A Grovetown man was charged Sunday with public indecency for allegedly exposing himself to a woman and her teenage daughter inside the Evans Kroger store, according to a sheriff’s report.

William Mareli, a 31-year-old Grovetown man who works on Fort Gordon, was charged with two counts of public indecency for exposing himself to the woman and her 13-year-old daughter at the Washington Road store.

An Evans woman told authorities that she was walking through the store with her daughter Sunday evening when the suspect exposed himself to them. The teen told the officer that Mareli was touching himself and “smiling at her,” a report says.

The mother notified store manager Donald Gainey, who tracked down the man and asked him to come to the store office. Inside the office, Gainey noticed the supect’s zipper was down.

“Mr. Mareli stated the zipper on his pants is broken and came down accidentally,” a report says. “Mr. Mareli stated he did not know his penis was exposed.”

A review of video surveillance showed the suspect walking into the store with his zipped up.

Mareli was booked into the Columbia County Jail and placed on hold for another agency.

A teacher and coach at South Aiken High School was charged today with sexual battery for having a sexual relationship with a student, authorities said.

Michael Paul Waters, 41, of Casaba Drive, Aiken, was charged with five counts of sexual battery with a student.

Public Safety Lt. J.D. “Jake” Mahoney said Waters was involved in an ongoing, unlawful physical relationship with the female student. A police report says the relationship occurred between September and December.

A profile of Waters on a school website says students know the suspect as “Coach Waters.”

“I have been teaching Economics and Geography here at South Aiken going on 11 years now,” Waters wrote on the website. “I enjoy teaching young people in hopes of one day making a difference in their lives. I LOVE coaching and I am a sports fanatic.”

The site says Waters is the defensive back coach for football and head boy’s soccer coach.

Waters surrendered to police Wednesday and was booked into the Aiken County Detention Center.

A Grovetown man was charged Monday with assault on officers after allegedly crashing his car into two patrols cars driven by deputies, authorities said.

Ricardo Bell, 28, of Grovetown, was charged with four counts of aggravated assault on an officer.

At 10:27 a.m. Monday, Harlem Police started a chase inside the city limits on Mustang Drive near Gordon Highway. When the chase initially started, the suspect attempted to strike Harlem officers in their vehicles as he fled, authorities said.

Columbia County deputies assisted in the pursuit with Harlem Police on Old Augusta Highway, but the suspect spun out into a ditch on Reynolds Farm Road.

“As Harlem Police and a Columbia County deputy approached the suspect still in their vehicles, the suspect vehicle lunged forward striking both patrol cars,” said sheriff’s Maj. Rick Whitaker.

Bell struck a lieutenant’s vehicle on the passenger front-right corner and rammed into the front end of a deputy’s vehicle, which stopped Bell. The suspect was then taken into custody.

No one was injured and there were moderate to severe damage to both patrol cars, Maj. Whitaker said.

Bell remains in jail this morning under no bond.

Sheriff Richard Roundtree confirms to The Jail Report that Deputy of the Year Austin Shepherd has been terminated.

Sheriff’s Lt. Calvin Chew issued this statement: Last week , the RCSO began an internal investigation regarding  past conduct of Deputy Austin Shepherd. During the course of the investigation information surfaced that prior to this Administration, Deputy Shepherd engaged in activities that may be considered a violation of his Oath of Office. As such, Deputy Shepherd was Terminated effective this date.  The case is still under investigation and no further information is available pending its’ conclusion or the termination appeal process.”

WGAC’s Austin Rhodes is reporting a drug connection to the firing: “It was his own admission of past drug use that resulted in his termination…that admission came recently.”

Just five days ago, the sheriff’s office announced the five-year veteran as Deputy of the Year, saying that he showed tremendous compassion during the normal course of duties.

Seven men were jailed Friday night in Augusta on charges of drag racing and reckless driving on Bobby Jones Expressway.

But one suspect says his car club was unfairly targeted by deputies because they drive modified imports. And he says the group of seven was cruising, not driving recklessly and not drag racing.

“It’s like they are gunning for the imports right now,” said 28-year-old Steven Richardson of Hephzibah. “It really is outrageous.”

Sheriff’s Sgt. Michael McDaniel Sr. has refused repeated requests to discuss the drag racing case and emailed The Jail Report an incident report number that remained unavailable Tuesday morning.

“Everyone is going to be fighting it because they have no proof of us doing anything,” Richardson said. “They had no officer able to clock us. They had no officer recording us. All they have is the word of an off-duty cop who called dispatch. … Supposedly, an off-duty officer was cut off by one of the cars.”

Richardson says members of the car club were riding together late Friday as a memorial to one member’s mother, who was buried earlier in the day. They were on Bobby Jones Expressway, driving less than 10 mph over the speed limit and were exiting on Doug Bernard Parkway when a group of nearly 20 deputies surrounded them and pulled them over.

” A friend of mine counted 18 deputies,” Richardson said. “They started pulling people out, cuffing them and putting them in the back of the patrol car.”

Richardson said they were told their charges and informed the crackdown was occurring because of bad wreck on Washington Road two weeks ago where a woman was almost killed.

“From what they said, they have been gunning for us in the last couple weeks,” said Richardson, who drives a modified 1994 Honda Civic that is lowered with after-market wheels and a loud exhaust.

Charged with reckless driving and drag racing are (from left, top row) Seth Lee, 20, of Hephzibah; Jesse Quick, 27, of Augusta; Michael Bouton, 24, of Augusta; Michael Richardson, 24, of Augusta; (bottom row) Ashton Brewer, 25, of Grovetown; Steven Richardson, and Tyler Bell, 19, of Martinez. Lee was also charged with a restricted license.

Steven Richardson said their tickets totaled $2,800 each.

Richmond County authorities made at least 12 arrests following a week-long undercover bust involving “online prostitution,” according to a press release.

The sheriff’s office did not release many details, except to say the vice division made the arrests “throughout different areas of Richmond County” and “further details will be forthcoming when available.”

Here is a list of arrests and charges:

* (top row, left to right) Candice Benjamin, 22, disorderly conduct/prostitution

* Myeongsuk Yang, 48, disorderly conduct/prostitution

* Ping H. Tang, 42, disorderly conduct/prostitution

* Colby Johnson, 30, disorderly conduct/prostitution

* (middle row) Rebecca A. Moses, 37, disorderly conduct/prostitution

* Jaleesa A. Smith, 22, disorderly conduct/prostitution

* Diamond Gardner, 22, disorderly conduct/prostitution

* Carl Maloyd, 30, outstanding felony warrants

* (bottom row) Taylor R. Brown, 19, disorderly conduct/prostitution

* Glenn Figgures, 38, disorderly conduct/prostitution

* Gerell Browning, 46, disorderly conduct/prostitution

* Gordon Marshall, 34, disorderly conduct/ prostitution

This week, the owners of AugustaCrime.com have removed over 20,000 mugshots and arrest information from the website that were more than a year old.

Website designers are also working on a system that only keeps arrest information on the site for 12 months with an automated system to remove those over a year old.

Many readers and those charged with criminal offenses have complained that the mugshots and their availability online have made it difficult to find employment, especially since the arrest data is not updated to show the outcome in court.

“We believe employers should have a right to investigate the past of those who seek employment with their agency,” said Greg Rickabaugh, president of Rickabaugh Publishing, LLC, which owns AugustaCrime.com. “You would not want to hire someone to operate heavy machinery who has been charged with several drug offenses or drunk driving. These charges listed on this website also provide local citizens the right to see what types of activities their neighbors, friends and co-workers have been accused of.”

To be clear, Augustacrime.com serves as a news source by providing a historical record of those formally charged with crimes, not convictions. Each page makes it perfectly clear that charges shown are not convictions. Employers should keep this in mind when questioning an applicant about any charge they see here.

From the Disclaimer:
“Information posted on this website is provided for informational purposes only, and is subject to change and may be updated periodically. Content is public domain and is compiled from public records. While every effort is made to ensure that the posted information is accurate, it may contain factual or other errors. Detainee information changes quickly, and the posted information may not reflect the current information. An arrest does not mean that the detainee has been convicted of the crime. The information on this website should not be relied upon for any type of legal action. AugustaCrime.com is not affiliated or supported by any law enforcement or government department or agency.”

For those who want a more detailed look at criminal records and convictions, below are some links for Richmond, Columbia and Aiken counties:

Richmond County:

http://www.augustaga.gov/421/Case-Management-Search

Columbia County

http://www.columbiaclerkofcourt.com/

Aiken County

http://publicindex.sccourts.org/aiken/publicindex/?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1

GOOGLE TIPS
While your mugshot may have been removed from our site, google archives old pages and it may still show in a google search.

For those who need help in removing their images from google once it has been removed from our site, below are a few tips:

Go to google.com/support. Type in the search on that page “remove information from google”
That should direct you to a page that has a link that says Removing Content from Google –Google Help

Check a box that states the reason. It says webmaster has removed content. Once you check that box you will enter the url – such as augustacrime.com/john-smith/ under the content removal

And then it asks you to enter search criteria. Usually, that would be the person’s name. That is supposed to take care of it but it is not instantaneous.

Stephen Leyda, 24, of Augusta, (pictured) is accused of stealing $15,000 CASH from his own grandmother.

The suspect’s 77-year-old grandmother told authorities she had the cash on hand to pay taxes and that she kept eight envelopes containing the money in her purse laying by her bed. The victim said her grandson had been in and out of her home all day when it went missing.

“The victim stated that she went to count her money to be sure she had enough to pay her taxes when she observed six envelopes (missing), a report says. “The victim stated that she believed it was the suspect that had taken the money due to a past theft from her by the suspect amounting to $5,000.”

The grandmother told deputies that Leyda was no longer welcome at her home.

When officers talked to Leyda, he admitted the previous theft of $5,000, but said he had returned “some of the money” to avoid prosecution in that case.

After an investigation, Leyda was charged Friday with felony theft by taking.

A student at South Aiken High School and  recent graduate were arrested Tuesday for photographing a student with special needs using a bathroom and posting it online, according to authorities.

Student Austin Dean Thames, 17 (left), and graduate Jeffrey Alec Forrester, 19 (right), were both charged in the case.

The incident occurred in December. Assistant Principal Martha Messick alerted a school police officer about an online photo of the 16-year-old victim in a school bathroom with his pants down while standing up using the bathroom. The victim is one of South Aiken’s special kids and that is how he uses the bathroom, according to an Aiken public safety report.

At the time, the assistant principal told the school officer that the photo was posed on Alec Forrester’s online account and had already received 28 likes on an account with 655 followers.

An investigation revealed that Austin Thames took the picture with Snapchat and sent it to Forrester. With Snapchat, his picture disappeared, but when Forrester first received the picture, he “screen saved” it and put it in his picture file so all his followers could see it.

The victim’s guardian was told what happened and she initially just wanted to meet with the suspects and their families. At the meeting, she explained the victim’s life story and said she wanted the teens to do some community service with the handicapped. When things didn’t work out, the guardian contacted authorities and asked to pursue charges.

On Tuesday, Thames was charged with “obscenities as in writing, pictures, verbal.” Forrester was charged with “disseminating, procuring and promoting obscenity unlawfully.”

By Greg Rickabaugh, Publisher of The Jail Report

I am thankful the ruthless killer of an Aiken police officer will serve the rest of his life behind bars.

But I am pretty disappointed at how Solicitor Strom Thurmond Jr. went about sneaking in a guilty plea without properly notifying the public and ALL local media representatives about his decision to forego the death penalty for Joshua Jones in the 2012 murder of Aiken Master Cpl. Sandy Rogers.

It has the feeling of the old boy’s club, where Strom picked the media buddies he liked and let them be apart of this top-secret hearing Monday in an Aiken courtroom. He might as well have passed out VIP tickets and checked IDs at the door.

We live in America, where courtrooms are supposed to be open to the public. But how can local residents participate or witness the judicial process in action if our elected solicitor only whispers what’s about to come to a select few?

Within minutes of the news breaking about a judge accepting a plea and sentencing Jones to life without parole, I sent Strom an email asking why The Jail Report wasn’t notified.

He pleaded ignorance.

“It would be helpful if I had a list of cases that you were interested in as we move 3,000 of them a year,” Strom said by email.

Turns out, he took time to notify only The Augusta Chronicle, The Aiken Standard, WRDW and WJBF about a “hearing” in this high-profile case. And I question why those media did not publicize the hearing.

For his part, Strom seems to have dismissed many media organizations who dedicated hours to covering the tragic slaying of Cpl. Rogers, including WAGT-TV, WXFG-TV, WGAC-AM, the Metro Spirit, and The Jail Report. They should be equally as upset.

The Jail Report personally devoted four pages to the funeral of Cpl. Rogers and many more to the arrest of Jones. You don’t think we wanted to witness the cop killer get sentenced in court?

Strom even got the help of the judge, who banned video coverage of the sentencing hearing, so they wouldn’t “spook” Jones. Now, no one will ever witness it. But why would Strom care? Consider this: He told reporters on Monday that he knew his decision to let the cop killer escape the death penalty “would not be popular with some.” True.

And it’s also true that we weren’t actually kept out of the hearing. But without proper notice, our only option is to send people to sit in every Aiken courtroom, every day, all day, so we don’t miss these big events. Impossible.

Strom should take notes from Solicitor Barry Barnette in Spartanburg County, who sends regular press releases to all media about the court cases his office handles. Barnette even has an assistant available by phone to answer media questions.

Oddly enough, Aiken Public Safety sent out their reaction to the sentencing Monday to all media. Strom should ask for their distribution list!

But Strom is the same solicitor who wasn’t aware that he was required by state law to organize a committee to address domestic violence in his district. We had to inform him.

At first, I was simply mad that I didn’t get to witness Monday’s sentencing hearing. Then I started thinking of local residents who didn’t get the chance either.

When serial killer Reinaldo Rivera was on trial for murder, the Augusta courtroom was filled with interested residents.

In Aiken, no one had the chance to see justice served on a cop killer except F.O.S. (Friends of Strom) as well as the victim’s family and local law enforcement.

As Jail Report reader Robert Farthing said, “Criminal proceedings are a matter of public record. The offense and the outcome affect us all.”

NOTIFIED OF JONES’ HEARING*

The Augusta Chronicle

The Aiken Standard

WRDW-TV

WJBF-TV

NOT NOTIFIED OF JONES’ HEARING

The Jail Report

WAGT-TV

WXFG-TV

WGAC-AM

The Metro Spirit

The Aiken Leader

The Arrest Book

The State

WIS-TV

Associated Press

* According to Solicitor Strom Thurmond Jr.

Here is your first look at the victim of Augusta’s latest homicide: Gerald James Clifford (pictured).

Authorities say a deputy discovered the 28-year-old man shot to death in his car Saturday morning. The deputy was traveling eastbound on Bobby Jones approaching the Mike Padgett Highway exit ramp when he happened upon a 2011 White Chevrolet Silverado, which appeared to be a disabled vehicle. The deputy pulled up behind the vehicle and began walking towards the driver side, when the deputy realized the driver had sustained a gunshot wound. The victim was pronounced deceased at the scene.

The sheriff’s office released no new details on Sunday or suspect information. The homicide marks the 3rd this year for Richmond County.

An Augusta man called 911 on Saturday night and lied about being shot. He confessed later that he just wanted deputies to take him to jail.

The fake emergency by 51-year-old Johnny Gable caused a real headache for the sheriff’s office, who responded to Keron Way at 6 p.m. Saturday with blue lights and sirens and then began knocking on doors in a desperate search for the “shooting victim.”

“We had to do a door-to-door search due to a lack of information,” Deputy Jason Evans said in his incident report. “Officers had to check numerous houses using GPS tracking via dispatch because the arrested left the line open.”

Once officers located Gable, he told deputies that he called 911 and told them he had been shot so officers would “come lock him up,” the report said.

Oddly enough, Gable had called 911 earlier in the day at 1:30 p.m. Saturday so officers would come arrest him on a warrant that he thought he had, but records couldn’t find a warrant. So nobody came.

When nobody came, Gable decided to make up the shooting story.

Gable eventually got his wish after the fake call. He was charged with unlawful conduct during a 911 call and taken to jail.

The report does not indicate why he wanted to go to jail. But he remained there Sunday night under a $5,700 bond.

The Jail Report’s new issue hit stands a day early because of the weather forecast for wintry conditions.

Instead of Wednesday, this week’s Augusta-Aiken paper is being distributed to stores today (Tuesday, Feb. 11).

Here is a look at the cover. Click on the picture to see it larger.

Pick up a copy at a convenience store near you!

An Augusta man believed he was meeting a 13-year-old girl for sex when he was busted Friday at a Grovetown motel by FBI agents and Columbia County investigators.

Frank Alexander Robles, 28, was charged with “attempted child molestation” in the undercover sting, part of the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force.

Robles thought he was making arrangements over the Internet to have sex with the underage girl. According to sheriff’s reports, Robles “made arrangements to travel to the (motel) for the purpose of meeting and having a sexual encounter with (people) he believed to be a 13-year-old girl and an adult male in her company.”

Instead, Robles was arrested and charged with attempted child molestation, according to the FBI.

The arrest was part of the FBI’s continuing crackdown on predators who seek sex with children. Locally, the FBI has teamed up with the GBI and the sheriff’s offices in Columbia and Richmond counties to target potential sex offenders.

Robles, of Oak Drive, Augusta, was booked into the Columbia County Detention Center, and later released on bond.

This week, the owners of AugustaCrime.com have removed over 20,000 mugshots and arrest information from the website that were more than a year old.

Website designers are also working on a system that only keeps arrest information on the site for 12 months with an automated system to remove those over a year old.

Many readers and those charged with criminal offenses have complained that the mugshots and their availability online have made it difficult to find employment, especially since the arrest data is not updated to show the outcome in court.

"We believe employers should have a right to investigate the past of those who seek employment with their agency," said Greg Rickabaugh, president of Rickabaugh Publishing, LLC, which owns AugustaCrime.com. "You would not want to hire someone to operate heavy machinery who has been charged with several drug offenses or drunk driving. These charges listed on this website also provide local citizens the right to see what types of activities their neighbors, friends and co-workers have been accused of."

To be clear, Augustacrime.com serves as a news source by providing a historical record of those formally charged with crimes, not convictions. Each page makes it perfectly clear that charges shown are not convictions. Employers should keep this in mind when questioning an applicant about any charge they see here.

From the Disclaimer:
"Information posted on this website is provided for informational purposes only, and is subject to change and may be updated periodically. Content is public domain and is compiled from public records. While every effort is made to ensure that the posted information is accurate, it may contain factual or other errors. Detainee information changes quickly, and the posted information may not reflect the current information. An arrest does not mean that the detainee has been convicted of the crime. The information on this website should not be relied upon for any type of legal action. AugustaCrime.com is not affiliated or supported by any law enforcement or government department or agency."

For those who want a more detailed look at criminal records and convictions, below are some links for Richmond, Columbia and Aiken counties:

Richmond County:

http://www.augustaga.gov/421/Case-Management-Search

Columbia County

http://www.columbiaclerkofcourt.com/

Aiken County

http://publicindex.sccourts.org/aiken/publicindex/?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1

GOOGLE TIPS
While your mugshot may have been removed from our site, google archives old pages and it may still show in a google search.

For those who need help in removing their images from google once it has been removed from our site, below are a few tips:

Go to google.com/support.  Type in the search on that page “remove information from google"
That should direct you to a page that has a link that says Removing Content from Google –Google Help 

Check a box that states the reason.  It says webmaster has removed content.  Once you check that box you will enter the url - such as augustacrime.com/john-smith/ under the content removal 

And then it asks you to enter search criteria. Usually, that would be the person's name.  That is supposed to take care of it but it is not instantaneous.

The owners of an Augusta business have been arrested after an Illinois church claimed they paid $33,000 for a concession trailer that hasn't been delivered.

Anthony Pearson, 42, and Monica Pearson, 28 (pictured), are the owners of ProConcession Trailers on 3114 Augusta Tech Drive. They accepted the large amount of money from the Bethel Temple of God (of Mounds, Illinois) to build the concession trailer.

The trailer was delivered to the church last April, but it was not up to the specifications agreed upon, according to a sheriff's report. The church returned it to the Augusta  business with an agreement it would be replaced with their correctly-built trailer, a sheriff's report says.

"Neither the original trailer nor the promised one ... have been delivered back to the victim, nor has any money been refunded," a sheriff's report says.

The Pearsons, who live in Harlem, Ga., have been charged with four counts of theft by deception, although it's not clear what the other three counts are for.

The Better Business Bureau's website shows multiple complaints against the Augusta business for delivery issues, problems with products and advertising/sales issues. The business is accused of failing to resolve complaint issues in three cases and not responding to the Better Business Bureau regarding seven complaints.

The BBB website says ProConcession Trailers has several alternate business names, including Chasony's Concession Trailer Sales & Rentals, Pearson & Pearson Enterprises, Inc., and Five Diamond Trailers, Inc.

An Augusta man was charged Friday with first-degree child cruelty after beating his stepchildren with a belt and leaving bruises, according to a report.

The beatings by 32-year-old DeJesus Gardner were discovered when officials at Langford Middle School found his 13-year-old stepdaughter crying in a restroom last Thursday. The girl said her stepdad had beaten her in the back, arms and legs with a belt causing bruising as well as open wounds, according to a sheriff’s report.

School officials brought the girl’s sister into the office, and she said Gardner hit her with the belt across her arms too.

“(She) stated that Gardner became angry because of something on or about Facebook when he hit them with the belt,” the sheriff’s report says. “(She) stated that Gardner also hit her younger brother and younger sister.”

During the beatings, Gardner forced the 13-year-old girl to take off her clothes. The stepdaughter said she removed her shirt and had it hanging around her left arm when Gardner struck her two more times with the belt, a report says.

A sheriff’s deputy observed bruises on the arms of the older 14-year-old sister and the bruises and cuts on the younger girl’s arms, hands, legs and back. The Department of Family and Children Services was notified and responded to the school.

Gardner, of the 2000 block of Willhaven Drive,  was arrested Friday and remained in jail Monday under no bond. The sheriff’s report does not mention where the children’s mother was during the beatings.

Authorities have charged a Hephzibah woman with exploiting a 95-year-old Augusta man who she was hired to help.

Teri Rebeka Watts, 39, was charged Wednesday with exploitation of elderly or disabled person.

A nephew of the elderly man hired Watts in 2012 to perform duties around the man’s house and make any errands needed, according to a sheriff’s report. Last August, as the elderly victim was being treated for a heart attack at a local hospital, the nephew began looking through bank statements and realized Watts had made several withdrawals from his uncle’s account. When the nephew spoke to his elderly uncle, he learned the transactions were not authorized.

Watts was arrested on a warrant Wednesday and was held in the Richmond County Jail without bond.

Michael Eugene Dempsey doesn’t just break into a house. He makes himself right at home.

Dempsey, 42, was arrested last Monday for the August break-in at a house on Howard Avenue in Augusta. He was charged with burglary 1st degree, a Richmond County Sheriff’s report said.

The owner of the home, who lives in Winnsboro, S.C., checks on the property weekly and was surprised when she arrived on Aug. 15 to find the back door open and a rear window broken, the report said.

Only a few items were missing – an antique wooden box, about $50 in loose change and a vase. But she also discovered that whoever had been in her home had taken the time to cook a meal and then settled down in the living room to eat, the report said.

But the thief left evidence of his visit behind – a Dasani water bottle and an empty box of Kroger-brand “Meals Made Simple.” The items were turned over to the Investigation Division, the report said.