SLED has been asked to investigate a death of an inmate from the Aiken County Jail that occurred about 6 p.m. Thursday.

The male inmate was not identified as authorities work to notify his family.

A sheriff’s press release from Thursday night explains the death:

“A detention officer was conducting a routine check when they noticed an unresponsive inmate in a shower.  Aiken County EMS was notified while detention officers and onsite medical staff performed life saving measures until EMS arrived.  EMS transported the inmate to Aiken Regional Medical Center where he was treated and subsequently passed.”
The sheriff’s office policy is to call in SLED for an independent investigation. Stay tuned.

For more law-enforcement news, pick up this week’s edition of The Jail Report.

The post SLED Investigating Death of Aiken County Inmate appeared first on AugustaCrime.com - Richmond, Columbia, and Aiken County Jail - Reports & Mugshots.

An inmate found unresponsive in a shower Thursday at the Aiken County Jail died of natural causes, according to the coroner.

Jimmy L. Keenan, 58, of Aiken, was pronounced dead after being rushed to Aiken Regional Medical Center around 7 p.m. Thursday night.

“Autopsy determined that Mr. Keenan died as a result of natural causes,” Coroner Tim Carlton said in a press release.

SLED has been asked to investigate the death, which is standard policy of the Aiken County Sheriff’s Office.

Keenan had been held at the jail since December after his arrest for distributing methamphetamine. On Feb. 14, he pleaded guilty in court and was sentenced to 18 months in prison and a fine. It’s unclear if he was awaiting transfer to a state prison or whether he was serving the sentence at the county jail.

According to a press release, a detention officer was conducting a routine check Thursday night when they noticed an unresponsive inmate in a shower.  Aiken County EMS was notified while detention officers and onsite medical staff performed life saving measures until EMS arrived.

EMS transported the inmate to Aiken Regional Medical Center where he was treated and subsequently passed.

For more law-enforcement news, pick up this week’s edition of The Jail Report.

The post Inmate Died of Natural Causes at Aiken County Jail, Coroner Says appeared first on AugustaCrime.com - Richmond, Columbia, and Aiken County Jail - Reports & Mugshots.

A Grovetown man fatally shot a 17-year-old teenager who snuck into his home early Saturday to see the man’s 14-year-old daughter, authorities said.

Derrick Fulton has not been charged in the shooting death of 17-year-old Jordan Middleton (pictured), sheriff’s Maj. Steve Morris said. The teenager had been invited in by the daughter.

“He thought it was an intruder. But no, she invited him in,” Maj. Morris said. “And he bolted out of the closet. (Fulton) shot him once in the chest.”

Maj. Morris called it an unfortunate incident: “Mr. Fulton obviously is remorseful. Everyone in the home was in shock at what had just occurred.”

Authorities got the call at 2:47 a.m. Saturday for a burglary in progress on Coventry Avenue. Deputies arrived to find Jordan dead in the foyer at the home. He had a single gunshot wound to the chest.

The investigation revealed that Jordon went to the house to see a 14-year-old girl who snuck him in. Fulton heard some noise downstairs, retrieved his handgun from a dresser and went downstairs to investigate the noise.

The family dog began barking towards the guest bedroom which was located downstairs, and Fulton called out that he was armed and if there was someone in the house they needed to identify themselves. Fulton yelled out a warning again, authorities said.

“The dog continued to bark and act aggressive toward the guest bedroom. As Mr. Fulton entered the bedroom, Jordan ran out of the closet,” Maj. Morris said. “Mr. Fulton fired one time, striking Jordon in the upper chest.”

Jordan was a student at Grovetown High School. He lived in Grovetown with his mother and aunt.

Editor’s Note: If you have a better photo of Jordan or a memory to share with our readers, please text it to 803-487-3224.

The post Grovetown Father Kills Teen Who Snuck In House To See Daughter appeared first on AugustaCrime.com - Richmond, Columbia, and Aiken County Jail - Reports & Mugshots.

Threatening to kill someone can get you arrested.

But Crystal Flucas made it easy on police. She posted her deadly threat on Facebook.

According to a sheriff’s report, the 35-year-old suspect was trying to communicate with her ex-girlfriend through an 18-year-old woman. The teenager got tired of being in the middle and told Flucas to stop asking her about the ex.

That didn’t sit well with Flucas, who became upset and began posting threatening messages on Facebook and tagging the teen, according to a sheriff’s report.

The message said this: “Does anyone in Augusta know this stupid b****? Bye, you dirty hoe. Get a f**kin life. OMG!!! I will murder you!!!”

The teen called the cops and showed the FB threats to responding deputies Flucas was arrested on Sunday for terroristic threats and acts.

For more time stories like this, pick up Wednesday’s new edition of The Jail Report, sold in local gas stations.

The post The Facebook Post That Got This Woman Arrested: ‘I Will Murder You!!!’ appeared first on AugustaCrime.com - Richmond, Columbia, and Aiken County Jail - Reports & Mugshots.

Columbia County authorities need your help identifying this thief.

The suspect allegedly went into The Fan Zone on Feb. 1 and shoplifted several items, including a Broncos jersey, a Patriots jersey and a beanie hat.

The employees suspect he took more from their store,which is located at 4460 Washington Road, Evans. The total value of the stolen items is $92.95.

If you recognize the man, please call the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office at 706-541-2800.

For more crime news, pick up this week’s edition of The Jail Report, sold in local gas stations.

The post Wanted: Evans Thief Who Likes the Broncos & Patriots! appeared first on AugustaCrime.com - Richmond, Columbia, and Aiken County Jail - Reports & Mugshots.

The Coroner’s Office has received the results from Richmond County Sheriff’s Sgt. Greg Meagher’s autopsy.

“The cause of death will be listed as: Environmental Suffocation.  The cause of death was due to a very low oxygen concentration atmosphere inside the building,” Coroner Mark Bowen said Monday morning in a press release.

The 33-year veteran died Feb. 5 after being exposed to liquid nitrogen while attempting to rescue a woman at Xytex medical facility in Augusta.

Sgt. Meagher and several other deputies responded to Xytex for a burglar alarm and discovered liquid nitrogen fumes coming from under the door. An employee went inside to turn of the valve. Meagher soon followed when she didn’t return, and he collapsed.

The employee was taken to the Joseph M. Still Burn Center and four other deputies were treated for lesser injuries.

The post Sgt. Greg Meagher’s Cause of Death: Environmental Suffocation appeared first on AugustaCrime.com - Richmond, Columbia, and Aiken County Jail - Reports & Mugshots.

Richmond County authorities are making a public plea for help in finding the killer of James Bartell Smily III.

On the afternoon of Jan. 12, Smiley was shot to death on Carrie Street in Augusta. He is pictured here.

Anyone with information on the case is asked to contact with Richmond County Sheriff’s Office (706) 821-1020 or (706) 821-1080.

All information can be handled confidentially.

The post Who Killed James Smiley III? January Homicide Remains Unsolved… appeared first on AugustaCrime.com - Richmond, Columbia, and Aiken County Jail - Reports & Mugshots.

An illegal alien has been charged with homicide by vehicle in Monday’s deadly interstate crash that killed a young Augusta man stationed at Fort Gordon.

Juan Jesus Castillo-Reyes, 30, from Mexico (pictured at right), has a 48-hour hold by I.C.E. officials after he was charged in the fatality that took the life of 23-year-old Alexander Earles (pictured above), an Airman living in Augusta. The victim was originally from Washington State and was stationed at Fort Gordon.

Castillo-Reyes wasn’t even supposed to be driving! He is charged with homicide by vehicle, too fast for conditions, improper lane change, and driving while unlicensed. The illegal immigrant was living in Augusta on Bennock Mill Road.

According to Columbia County sheriff’s Maj. Steve Morris, “He will be interviewed within the 48 hour window by I.C.E. and then a decision will be made to either remove the hold or upgrade to a full detainer.”

Castillo-Reyes was driving a 2004 Ford F250 truck Monday when he slammed into the rear of a vehicle that was stopped in traffic on Interstate I-20 West near mile marker 191. The impact shoved Earles’ car into a vehicle in front of him and killed Earles (pictured at right.)

The victim’s mother, Lorri Earles, posted this on Facebook about her son: “He was just 3 months from leaving the military with some impressive honors. We were all so ready to have him home near family.  Our conversations regularly included the Amazing love and grace of God our Father. We our comforted by the hope we have in knowing we will see him again.”

For more crime news, pick up this week’s new edition of The Jail Report, including an exclusive report on a Fort Gordon soldier who unloaded an assault rifle on two Augusta men after a bar fight. 

The post Illegal Immigrant Without License Kills Fort Gordon Airman in Wreck appeared first on AugustaCrime.com - Richmond, Columbia, and Aiken County Jail - Reports & Mugshots.

A beloved mother was killed Wednesday morning in a fire at her North Augusta home, where authorities have called in state arson investigators to determine a cause.

According to friends and family, Blanche Merriweather (pictured) was killed in the 3 a.m. fire. Her daughter escaped.

Around 3:16 am, Aiken County deputies, Belvedere firefighters and North Augusta public safety officers responded to 1905 Seaborn Drive, according to a press release. The brick home was fully engulfed when authorities arrived.

“The residence was occupied by two persons who are believed to live at the residence,” sheriff’s Sgt. Steve Shunn said in a press release. “One occupant was able to get out of the residence and who was later transported to an area hospital in stable condition. Fire fighters found a deceased person, inside the residence.”

Sheriff’s Investigators and Aiken County Coroner’s office responded to the home where they began working on this investigation. South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) responded to assist with this investigation to determine the origin and cause of the fire.

From Coroner Tim Carlton: “Due the severity of the fire, positive identification is pending autopsy findings.  Autopsy has been scheduled for tomorrow morning in Newberry SC. SLED Arson Team has been called in to investigate along with the Aiken County Coroner’s Office. Positive identification of the fatality will be released when known.”

Public comments from Facebook:

• Ernestine Johnson: “Sad news. Blanche Merriweather died in a house fire this morning. She worked for many years in the Aiken office (of S.C. Employment Security Commission) processing UI claims.”
• Sandra Merriweather: “Lord we are standing in the need of prayer for the Merriweather family.My heart is heavy right now. We have loss a love one. Blanche Merriweather. May she RIP.”
• Zaneta Smith: “Just find out the news…..R.I.P Momma Blanche Hooper Merriweather ! You were one of Our neighborhood Moms in Bradleyvillie growing up! I also remeber many times in the beginning of my adult life you kept me and my then husband with a job! We would have long talks about marriage and life! Praying for the family!”
• Susan Miller: “Wow my heart goes out to Mrs. Blanche Merriweather family so very sorry for ur loss of ur mother this lady right here was the sweetest well dressed classy lady with great spirits & will tell U just how it is …I love U Mrs.Blanche. God has gained another Angel to whom all blessing flow….”

For more news from the Augusta-Aiken area, pick up today’s new edition of The Jail Report, sold in local gas stations.

The post Arson? North Augusta Fire Claims Life of Beloved Mother appeared first on AugustaCrime.com - Richmond, Columbia, and Aiken County Jail - Reports & Mugshots.

Richmond County Sheriff Richard Roundtree has suspended two deputies who decided not to arrest a repeat offender because he was “too drunk to take to jail,” according to the sheriff.

The deputies were also disciplined for:

• Turning off their body camera during their encounter
• Dropping off the man in a park without his bicycle, which was later stolen
• Failing to fill out a use-of-force report after presenting their Taser and using the ASP baton

Deputies Christopher Moore (top left) and Charlie Walker (right) are currently serving a seven-day suspension, which started Tuesday. They were also put on 12 months of probation and ordered to write a research paper on proper use of force and rights of individuals. In addition, they must buy the suspect a new bicycle, according to Sheriff Roundtree.

“If we take someone into custody, we are supposed to secure their property, and they didn’t. They left it at the scene,” Sheriff Roundtree told The Jail Report.

The deputies were called to a local breakfast place in regards to drunk suspect Ronald Lockhart (pictured), a repeat offender who has made The Jail Report at least five times for disorderly conduct arrests. When confronted about returning to the restaurant, a drunk and cursing Lockhart threw up his fists and threatened to fight the officers, Sheriff Roundtree said.

One of the deputies pulled out his Taser and told the 58-year-old suspect to get on the ground. The officers tried to put Lockhart facedown in the grass, and one of the deputies hit Lockhart twice with the ASP baton while trying to get his arm behind his back. Deputies found a knife on the suspect, the sheriff said.

During the encounter, the deputies turned off their body cameras and eventually took Lockhart to Hyde Park and released him.

“They said he was too drunk to go to jail, so they were going to let him sleep it off,” Sheriff Roundtree said.

Lockhart’s bicycle was later taken from an area near the restaurant, where it was left by the deputies.

After the encounter, Lockhart left a drunk voicemail message to report his encounter with the deputies, saying he was not arrested and left in a wooded area on Gordon Highway. He also complained about missing two knives, a cell phone, and a brand-new lighter that cost him $25. Lockhart said the deputies were out of control and he wanted them disciplined and his bicycle back.

Sheriff Roundtree said he did not fire the officers because he hopes the probation, research paper and follow-up instruction will allow the deputies to correct how they acted.

“I think deputies learn from all incidents, good or bad,” the sheriff said. “That is why we put them on a 12-month probation. … We hope they can learn from it and move on.”

Both deputies started at the jail and worked their way up to road patrol. Deputy Walker has been with the sheriff’s office since 2011 and Deputy Moore has worked at the agency for a few years.

For more crime news, pick up this week’s edition of The Jail Report, sold in local gas stations. We have exclusive details this week about a Fort Gordon soldier who hunted down two Augusta men and unloaded his assault rifle, hitting them 11 times!

The post RCSO Deputies Suspended for Mishandling Drunk Man & Losing His Bike appeared first on AugustaCrime.com - Richmond, Columbia, and Aiken County Jail - Reports & Mugshots.

A Greenbrier High School student was arrested Wednesday for threatening to shoot up the school despite claims that his “Columbine” comments were a joke.

Jeremiah Robison, 17, of Evans, was charged with making terroristic threats & acts, a misdemeanor.

On Wednesday morning, a girl alerted school officials that she overheard her classmate threatening to “shoot up the school” while they were together in a Food for Life class. She said Robison has talked about school shootings before. He even looked up photos of guns, the girl said.

Another witness said Robison made the comments sarcastically during the third-period class. “Sometimes, he jokes about the wrong things,” the second girl told officers.

When confronted, Robison confessed to kidding around. He quoted himself as saying, “I’m going to make Columbine look like a joke,” and, “I’m going to shoot up the school.”

He told authorities that he makes offensive jokes because it’s funny. But Robison said he had no intention of hurting anyone. After he confessed to the statements, deputies arrested him.

Sheriff’s Maj. Steve Morris said joking about a school shooting is a no-no.

“This is not the first time he’s had discussions of this nature,” Maj. Morris said. “Comments such as these, particularly in this day and time, cannot be overlooked and ignored.”

HISTORY OF COLUMBINE. According to Wikipedia, Columbine High School was the site of one of the deadliest mass shootings in modern United States history, and the deadliest high school shooting in US history. The shootings occurred on April 20, 1999, when two senior students, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, killed 12 students and a teacher, and wounded 23 others, before they both committed suicide.

The massacre made headlines both nationally and internationally, making Columbine a household name, and causing a moral panic in American high schools

For more crime news, pick up this week’s edition of The Jail Report, sold in local gas stations.

The post No Joke: Greenbrier High Student Threatens the Next Columbine & Gets Arrested appeared first on AugustaCrime.com - Richmond, Columbia, and Aiken County Jail - Reports & Mugshots.

Anthony J. Redmond 54, of Warrenville, and Robert Clark, 64, of Aiken, have been identified as the S.C. Department of Transportation workers killed Monday morning.

Both men were pronounced dead on the scene. A third DOT worker received minor injuries in the hit & run wreck on Augusta Road near Storm Branch Road shortly before 9 a.m. this morning.

The Aiken County Coroner’s Office along with the S.C. Highway Patrol and the Aiken County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the early morning incident.

“All three gentlemen were struck by a vehicle that fled the scene,” Chief Deputy Coroner Daryl Ables said in a press release.

Authorities say a tan Pontiac Grand Prix was traveling north on S.C. Highway 421 when the driver swerved to the right side and hit the workers.  Troopers located the suspect vehicle nearby but the driver was not there. The vehicle will be processed for evidence, authorities said.

Editor’s Note: If you would have photos or biographical information to share on Anthony Redmond or Robert Clark, please text it to The Jail Report at 803-487-3224. 

The post NAMED: 2 DOT Workers Who Were Killed in Hit & Run are Identified appeared first on AugustaCrime.com - Richmond, Columbia, and Aiken County Jail - Reports & Mugshots.

A convicted sex offender from Colorado drove over 22 hours to Georgia over the weekend to have sex with a 14-year-old Augusta girl, authorities said.

But the girl was actually a GBI agent who’s been posing as a child online for two months, authorities said. And when the pervert showed up at the designated meeting spot, he got arrested!

Richard Andrew Mennemeyer, 48, of Northglenn, Colo., was charged with criminal attempted child molestation, a felony. He’s sitting in the Richmond County Jail with no bond.

A warrant accuses him of attempted child molestation, saying he drove from Colorado to Augusta to “meet with a person who he believed to be a 14 year old girl for sex.” The accused had been “communicating online with an agent for approximately 2 months,” the warrant says.

Mennemeyer is a registered sex offender who was convicted in 1998 of “sexual assault on a child”. In that case, he was sentenced to 90 days in jail, probation and some fines. At some point, the suspect moved to Idaho, where he had to register as a sex offender. But his current address is listed as Northglenn, Colo., which is outside of Denver.

The arrest is part of an effort by the Georgia’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. The mission of the ICAC Task Force, created by the U. S. Department of Justice and managed and operated by the GBI in Georgia, is to assist state and local law enforcement agencies in developing an effective response to cyber enticement and child pornography cases.

This support encompasses forensic and investigative components, training and technical assistance, victim services, prevention and community education. The ICAC Program was developed in response to the increasing number of children and teenagers using the internet, the proliferation of child pornography, and the heightened online activity by predators searching for unsupervised contact with underage victims.

By helping state and local law enforcement agencies develop effective and sustainable responses to online child victimization and child pornography, the ICAC program delivers national resources at the local level.

The post Colorado Sex Offender Tries to Have Sex with 14-Year-Old Augusta Girl… appeared first on AugustaCrime.com - Richmond, Columbia, and Aiken County Jail - Reports & Mugshots.

An Augusta man was charged Monday afternoon in the hit & run deaths of two workers with the S.C. Department of Transportation.

Lonnie Dean Miller, 29, was charged with two counts of leaving the scene of an accident involving death, and one charge of leaving the scene of an accident involving an injury.

He is a repeat offender with a long history of arrests and traffic offenses, INCLUDING SPEEDING IN A CONSTRUCTION ZONE. Other arrests included charges of obstructing officers, cocaine possession, driving with a suspended license, expired tag, no proof of insurance, passing in a no-passing zone and more!

Previous Story:

Anthony J. Redmond 54, of Warrenville, and Robert Clark, 64, of Aiken, have been identified as the S.C. Department of Transportation workers killed Monday morning.

Both men were pronounced dead on the scene. A third DOT worker received minor injuries in the hit & run wreck on Augusta Road near Storm Branch Road shortly before 9 a.m. this morning.

The Aiken County Coroner’s Office along with the S.C. Highway Patrol and the Aiken County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the early morning incident.

“All three gentlemen were struck by a vehicle that fled the scene,” Chief Deputy Coroner Daryl Ables said in a press release.

Authorities say a tan Pontiac Grand Prix was traveling north on S.C. Highway 421 when the driver swerved to the right side and hit the workers.  Troopers located the suspect vehicle nearby but the driver was not there. The vehicle will be processed for evidence, authorities said.

The post Augusta Man Arrested in 2 DOT Hit & Run Deaths; Long History of Bad Driving! appeared first on AugustaCrime.com - Richmond, Columbia, and Aiken County Jail - Reports & Mugshots.

This woman used two stolen gift cards at the Grovetown Walmart on March 2 and left with this man in a dark Kia Soul, authorities say.

Can you identify them? The gift cards were stolen two weeks ago from a vehicle on Spotswood Drive in Evans.

If you recognize them, please call the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office at 706-541-2800.

Thank you!

The post Woman Uses Stolen Gift Cards at Grovetown Walmart & Leaves with Man in Kia Soul appeared first on AugustaCrime.com - Richmond, Columbia, and Aiken County Jail - Reports & Mugshots.

Two Greenbrier High students were skipping school to break into affluent homes in Riverwood and Windmill plantations, stealing guns, jewelry and money, authorities said.

Lindon Oliver Leseburg, 17 (top left photo), and Benjamin Thomas Howard, 17, both of Evans, were charged Monday with five counts of burglary. Both are juniors in high school.

The teens would ring doorbells at their targeted homes and go inside if no one answered, sheriff’s Maj. Steve Morris said.

In one of their last break-ins on March 7, a woman inside a home on Darling Way heard the doorbell ring around 11:15 a.m. She didn’t answer, but she saw the two young men run around the back of her house and break her window. The 44-year-old woman yelled, and the suspects ran to their vehicle and left.

Maj. Morris said the description of the teens and their vehicle – along with video evidence of them in the vehicle – helped identify Leseburg and Howard as the serial burglars. Both confessed, and much of the jewelry and guns were recovered from a wooded area, where they had stashed them. The cash was not recovered.

In all, four homes in Riverwood were broken into and one in Windmill, Maj. Morris said. One was hit in January, two in February and the last two on March 7.

In some of the break-ins, the homes were unsecured. In the others, the homeowners had alarms, but they weren’t activated. There’s a lesson there, Maj. Morris said.

“If you have a system, activate it,” he said. “It’s useless turned off.”

For more crime news, pick up today’s new edition of The Jail Report.

The post The Greenbrier Grinches… They Skipped School to Break Into Homes appeared first on AugustaCrime.com - Richmond, Columbia, and Aiken County Jail - Reports & Mugshots.

A local woman was raped in Augusta by a man she met through a dating app, authorities said.

The 24-year-old Waynesboro woman told authorities that she met Gikarre Rollins on a dating app called “Tagged,” according to a sheriff’s report. She arranged to meet the 21-year-old man on Saturday night.

But when she was dropped off at a home on Stone Road, Rollins took her to a vacant trailer, where he robbed her and raped her, authorities said. It turns out he’s a convicted felon with a violent past.

A sheriff’s report spells out what happened on Saturday night:

“She and Gikarre walked up the driveway to a vacant trailer where Gikarre walked inside and she stopped in the doorway. … Gikarre continued trying to get her to come inside the trailer and when she did, he snatched her cell phone from her and then hit her over her left eye with a black handgun. … Gikarre then took her wallet with her ID and SS cards.”

The suspect then forced the woman into a back bedroom and made her lie down on an old mattress, where he raped her.

“Gikarre waved the handgun in her face the entire time of the incident,” a report says. “She pushed off of Gikarre and fled out of the front door of the residence where she ran back to the car” with the person who drove her there. They then called the cops.

The woman knew Gikarre’s username on the Tagged app was “Gikarre R.” Her friend helped her track down Gikarre‘s full name and pictures from his Facebook profile.

Rollins, of Hephzibah, was captured Sunday morning and charged with rape, armed robbery, possession of a weapon by a convicted felon and possession of a weapon during the commission of a crime.

The Jail Report featured Rollins in 2015 when he pulled a gun on a woman after a dispute about children playing rough at a park near Southgate Drive. Rollins got in the face of the 28-year-old woman and yelled “B****, I’ll f*** you up.” The woman began to walk away and Rollins pulled a chrome-plated handgun from his waistband and shoved it in her face.

When deputies answered a call to the park, Rollins fled with two guns in his hand, a chrome handgun and a sawed-off shotgun. He tossed the guns in vacant apartments where the windows had been knocked out, but he was captured. It turns out the pistol had been stolen.

Superior Court Judge James Blanchard Jr. accepted guilty pleas and gave Rollins 20 years of probation and fines, according to jail records.

For more crime news, pick up this week’s edition of The Jail Report.

The post Local Woman Raped in Augusta by Man She Met on Dating App! appeared first on AugustaCrime.com - Richmond, Columbia, and Aiken County Jail - Reports & Mugshots.

A Warrenville man was arrested this week after an investigation into child pornography, authorities said.

Martin Duncan Sr., 62, was charged Monday with 12 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor.

Last year, an Aiken County investigators discovered images deemed to be child pornography shared over the Internet, according to a sheriff’s report. The investigation led to Duncan’s arrest this week.

Investigators state that Duncan was involved in distributing child pornography. Specific charges:

• 2 counts of Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, Second Degree (§16-15-405), a felony offense punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment on each count
• 10 counts of Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, Third Degree (§16-15-410), a felony offense punishable by up to ten (10) years imprisonment on each count.

The post Warrenville Man Arrested on Child Pornography Charges appeared first on AugustaCrime.com - Richmond, Columbia, and Aiken County Jail - Reports & Mugshots.

An Augusta real estate agent and bail bondsman was arrested twice this week – once for illegally bonding people out of jail in Columbia County and another time for possessing meth and cocaine in Richmond County.

Meybohm Realty agent Joe Travis Nunnally, 43, of Waynesboro, was illegally bonding people out of jail in Columbia County, authorities said.

After Richmond County deputies picked him up at his South Augusta office on those warrants Monday, he was found with cocaine and meth, secretly hidden inside a container that looked like a D-cell battery, according to a sheriff’s report.

Sources tell us that Meybohm Realty quickly terminated Nunnally after his arrest. He had been working as their branch manager in the South Augusta office.

He was also working as a bail bondsman out of Burke County, where he was approved. But Nunnally started working as a bail bondsman in Columbia County, bailing out 20 people before he was stopped, sheriff’s Capt. Steve Morris said.

“You can’t do that without sheriff’s approval,” Capt. Morris said.

Warrants were issued for two counts of illegal operation as unauthorized bondsman in Columbia County.

When he was picked up Monday in Augusta, an officer found him with a “battery” in his pocket.

The officer started checking the “battery” and noticed that the bottom negative end appeared to unscrew. He unscrewed the bottom of the container and found two clear plastic bags in the container. Once bag contained approximately 2 grams of powder cocaine and the other bag contained approximately a half gram of methamphetamine.

“As I was opening the container, Nunnally stated that he picked up the battery in the parking lot of 2556 Tobacco earlier on April 17 and was going to throw it away later,” the deputy wrote in his report. “I asked Nunnally if the drugs in the container were cocaine and methamphetamine and he stated that he wasn’t sure but that’s what they appeared to be. I tried to ask Nunnally more questions but he stopped talking to me.”

Richmond County charged him with possession of meth and possession of cocaine.

After he was bonded out of Richmond County, he was booked into the Columbia County Jail, and then released on bond there.

The post Augusta Real Estate Agent Jailed on Rare Bail-Bonding Offense; Jailers Discover Hidden Stash of Drugs appeared first on AugustaCrime.com - Richmond, Columbia, and Aiken County Jail - Reports & Mugshots.

A young couple is accused of killing an elderly New Ellenton man over the weekend, setting his house on fire and fleeing to Georgia in the victim’s vehicle, authorities said.

Jayson Antonio Miles, 17, and Kayla Nicole Moore, 18, both of Aiken (right), are being held in Conyers, Ga., in the death of 74-year-old David Mackie (pictured above).

Mackie was found dead in the mobile home after firefighters extinguished flames at 1018 Cedar St., a press release says.

Based on the charges, authorities believe the teenagers conspired to commit the crime, robbing him and then killing him.

From Coroner Tim Carlton: “Mr. Mackie died from blunt force trauma and  sharp force injuries to his body. Although the his body was discovered as a result of a house fire however the fire itself did not contribute to his death. His death is to be ruled a homicide due to the fatal injuries he received.”

The fire was reported at 10:30 p.m. Saturday, and New Ellenton firefighters found the home fully engulfed. An investigation by the sheriff’s office and coroner’s officer was later assisted by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED), since it was deemed “suspicious.”

The post Arson Shock in New Ellenton – Young Couple Arrested for Murder in Fire Death appeared first on AugustaCrime.com - Richmond, Columbia, and Aiken County Jail - Reports & Mugshots.