A Martinez man bothered a sheriff’s deputy this week to report being flicked off.

According to a Columbia County report, Emad Francis honked his horn at a customer taking too long Tuesday evening in the drive-thru lane of CVS Pharmacy on Old Petersburg Road.

“Mr. Francis said the car in front of him was taking a long time to get their medication due to multiple exchanges of insurance cards to the pharmacy clerk,” the sheriff’s report says. “Mr. Francis pressed his horn in an attempt to make the clerk aware of the traffic that was accumulating behind him. Mr. Francis noted that in response of the honking of his horn, the driver in the car ahead of him stuck his arm out of the window and gave him a hand gesture, then drove off.”

Francis then reported the matter to the sheriff’s office and asked the deputy to document the other driver’s reaction. The sheriff’s office could not locate the other driver.

(For more crime news, pick up this week’s edition of The Jail Report. Cover image: http://thejailreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/Cover-Issue-640.jpg)

These two women are wanted in connection with the roll-out theft of a Playstation 4 and a case of Bud Light on Feb. 28 from the Grovetown Walmart.

Authorities say they allegedly took the items and rolled out of the store without paying.

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

A retired Evans High School teacher was arrested Saturday at West Lake Country Club after becoming drunk and assaulting an EMT worker and cops who responded to help him, according to authorities.

That’s one of many stories in this week’s issue of The Jail Report. Pick up your copy in stores now! Cover image: http://thejailreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/Cover-Issue-641.jpg

According to a sheriff’s report, 60-year-old Rick Mahaffie was so drunk Saturday night that he fell to the floor inside West Lake Country Club. Club employees called for an EMT to help the passed out suspect, but then Mahaffie woke up as paramedic Todd Lamb was evaluating him.

“(He) immediately began using vulgar language, punched Mr. Lamb in the stomach and spit on him,” a sheriff’s report says.

Several EMTs were holding Mahaffie down on the ground when deputies arrived. A deputy asked Mahaffie if he would cooperate if the EMT let him go, but the suspect cursed the officer, a report says.

While being escorted to a patrol car, Mahaffie spit on an officer’s shirt twice and cursed deputies. But it got worse.

“While placing Mr. Mahaffie in my patrol vehicle, Mr. Mahaffie kicked me, striking me in the chest and chin,” the deputy said in his report. “Mr. Mahaffie was handcuffed and his legs were restrained in the back of my patrol vehicle.”

Mahaffie was charged with public drunkenness, interference with emergency medical professional and two counts of obstruction of an officer.

According to online websites, Mahaffie taught history at Evans High School for many years. His nickname among students was “Slick Rick Mahaffie.”

A suspect is in custody in connection with Saturday’s shooting death of a 65-year-old Augusta man on Leland Drive, authorities said.

The victim in this case has been identified as Karl Alan Hardge, of Olive Road in Augusta. The assailant, John Dickey Obryant, 86, of the Leland Drive address, has been taken into custody and is currently at the Georgia Regents University.

Deputies identified that Obryant was having shortness of breath and he was taken to GRU for treatment. Obryant is charged with murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime.

No current photo is available at this time, authorities said.

Authorities say Hardge was shot once in the upper torso and pronounced dead at GRU Hospital just before 3 p.m. Saturday. The suspect was at the home when officers responded to the shooting and found the victim with a gunshot wound.

Richmond County authorities usually refuse to discuss a motive, but WGAC’s Austin Rhodes tells us that his sources say the suspect is claiming self-defense.

An autopsy on the victim will be conducted next week in Atlanta, Deputy Coroner Kenneth Boose said in a press release.

A Gamecocks fan was caught on camera brazenly picking out a $600 Dewalt Drill Combo Pack from the Martinez Lowe’s on March 7 and leaving the store without paying.

Authorities say the man may have been driving a Dodge Ram truck with a South Carolina tag.

The surveillance images are pretty good here since the man took 20 minutes to find just the right tools to steal.

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

An elderly Augusta man was formally charged Monday in the weekend shooting death of a 65-year-old man, authorities said.

John Dickey O’Bryant, 86 (pictured) was charged with one murder and weapon possession in connection with the death of Karl Allen Hardge.

The victim was shot once in the upper torso and died at GRU Hospital around 3 p.m. Saturday.

The sheriff’s office did not release other specifics, but sources within the sheriff’s office have revealed to WGAC’s Austin Rhodes that the shooting suspect is a dementia patient who may have believed he was either under attack, or being held prisoner.

Authorities have revealed to Rhodes that the victim was on the phone with a 911 operator when the fatal shots were fired.

An Aiken man is facing many years in prison after he was caught sending child pornography from his home on Dogwood Drive, authorities said.

State Attorney General Alan Wilson announced the arrest of 22-year-old Brizbon McCamey Chapman on 15 counts involving the sexual exploitation of minors. The Aiken County Sheriff’s Office, a member of the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, made the arrest.

Investigators say Chapman was involved in sending child pornography via file sharing.  A search warrant was obtained and executed at Williams’ residence on Friday.  A computer was seized for forensic examination.

Chapman is charged with five counts of Sexual Exploitation of a Minor second-degree, a felony offense punishable by up to ten (10) years imprisonment on each count; and ten (10) counts of Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, third degree, a felony offense punishable by up to ten (10) years imprisonment on each count. Bond was set at $150,000.

The case will be prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Office.

Metro Spirit Publisher Joe White has pressed stalking charges against the alleged victim of a McCormick County trail attack whose claims were featured in White’s weekly paper.

This is one of many stories in this week’s edition of The Jail Report. (Cover image: http://thejailreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/Augusta-Cover-642.jpg)

Michaal Robert Koon, 36, of Lexington, S.C., was arrested last Tuesday for misdemeanor stalking. He is accused of calling White on March 6 while the publisher was at the Lady Antebellum Theater Park. According to White, Koon asked about the publisher’s family by name, and threatened White. Koon even referenced White’s deceased daughter.

“Karma is a b*tch, and I’m going to get my revenge and settle the score,” he was quoted as saying, according to White.

White has written extensively about Koon’s claims in July that he was attacked on the Modoc/Stevens Creek Trail. White did not name Koon in his article.

Koon told authorities he was riding his bike when he was knocked off by a rope stretched between two trees. He said he was knocked unconscious and woke up to find three men attacking him, including one who was trying to take off his shorts to sexually assault him.

In his initial article, White raised questions about the man’s claims: “Why was the cyclist alone on the trail after dark? How could he possibly be knocked off his bike by a rope stretched between two trees and not be seriously injured? … What were three men dressed in camouflage hunting in late July?”

According to a Columbia County Sheriff’s Office report, White had tried to contact Koon while writing the stories, but the man would never comment or talk to White. The publisher wrote follow-up pieces on the man’s claims and raised questions about his claims on The Austin Rhodes Show on WGAC-AM radio.

During the March 6 call, White said he told Koon that he would be at the park and Koon was welcome to come and introduce himself. White told authorities he then hung up the phone.

White eventually filed a report with the sheriff’s office and went to a pre-warrant hearing, where a magistrate judge heard the details of the call and issued the stalking warrant.

If convicted of the stalking charge, Koon faces a maximum sentence of 12 months in jail and a $1,000 fine.

Richmond County Sheriff Richard Roundtree says he is ready to begin an internal investigation into the use of steroids by officers.

It’s a move that comes after news Thursday – broken by WGAC’s Austin Rhodes – that the Georgia Bureau of Investigation has turned over its Roid-Gate files to District Attorney Ashley Wright for her review and possible prosecution.

“We will start our internal investigation,” the sheriff told The Jail Report on Thursday night by text.

The sheriff said the move from the GBI to the D.A’s office was an expected part of the normal process after he asked the GBI to investigate last fall. His request came after drug suspect Brandon Paquette was arrested for possessing and selling illegal steroids and then hinted he had information about deputies using.

Sheriff Roundtree said Paquette gave up names eventually, and a polygraph test confirmed he appeared to be telling the truth.

At the time, the sheriff said he didn’t plan to undergo an internal investigation until after the GBI was done. Otherwise, he would have been interfering with their probe. That time has passed.

Emails to Ms. Wright’s office and the GBI’s Pat Morgan were not immediately returned Thursday night.

Previous article:

Q: Why won’t Sheriff Richard Roundtree agree to test those on the list of alleged steroid users?

A: Sheriff Roundtree says there are a few reasons. If he did it, he would have to go through the county’s human resources department since the sheriff’s office has “opted in” to their program. Some sheriff’s offices in the state are independent and can conduct drug testing on their own. Richmond County is not independent.

Also, Sheriff Roundtree said he would be interfering with the GBI’s independent investigation if he started pulling in officers named on the informant’s list and began testing them or talking to them.

“If I start testing, it becomes an internal investigation,” he said.

Sheriff Roundtree said he is going to let the investigation play out and not treat any officers on the list as criminals until there is substantiated evidence to show it.

Q: Would Sheriff Roundtree support a policy requiring steroid testing of deputies?

A: “If the county changed their policy to it, I would support it 100 percent,” he said.

Q: Did accused steroid dealer Brandon Paquette make any allegations other than steroid use by deputies?

A: Yes. Sheriff Roundtree said the public might be surprised by other allegations the informant made.

“The complaints were not just illegal use of steroids. He made some other allegations,” the sheriff said, declining to be specific. “You don’t realize the magnitude of the allegations that he made.”

The sheriff said those allegations are also part of the GBI investigation.

Q: I heard that the list of officers past and present contains 39 names. Is that true?

A: No, according to the sheriff.

“It is no where near 39,” he said, declining to give the actual number.

The sheriff’s office has only said “Paquette implicated multiple members of the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office, past and present, in the use of illegal steroids that dated back to 2004.”

Q: Has Sheriff Roundtree ever used steroids?

A: Here is his answer: “I have never used steroids. I have never used it, and I have never seen anyone use it.”

Sheriff Roundtree also said he would give the same answer on cocaine or meth.

A suspect in an attempted murder in South Carolina was captured Friday after a police chase from the Augusta Mall, authorities said.

At approximately 1:30 p.m., Gang Task Force investigators, along with agents from the ATF and other South Carolina law enforcement agencies, attempted to arrest a subject at the Augusta Mall that was wanted in South Carolina for Attempted Murder and other charges, sheriff’s Lt. Allan Rollins said.

Terry O’Dell Dumas, 22, of Beech Lane, Grovetown, was observed at the mall by the investigators. As they approached, Dumas fled in a rental car and the investigators gave chase.

“Dumas led deputies on a chase to the intersection of Highland Ave at Damascus Road where he struck a vehicle driven by a citizen,” Lt. Rollins said. “Dumas’ vehicle was disabled and he and a passenger attempted to flee on foot but we apprehended at the scene. A handgun and cocaine were found in the car.”

Dumas was committed to the Charles B. Webster Detention Center for Possession of cocaine, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, reckless driving, fleeing and eluding an officer, and hit and run. He has also been questioned in reference to other violent crimes in Richmond County.

North Augusta Public Safety has placed a hold on Dumas for the cases in South Carolina.  The passenger in the vehicle is still being questioned and has not been charged at this time, Lt. Rollins said.

An Augusta man was found dead in a running vehicle Saturday morning on Gordon Highway, a death authorities are investigating as suspicious.

Witnesses said the vehicle was parked Friday night in a lot at 1245 Gordon Highway and remained there Saturday morning. So the witnesses checked it out and discovered the man inside was dead.

The man has been identified as 62-year-old Gerald Holmes, a white male from Augusta, Chief Deputy Coroner Kenneth Boose said in a press release. He was pronounced dead at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, but the cause of death is undetermined.

An autopsy is scheduled next week in Atlanta.

(Note: We are looking for a photo of Mr. Holmes. If you have one, please email it to publisher@thejailreport.com )

A crowd of men were told by deputies to quiet down and stop cursing at the Aiken Steeplechase event Saturday, but instead they blasted a “F*** the Police” song and chanted along, authorities said.

Deputies responded by arresting several of them, part of at least 13 arrests made at the Steeplechase event. Five of the day’s arrests were from an unrelated fight among women, sheriff’s Capt. Eric Abdullah said.

In the first incident, deputies responded to Site 605 at the horse-racing event around 4:30 p.m. Saturday for a report of underage drinking and drunk men who were cursing loudly, a sheriff’s report says. Witnesses also complained that the subjects were leaning on people’s cars and being disrespectful to other people.

A deputy didn’t find any underage drinking, so he asked 22-year-old Thomas Aaron to please keep the noise and foul language down, respect other patrons and stay off other cars, a report says.

Suspect Johnny Day began to ask deputies what they were staring at. Day told deputies his home address and dared them to meet him there one-on-one to “take care of any problems.”

Deputies again asked the group to calm down, but the intoxicated men only got louder around nearby children and families. Next, someone put a song on their radio that said “F*** the Police” and the suspects began to sing along loudly.

That’s when officers arrested several of them, including Thomas Aaron Parker, 22; Johnny Day, 45; Richard Durden, 24, and Jayden Gaskins, 22.

Also arrested for being drunk and disorderly at the Steeplechase: Jordan Babb, 23; Daulton Reed, 20; Nicholas Rushworth, 27, and Matthew Hubaboon, 21.

In a separate incident, five women were arrested following a large fight at 3 p.m. Saturday. Arrested were: Chanee Williams, 25; Shelly Miller, 23; Alexandria Johnson, 21; Antanette Johnson, 20, and Raven Patterson, 24.

Capt. Adbullah said at least one person was cited, but he estimated the number of arrests totaled 13 or 14. Two vans were utilized to carry the arrested to the jail.

Besides the arrests, Capt. Abdullah said the event went off fairly well, saying his agency was able to remove the offenders to keep order.

“I think we just have isolated incidents, and we are there to deal with those isolated incidents,” he said.

Capt.  Abdullah said he only recalls two arrests last year.

A parking dispute between neighbors in the Brookwood Estates community of Martinez led one man to plot revenge with the help of friends, according to authorities.

This is one of several stories in this week’s edition of The Jail Report. Pick up your copy today at any local convenience store. Cover: http://thejailreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/Cover-Issue-6341.jpg

Lane Speers, 35, of Mossland Drive, was charged Friday with misdemeanor stalking for allegedly harassing his neighbor over the issue of where cars were parking.

Speers is accused of getting on Facebook in January and asking friends to help him get revenge on the couple, soliciting good ideas and offering to reward them.

Eventually, authorities say an ad was posted on Craigslist posing as a single divorced lady. The ad provided the victims’ phone number and told people to reply by text.

Speers’ female neighbor began receiving multiple text messages that included pictures of male genitalia. The couple told investigators that they received over 100 responses to the fake ad. At least 80 included lewd pictures.

In addition, the female victim reported someone texted her and claimed to be “Jake,” a high school classmate. He asked to have sex with her.

Sheriff’s Capt. Steve Morris said his investigators have seen suspects use Craigslist ads in the past to harass other people.

“Through subpoenas, we always get information from Craigslist,” he said. “They are very law enforcement-friendly. Tracking these people is relatively easy. It takes time, but it’s relatively easy.”

The Jail Report contacted the couple who was victimized, and the husband said Speers is a good guy who just didn’t think about what he was doing.

“I just wanted his car moved,” the husband said.

The husband said he was told more arrests are possible in the case.

An elderly Augusta man was arrested Wednesday after his sister’s 3-year-old grandson was found wandering a quarter-mile from the home where the suspect was supposed to be watching the boy, authorities said.

Nathaniel Kennerly, 71, of Griggs Court, had agreed to watch the toddler Wednesday morning while his sister was doing errands, according to a sheriff’s report. But the boy was later found with no shoes or socks, only pajamas, on Arcadia Drive near Lumpkin Road.

A teen walking to school found the boy walking alone at 6 a.m. and called the sheriff’s office. The 3 year old could not say his name or address, so additional deputies were called to canvass the area.

Kennerly told deputies his sister was the boy’s grandmother and she said that she was leaving the child in his care while she went to pay some bills.

“I asked Nathaniel several times if he understood that he was in charge of the child’s care and he stated yes he did understand that,” the deputy wrote in his report. “We also asked him how the toddler had gotten out of the house without him knowing it and asked why he had not called 911 when he found him missing.”

Kennerly told deputies he thought the boy might have gone outside after his grandmother, but he could not explain why he wasn’t concerned and had not gone after the child.

“Nathaniel had no explanation for his lack of action,” the deputy said.

The grandmother was later found at Carrie May Community Center and the boy was turned over to her. Kennelly was arrested for deprivation of a minor, a misdemeanor.

The Department of Family and Children Services was also called to investigate.

An Augusta mother was arrested Wednesday after authorities found her raising three older children in a messy home, authorities said.

Akila Emma Walton, 35, of Ellis Street, was charged with three counts of deprivation of a minor for allegedly keeping her  three children – ages 12, 12 and 14 – in a home with unsanitary conditions.

How bad was it? An upstairs bathroom sink contained fecal matter with insects flying around it, authorities said.  There was a bucket and a bottle in the home containing urine, causing the entire home to smell of urine. In the refrigerator, there was old salad products, molded bread, an overflowing trash can, and brown liquid coming from the water heater.

There was no running water for at least two months. The suspect told authorities that she had issues ever since the pipes froze. She was unable to pay for repairs, and the unsanitary conditions worsened.

The Department of Family and Children Services was called, as well as Code Enforcement, who condemned the home.

Walton remained in the Richmond County Detention Center on Thursday morning.

These two men used cloned credit cards on Jan. 31 at the Walgreens in Martinez to purchase $200 Vanilla VISA reloadable gift cards and other small items.

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

The Jail Report published this week’s paper a day early, and issues are hitting stores Tuesday morning!

Make sure to pick up your copy in local convenience stores!

Click here for an image of the cover:  http://thejailreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/Cover-Issue-644.jpg

Thank God someone called police last week when they heard babies crying in Apartment 8 at Alpine Villas.

Two toddlers, a 1-year-old boy and 2-year-old girl, were found in a back bedroom of a freezing Augusta apartment, strapped tightly in chairs and crying as they sat wearing only dirty diapers and wet socks.   The temperature in the apartment was set at 55, according to a sheriff’s report.

This is one of several stories in this week’s issue of The Jail Report, which is in stores a day early! Cover image: http://thejailreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/Cover-Issue-644.jpg

Authorities have charged the live-in boyfriend of the children’s mother, David Bradley Jr., with two counts of cruelty to children in the case. And he is already free on bond!

In a case not covered by any other media, five deputies handled the initial call because of the horror found in the apartment on March 23. The call came in from Crisis Intervention, asking them to do a welfare check on the residence.

A property manager helped them get inside, and the cold temperature hit them instantly when they opened the door. They quickly located the two crying children in the back bedroom. According to a sheriff’s report, this is what the deputies uncovered in the apartment:

• Both children only had on a diaper and both children had on a wet pair of socks.

• Vienna sausages were sitting in their laps as if someone tried to leave the children with food.

• The younger child was strapped into a stroller and the older one was strapped into a high chair. The straps were so tight, both children had visible injuries. A deputy had to use a knife to cut them both out.

• Both children appeared to be hungry, and both children seemed to be suffering from malnutrition.

• Used diapers sat in a pile on the floor in the children’s room.

• There were used liquor bottles on a small table that still had a small amount of liquor inside of them, and they were in reach of both of the children.

A deputy found dry clothes in the children’s room and put them on the children. Officers brought both of the children into the living room and placed cereal in bowls so they could eat.

“The children ate cereal and drank water as if they had not eaten for days,” a sheriff’s report says, adding that the Department of Children and Families were notified immediately.

Officers discovered that the children’s mother, China Harris, and Bradley were both named on the lease and had been living at the residence approximately a year.

DFACS worker Anquavese Jones took custody of the children and had them checked out by EMS. Both children had apparent burn marks on their hands and face, and the boy had similar marks on his penis.

EMS said the boy appeared to be suffering from a dislocated shoulder that healed on its own. He also had bruising around his torso area that indicated someone grabbed him forcefully around his mid-section, a report says.

Jones stated the Department of Children and Families had an open case file against the children’s mother, China Harris. Jones advised she got in contact with Harris, and advised her to return back to her residence because she had taken her children into custody.

China Harris arrived on scene and she was taken into custody for questioning. She was not immediately charged, a report says.

A repeat offender has been charged in the fatal shooting of his children’s mother, who died Tuesday morning at Aiken Regional Medical Center, authorities said.

Steven Thurmond, 32, of Aiken, has been charged with involuntary manslaughter and possession of a weapon by a convicted felon in the shooting death of 31-year-old Amanda J. Smith of Crossroads Park Drive.

The victim, a mother of two of Thurmond’s children, was pronounced dead at Aiken Regional Medical Center at 1:18 a.m. Tuesday.

What happened? Here is what staff Sgt. Jason Feemster says in a press release: “The Sheriff’s Office received the 911 call this morning at 12:24 AM in reference to a shooting that occurred at 653 Crossroads Park Dr. Aiken SC. Deputies arrived at the address shortly after the call finding the victim, Amanda Smith (31 years old) suffering from a gunshot wound to the stomach. Smith was transported by Aiken County EMS to Aiken Regional Medical Center where she was pronounced dead. Information gathered by Investigators revealed that careless handling of the firearm led to the discharge of the weapon, resulting in the death of Smith.”

An autopsy was scheduled for Tuesday morning in Newberry, according to Aiken County Coroner Tim Carlton.

Thurmond (shown here in a previous mugshot) is a repeat offender with a long history of violence against women and others. He has at least 19 arrests in Aiken County in the last decade, including charges for criminal domestic violence of a high & aggravated nature, malicious injury to real property, assault & battery, trespassing (refusing to leave), unlawful carrying of a pistol, DUI, breaking into vehicles, fleeing police, hit & run, possession of a stolen pistol, and disobeying a lawful order.

An Augusta man is being sought in last night’s shooting death of a man on 2nd Avenue, authorities said.

Carl Lamont Jones, 39, is wanted for murder and other charges in the shooting death of 31-year-old John Lee Jones. The shooting followed an argument between the two, who are not related, sheriff’s Sgt. Monica Belser said.

(For other crime news from the area, check out this week’s edition of The Jail Report. Cover image:  http://thejailreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/Cover-Issue-645.jpg)

The victim in last night’s homicide was shot around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday and was found by deputies on the 2100 block of 2nd Avenue. He was rushed to GRU Hospital, where he died.

Investigators identified Carl Jones as the shooter and obtained warrants against the suspect for murder, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and two counts of criminal damage to property. He should be considered armed and dangerous, authorities say.

Anyone who knows the whereabouts of Carl Jones is asked to contact the Sheriff’s Office at 706-821-1080 (Dispatch) or 706-821-1020 (Criminal Investigation Division). Callers can remain anonymous.