year-old James Tomac shot his wife Teresa, 44, and then killed himself, according to Aiken County Coroner Tim Carlton.

The incident took place at Ashbury Drive in Cedar Creek subdivision of Aiken. Around 1:30 a.m. Saturday, a family member called 911 after communicating with Mr. Tomac. Officers with the Aiken County Sheriff’s Office and New Ellenton Police discovered the bodies.

“There appears to be a recent history of unspecified domestic issues,” Carlton said.

The couple were both employed by the Department of Energy. An article from September names Mrs. Tomac as a construction manager with the DOE’s Salt Waste Processing Facility.

A Facebook page for Mrs. Tomac shows photos of two young sons.

Autopsies are scheduled on Monday in Newberry.

(Note: If you have a decent photo of the victim, please send it to publisher@thejailreport.com)

The Jail Report has big news this week. Here is what you need to know for this week:

You can enjoy this week’s edition of The Jail Report A DAY EARLY.

Yes, we will publish on Tuesday, Nov. 25, giving you an extra day to pick up your copy before sitting down for a Thanksgiving feast. Papers should be on the counters of every store in the CSRA by lunchtime Tuesday. Make sure to pick up your copy!

And don’t forget to enter your child in our Holiday Coloring Contest, which has prizes of $300.

Happy Thanksgiving from The Jail Report!

This guy loaded up his cart with a $98 Soundbar and a $73 Panasonic Blue Ray player Oct. 24 at the Grovetown Walmart.

When an employee asked for a receipt, the suspect ran past him, loaded the items into a brown Toyota Camry, jumped into the passenger seat and left the area.

Recognize him? Please call the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office at 706-541-2800.

Zack McCabe, left, and Charles Sanders, right, are both being sought by Georgia-Carolina Bail Bonds for bail jumping. A cash reward is being offered.

McCabe, 26, has pending charges of driving under suspension, marijuana possession, and a window tint violation. His last known address is 415 Chalk Bed Road in Graniteville. He is described as 6-feet, 4-inches tall, 200 pounds with brown hair and blue eyes.

Sanders, 18, has pending charges of providing false information to police and having no valid license. His last known address is 2023 3rd Avenue, North Augusta. He is described as 5-feet, 7-inches tall, 150 pounds with black hair and brown eyes.

Both men failed to appear for court. If you know where they are, please call Ed Wilson with Georgia-Carolina Bail Bonds at 803-649-1012 or 803-349-6106.

DO NOT TRY TO APPREHEND!!

Richmond County authorities need your help identifying this man who robbed the Family Dollar store on Tuesday morning.

The man entered the Gordon Highway store around 10 a.m., pulled a black semi-automatic handgun and took of after getting cash.

Know who he is? Please call Investigator Terry Gore at the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office at (706) 821-1025 or (706) 821-1080

ALL INFORMATION WILL BE HANDLED CONFIDENTIALLY!

A former Aiken County Sheriff’s deputy was fired last year for using excessive force on a DUI suspect, but the officer was never criminally charged and continues to work locally as an officer in Burnettown.

Solicitor Strom Thurmond Jr. reviewed the video and the complete investigative file from the State Law Enforcement Division, and he declined to prosecute.

“We would have had to have a good faith belief that a crime was committed. And in this case that threshhold was not met,” Thurmond told The Jail Report on Tuesday, citing the lack of credibility of the witnesses who were both intoxicated at the time.

Still, Thurmond said he did not like Warchol’s actions.

“I didn’t like how either one of these people were treated by Deputy Warchol.  I didn’t care for his tone. I didn’t care for how he handled himself in how he dealt with these two individuals, both of who were highly intoxicated and were charged with numerous offenses and ultimately pleaded guilty to multiple offenses,” the solicitor said.

On June 1, 2013, Deputy Warchol along with other officers responded to a disturbance on U.S. HIghway 1 in the Langley area. The disturbance involved a domestic dispute between Damont Jessie and Sherese Taylor while they were drunk driving and carrying children (ages 6 and 7) in the car. The domestic occurred while Jessie was driving a vehicle and resulted in a minor traffic accident.

Jessie was ultimately arrested for DUI and other charges. Taylor was arrested for assault & battery, resisting arrest and other charges.

Both Jessie and Taylor became combative and uncooperative during their arrest which resulted in Deputy Warchol using force during the arrest. Dash-cam video shows Deputy Warchol twice punching Jessie as the handcuffed suspect resists and tries to pull away. The officer also put a choke hold on the man and dared him to “Do it again! Do it again!”

A S.C. Highway Patrol officer standing near Deputy Warchol said he feared for his life when Jessie resisted. “He says Mr. Jessie lunged at him, and he was fearful he was going to be head-butted,” Thurmond said.

Another video shows Deputy Warchol punching Taylor while she is squirming in the back seat of a patrol car with handcuffs on. At one point, another officer Tazed her while she resisted arrest.

Deputy Warchol gave his own account while writing the incident report. During the DUI test, the deputy said the suspect became irate and said “F*** this. Take my f***ing ass to jail.”

From Warchol’s report: “I placed him in handcuffs and advised him of his rights and of his DUI advisement rights. Mr. Jessie became even more irate and started yelling and cussing. He then lunged at Trooper Gardner in a very aggressive manner, trying to strike him in his face using his head. I reacted in an attempt to stop him by striking him in his face with a closed fist. I struck him in his bottom lip/jaw area, causing a small laceration to his bottom lip.”

Deputy Warchol said the suspect was checked by EMS and offered a trip to the hospital, which he refused.

Shortly after Deputy Warchol’s report was written, a supervisor determined no violations had occurred and Deputy Warchol used the “necessary” level of force. That determination was later overturned by other sheriff’s office supervisors after they reviewed the video.

An internal review into the amount of force used was conducted on July 24, 2013, and Deputy Warchol was fired the same day for “violation of policy 103 Code of Conduct/Excessive Force,” according to sheriff’s Capt. Eric Abdullah.

From Capt. Bobby Wilson’s summary: “While in the escort position, the subject displayed defensive resistance (pulling/pushing away to defeat the escort position). It is not an attack on the officer, but a physical act designed to prevent the officer from gaining control, attempting to pull away from Deputy Warchol. Deputy Warchol immediately struck the subject in the face twice with what appeared to be a closed fist and placed his hand around the throat of the subject in a choke maneuver taunting him to ‘do it again.’ This is a clear violation of ACSO policy and an ‘excessive use of force.’”

In an interview with officers, Jessie said he believed Deputy Warchol was too aggressive. He said he thought the officer should be fired and he be compensated.

On Nov. 21, 2013, Thurmond declined charges and wrote a harshly-worded letter condemning the officer to SLED and calling his actions “troublesome.”

“I find that his conduct on June 1, 2013, fell far below any acceptable standards of what society expects from a law enforcement officer,” Thurmond said in the letter.

Burnettown Police Chief David Smith hired Warchol as an officer around March 2014. On Tuesday, Chief Smith said he stood behind his decision and said he did it after careful review of the video.

“I will be honest with you. There should not have been any charges placed against Officer Warchol. If I believed there should have been charges, I would have never hired him,” he said.

Chief Smith said he believes there may be some controversy as to what happened in the video, but in the end, he supports his decision, especially considering Thurmond reviewed the case and chose not to file charges.

The chief said he was amazed that Warchol’s original supervisor said there was no excessive force but his decision was overturned.

“It went through his supervisor, his supervisor’s supervisor and a training review, and then somebody says, ‘Hey, I have an issue with it.’ Then they change their opinion about what happened,” Chief Smith said.

Chief Smith said Officer Warchol would not want to comment on the case.

(STORY BY GREG RICKABAUGH, PUBLISHER OF THE JAIL REPORT)

- – -

WHY REPORT THIS STORY NOW?

The Aiken County Sheriff’s Office never alerted the public when they fired Deputy Mark Warchol last year for using excessive force against a DUI suspect.

The Jail Report and WRDW-TV both received tips recently that SLED had investigated Warchol, who now works for the Burnettown Police Department. We asked SLED for their file on the investigation and after several weeks, we got the file Monday (Dec. 1).

This case is one of many not publicized by the Aiken County Sheriff’s Office. This year, we also broke the story of the officer who left a police K-9 in a hot patrol car last year, leading to the animal’s death. In that case, Sheriff Michael Hunt defended the case as a personnel matter that he didn’t feel needed to be publicized.

An Aiken County jailer accused of soliciting male inmates will not face criminal charges, according to Solicitor Strom Thurmond Jr.

Dequan Gomillion was fired Sept. 16 after just  two months as an officer at the Aiken County Detention Center. Three inmates complained to another jailer that Gomillion had spoken to them about possible sexual favors while working an evening shift.

Jail Capt. Nick Gallam said Gomillion was interviewed and subsequently fired and an investigation turned over to SLED. He described the officer’s actions as sexual talk.

“We do hold our employees to a higher standard,” Capt. Gallam said. “As soon as we got word of the allegations, we did as we always do, we conducted a thorough investigation. … We weren’t sure on the criminal aspect of it, so we turned it over to (SLED)”.

According to Thurmond, after the jailer was terminated from the jail, he hired an attorney and refused to speak about the allegations.

Thurmond declined prosecution last month in a letter to SLED. “While I concur with the decision for termination, I find no criminal wrongdoing, and deem this matter closed,” the solicitor wrote in the Nov. 19th letter.

The Jail Report has an Open Records Request with SLED for the investigative file and specific allegations against Gomillion. But the state agency has not turned them over despite the case being closed for several weeks.

The Aiken County Detention Center has an in-depth hiring process that includes a polygraph test, background investigation, and more.

“We try to weed out those people that would not be trustworthy, the people who we don’t want to employ to manage inmates,” Capt. Gallam said. “Unfortunately, we get bad apples, and when they violate policies that the sheriff sets forth, we investigate and if there is reason to believe they violated policies, we take action.”

The detention center, as an extension of the federal Prison Rape Elimination Act, investigates any sexual abuse or sexual misconduct by their staff or inmates, Capt. Gallam said.

A Hephzibah mother was arrested while walking her malnourished daughter to McDonalds Thursday afternoon.

A deputy discovered the child hadn’t been fed in five days because of the mother’s meth addiction. In fact, the deputy noticed suspect Lacey Cadle was “tweaking” from meth use while walking with the girl on Kissingbower Road during school hours Thursday, according to a sheriff’s report

“(Cadle) was flicking her head from side to side and kept licking her face,” the deputy’s report says.

Cadle told the officer her daughter was not in school because she was sick and needed medical attention for a throat problem that she was having.  The mother told the officer that the girl has an ongoing problem after swallowing Muric acid two years ago.

“The child had not eaten since the previous Sunday (five days previous).” the report says. “The accused claimed that she had not taken her to the hospital because she had been busy. She then admitted … that she had been getting high on meth the previous night. She had been staying with her boyfriend at 1925 Thomas Lane.”

The child was very dirty had a large cut or scrape on her chin and her teeth seemed to be mostly missing, the report says.

The deputy called for an ambulance and a paramedic discovered the little girl had a fever, a high heart rate and appeared to be malnourished. The Department of Family and Children Services was notified and the child was taken into their care to be placed somewhere safe.

Cadle, 25, of Hephzibah, was charged with deprivation of a minor.

At the home where Cadle was staying on Thomas Lane, officers found a used meth pipe on a dresser and a marijuana pipe on a nightstand in easy reach of a child.

Cadle made news three years ago in Burke County when she was arrested for drugs while driving around in a mobile meth lab. In that case, Cadle allegedly dropped Hydrocodone and Xanax pills on the ground while officers were investigating the male driver’s mobile meth lab.

CORRECTION: The Jail Report mistakenly identified the teen’s race in an earlier version. He is white. We apologize for the error, made when we misread the report.

A teen in Grovetown was charged with trespassing after a deputy caught him posting anti-police signs on a community fence, according to a sheriff’s report.

The 16-year-old teen was charged last Thursday as a juvenile and released to his brother.

Columbia County Deputy Lance Herring was traveling to Columbia Middle School last Thursday morning to conduct traffic control. According to his report, the deputy saw the juvenile hammering two paper documents on the wooden fence located at the intersection of Crown Heights Way and William Few Parkway.

The teen denied posting anything on the fence and Deputy Herring ordered the teen to lay his backpack down.

The deputy found five documents in the backpack with various messages:

* Want to get away with murder? Be a white cop.

* Darren Wilson is a murderer

* All unarmed. All innocent. All Black. All the killers were never indicted. All the Killers were white cops.

* “Police don’t ever kill innocents due to racism” (Utter Bulls**t)

* Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, Dante Parker, Kendrec McDade, Armand Benet, John Crawford

The deputy contacted juvenile authorities, and the teen was charged with criminal trespass and released.

According to sheriff’s Capt. Steve Morris, the teen was not arrested for his anti-cop messages but because of how he was posting them.

“I don’t think it was so much of the posting or the words, it’s the hammering to the fence … damage to property,” Capt. Morris said, adding that the teen might have avoided arrest by taping the messages to the fence.

An Augusta doctor surrendered his medical license after DEA agents looked into complaints he was writing a large number of prescriptions for Hydrocodone, authorities said.

A warrant executed Tuesday at the Medical Villa Pharmacy at 1520 Laney Walker Boulevard provided records showing that Dr. Achhinder Ohri was writing a large number of prescriptions for Hydrocodone, a controlled substance, according to a press release.  Investigators went to several other pharmacies in the Augusta area and found an inordinate number of prescriptions for Hydrocodone from Dr. Ohri, the release said.

On Thursday, federal officials and sheriff’s investigators went to 2100 Central Ave and conducted an administration warrant on the offices of Dr. Ohri. “Investigators found there were numerous violations and Dr. Ohri has surrendered his medical license,” Lt. Allan Rollins said in a press release.

Investigators with the Drug Enforcement Agency joined Richmond County Sheriff’s Investigator Erik Williams in the investigation, which is continuing.

A 21-year-old Augusta man was charged Wednesday with statutory rape after getting a 15-year-old girl pregnant, authorities said.

Christopher Tyler, 21, of Tripoli Court, remains in jail under bond on the charge.  Authorities say the teen was not forced to have sex, but a 15 year old cannot legally consent to have sex.

The girl’s mother knew about the relationship and told Tyler to stay away from her daughter since he was 18. In November, the mother realized she had not purcahsed any tampons for her daughter and asked her about it.

“She brought a pregnancy test home and tested her (daughter),” a report says. “The test confirmed she was pregnant.”

The girl told her mother that Tyler was the father, and the suspect admitted to her that they had sex a total of three times at his father’s house. The mother also found out that Tyler is actually 21 years old.

The mother called the sheriff’s office and Tyler was picked up Wednesday.