Two teenagers have been charged in this week’s purse snatching at the North Augusta Walmart that injured a 70-year-old woman.

Tyrone Miller, 17, of Austin Street, North Augusta (pictured), and a 15-year-old boy who attends North Augusta Middle School, were both charged Thursday with purse snatching.

The 70-year-old Beech Island woman was exiting Walmart around 8 p.m. Monday with a friend when the younger boy snatched the purse from her left hand. Miller was nearby and the two suspects ran from the store together, police said.

The elderly woman tried to run after the suspects, but she fell down, cutting her right hand and right knee. Since the incident, her injuries have grown worse and she plans to see her doctor because of increased pain, the report says.

Authorities say Miller’s mother works at the North Augusta Walmart, and he and the younger suspect hang out there a lot. Miller admitted to police that he and his friend split about $65 cash found in the purse, and he used his to buy marijuana, which he smoked before going to school at North Augusta High School. That is where he was arrested this week after surveillance images tied him to the crime.

The younger teen told police he snatched the purse because he got “caught up in the moment,” according to the police report.

The teens allegedly ran from the store to an abandoned house in a drug neighborhood. The purse was found later with the victim’s cash, cell phone and credit cards missing. The credit cards were later returned by a woman who said someone put them in her mailbox.

Miller, who has a previous arrest for gross intoxication, is being held in the Aiken County Detention Center. The juvenile was arrested and released to his family.

A multi-agency drug bust Thursday night at an Aiken home resulted in the arrest of six drug suspects and the removal of three children, authorities said

In addition, five idiot neighbors were jailed as well for allegedly shouting threats and profanities as investigators and officers searched the nearby home, according to a press release.

On Thursday at approximately 4:30 PM, officers from the Aiken Department of Public Safety, the Aiken County Sheriff’s Office, and the ATF RAID Task Force executed a search warrant at 539 Newberry Street, NW, in Aiken.

The search resulted in the arrests of six adults, and the seizure of drugs, weapons, and drug paraphernalia. Three children ages three, four, and five, were removed from the house and placed in the custody of the SC Department of Social Services. Those arrested were

(Pictured From top left)
* Akeem Caleb Coston, 25. Akeem Coston was charged with Trafficking Cocaine, Possession with Intent to Distribute Cocaine within ½ Mile of School or Park, Possession with Intent to Distribute Marijuana, and Possession with Intent to Distribute Marijuana within ½ Mile of School or Park, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Akeem Coston was also charged with three counts of Unlawful Neglect by Legal Guardian, Possession of a Firearm during the Commission of a Violent Crime, and Possession of a Firearm with an Obliterated Serial Number.

* Ahmaad Coston, 26, was charged with Trafficking Cocaine, Possession with Intent to Distribute Cocaine within ½ Mile of School or Park, Possession with Intent to Distribute Marijuana, and Possession with Intent to Distribute Marijuana within ½ Mile of School or Park, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.

* Joseph Maston, Jr., 26, was charged with Trafficking Cocaine, Possession with Intent to Distribute Cocaine within ½ Mile of School or Park, Possession with Intent to Distribute Marijuana, and Possession with Intent to Distribute Marijuana within ½ Mile of School or Park, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.

(bottom row from left)
* Justin Daniel Harris, 18, was charged with Trafficking Cocaine, Possession with Intent to Distribute Cocaine within ½ Mile of School or Park, Possession with Intent to Distribute Marijuana, and Possession with Intent to Distribute Marijuana within ½ Mile of School or Park, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.

* Jshon Staley, 18, was charged with Trafficking Cocaine, Possession with Intent to Distribute Cocaine within ½ Mile of School or Park, Possession with Intent to Distribute Marijuana, and Possession with Intent to Distribute Marijuana within ½ Mile of School or Park, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.

* Saige Marie York, 17, was charged with Trafficking Cocaine, Possession with Intent to Distribute Cocaine within ½ Mile of School or Park, Possession with Intent to Distribute Marijuana, and Possession with Intent to Distribute Marijuana within ½ Mile of School or Park, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.

NEIGHBORS: Five additional suspects were arrested at 550 Newberry Street, NW, directly across the street from the search location, for various charges ranging from Disorderly Conduct, Failure to Comply, and Resisting Arrest. The suspects shouted threats, profanities, and obscenities as investigators and officers searched the nearby home. Those arrested at 550 Newberry Street were:

Darius Moore, Kenneth Islar, and Emerson Edwards were charged with Disorderly Conduct, Failure to Comply with a Lawful Order, and Resisting Arrest. April Jones and Yvette Midgett were charged with Disorderly Conduct and Failure to Comply with a Lawful Order.

All subjects are being held at the Aiken County Detention Center.

Guess who’s in trouble again?

Remember the Augusta Mall girl whose fight was caught on video last year? That was 18-year-old Keoshamine Nero.

A judge went easy on the hair-pulling princess, giving her probation and fines for the high-profile incident.

She won’t get off that easy this time.

Authorities say the teenager set up a friend last week for a violent armed robbery at his home designed to steal the victim’s guns. Four others have also been charged, including a few involved in that Kroger fight that led to murder Thursday.

The victim in the home invasion, a 22-year-old man, told authorities that Nero came over to his apartment on Wrightsboro Road last Wednesday night and was hanging out in his bedroom. Fifteen minutes after she arrived, four armed robbers suddenly walked into his bedroom. Nero fell to the floor, and one of the robbers pointed a gun at the victim and said, “Where all dem guns at?”

The victim said he didn’t know, and the robber picked him up and threw him to the floor in his closet.

“The male then stood over (the victim) while pointing the gun at his face. (The victim) pushed the gun upwards with his right hand, and it discharged one time. Then, the males and Ms. Nero left the residence in an unknown direction of travel.”

The victim told investigators that Nero saw his firearms while visiting the night before. During her visit Wednesday night, he noticed she was acting strange.

“He stated that while they were in the bedroom, Ms. Nero went to the kitchen to get water several times. (The victim) believes she unlocked his front door during one of those trips,” a sheriff’s report says.

Deputies observed one bullet hole in the closet above the water heater. The projectile went through the wall, the bathroom walls, and out into the hallway where the round was found near the steps.

An investigation led to Nero’s arrest as well as felony charges against: Samoney Tanksley, 15; Jaques Woodard, 19; Daushun Ellis, 20, and Cordarius Ayers, 19.

Nero has been charged with armed robbery, burglary, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime.

Some of those involved in the home invasion were later charged with affray in the Kroger fight Thursday night that led to the murder of 18-year-old Montravius McNair.

After 50 years of marriage, an elderly Augusta woman shot her aging husband in the thigh early Wednesday after a fight, authorities said.

Annie Gaines, 70, is accused of shooting 75-year-old Joseph Gaines at 2 a.m. Wednesday during a dispute at their home on the 3800 block of Old Waynesboro Road. He survived.

Mrs. Gaines told deputies she had been married for 50 years and she was upset with her husband’s multiple affairs, which led to several children outside their marriage.

The suspect said they had been to a funeral for one of Mr. Gaines’ illegitimate children on Tuesday and that he “had ignored her during the day,” a report says.

“I wasn’t trying to kill him,” Mrs. Gaines told officers. “I was just gonna remind him that I’m still here.”

After shooting Mr. Gaines, his wife called 911 and confessed to shooting her husband. Deputies arrived and found the victim on the floor next to his bed.

Mr. Gaines was transported to GRU and is in stable condition, sheriff’s Sgt. Glen Rahn said in a press release. The injuries do not appear to be life threatening at this time.

Mrs. Gaines has been charged with aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during a crime. She’s being held without bond.

A Warrenville man kicked in the door of his ex-girlfriend’s home this morning and then fatally shot her in the front yard, authorities said.

Todd Brown, 46, has been charged with murder in the case after his ex-girlfriend was pronounced dead at Georgia Regents University Hospital. The victim’s name has not yet been released.

Authorities received a call about 7:19 a.m. about a shooting at 548 Pine Street, where deputies found a white female in the front yard suffering from an apparent gunshot wound. She was rushed to the hospital, but died.

Witnesses told officers that Brown kicked in the front door where he got into a verbal and physical fight with his ex-girlfriend, which later ended outside the home, sheriff’s Capt. Eric Abdullah said in a press release.

Brown fled the area before deputies got there, but he was later captured. He has been charged with murder as well as burglary and weapon possession.

Brown was just in jail on Feb. 5 for several drug charges related to possession of controlled substances. He was released the next day.

It started with complaints from neighbors about a foul odor coming from 332 Brandywine Apartments in Augusta.

It ended with the arrest of a local couple and the removal of five children, ages 4-13.

This is what an apartment inspector and deputies discovered inside the apartment on Wednesday:

* German roaches running around in all directions with ceilings and walls littered with roach nests.

* Human feces on the floors that had been stepped in and tracked throughout the home.

* Walls with feces spread on them by the children, including a stairway wall where a child had made hand-prints using their own feces.

* Rotting food on the counters and in the sink.

* A refrigerator and freezer with no edible food with everything rotten and decaying.

* The 4-year-old child was seen eating molded food from the trash can.

* Medication bottles without tops in an area the children could easily have accessed.

* None of the children were in school on this day except the 13-year-old and the youngest two were not registered in any school.

Deputies notified DFACS officials, who came and removed the children and placed them with their aunt.

The parents, Johnston Santos, 37, and Joanna Santos, 34, were both charged with deprivation of a minor. Mr. Santos was also charged with obstruction for trying to clean up the house after deputies told him to sit down.

A former Fort Gordon translator who failed to pay his ex-wife alimony and hid $500,000 in stocks from the court was dragged back to Columbia County from Las Vegas this week to face the music.

Said Mobin, 67, has been charged with false swearing and two counts of contempt of court, according to jail records.

Mobin signed a financial document in 2010 telling the court that he had only $1,000 in stock and securities when he really had a half-million dollars’ worth of stock and securities, according to a warrant.

Mobin was involved in a high-profile divorce that was featured by local media in 2010.

The Augusta Chronicle reported on how Mobin’s wife — an Afghanistan resident who was 32 years younger — was forced to marry Mobin in a Pakistani village over a decade ago. The marriage was arranged by Mobin and the woman’s mother.

The marriage led the couple to Las Vegas and eventually to Augusta, where the marriage ended in 2010. In court, the suspect’s wife told about an abusive relationship that lasted years.

She said her husband would cut the telephone line if she tried to call home while they lived in Las Vegas in 2002. She would be choked if she complained, and Mobin would muffle her screams with a pillow over her face.

A child was born, but the suspect’s wife said she suffered through a decade of “isolation, abuse and fear,” according to the newspaper account.

In 2009, Said took a job as a Farsi translator for the Army at Fort Gordon. His wife said she was allowed to work at a day care but her husband threatened to “send her to Afghanistan in shame” if she didn’t follow his orders.

The marital conflict ended up before Richmond County Superior Court Judge J. David Roper when the suspect’s wife sought a divorce and her husband consented.

Judge Roper ruled in the wife’s favor in 2010, saying Mobin failed to show the court proof of income, tax returns and financial statements.

The judge also awarded the wife temporary custody of the couple’s son, along with thousands of dollars in alimony and child support.

But Mobin did not pay alimony as ordered, and that led to the contempt charge. He also failed to pay $3,500 in fees to his ex-wife’s attorney. His lies in financial statements led to the false swearing charge.

Judge Danny Craig issued an order last October paving the way for Mobin’s nationwide arrest and extradition. Mobin was booked into the Columbia County Jail on Wednesday, where he is being held without bond.

North Augusta police arrested a local mom Friday after her newborn daughter tested positive for cocaine, authorities said.

Taisha Bowen, 38, of Maddox Avenue, North Augusta, was charged with unlawful neglect of a child.

Hospital authorities told police Bowen gave birth to a daughter recently at Georgia Regents University Hospital and the newborn tested positive for cocaine at the time of birth. Authorities then tested a strand of hair from the mother, which came back positive for cocaine as well.

That led to the charge against the mother. A police report does not indicate what happened to the child.

Bowen has been released on bond.

The effect of cocaine use on a fetus may last a lifetime. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, exposure to cocaine in the womb can lead to subtle, yet significant, deficits later in children. These deficits usually show up in areas such as cognitive performance, information-processing, and attention to tasks. These are areas that are vital for success not just in school, but in life.

A local man has been arrested after Lowe’s officials found him sleeping in a storage shed that had set up as a customer display at their Martinez store.

Brett Ciciarelli, 28, was charged with criminal trespassing last Thursday at the store on Bobby Jones Expressway.

Lowe’s manager Mike Mineheart called the sheriff’s office about 9 a.m. Thursday and then pointed the responding deputy to a man sleeping in a shed set up for customers in the parking lot.

Ciciarelli told the officer that he was homeless and had been thrown out of local shelters for behavioral issues.  But he had trespassed at Lowe’s before and was told not to return there either.

Deputies arrested him and gave him a warm bed at the county jail.

JAMES BROWN’S DAUGHTER MARKS 24TH ARREST IN AUGUSTA SINCE 1997

Venisha Brown, daughter of the late soul singer James Brown, was arrested on April Fool’s Day, marking her 24th arrest in Augusta since 1997.

No joke.

Brown, 49, of Parkway Drive, Augusta, was arrested Monday on a warrant for order to show cause in Superior Court.

Her probation officer took out the warrant, meaning she is being accused of violating the terms of her probation, according to authorities.

Brown was released from prison Feb. 22 after her 5-year prison sentence for theft was commuted after she served one year. She was sentenced in 2012 for stealing a car from St. Stephen Ministries in Augusta where she worked. Authorities say she injured her boss outside a bank when the boss tried to get the car back, authorities said.

Brown is well-known to Augusta law enforcement officers with two dozen arrests in the last 17 years, including charges for theft by taking, theft by receiving stolen property, pointing a firearm at another person, failure to appear in court, giving false name to police, probation violation, order to show cause and bench warrants.

As part of her five-year prison sentence for theft in 2012, she was ordered to complete a residential substance abuse treatment program.

On March 31, her probation officer sought a warrant for her arrest.

James Brown had numerous children and acknowledged nine of them during his life, including five sons – Teddy, Terry, Larry, Daryl and James Joseph Brown II and four daughters – Lisa, Dr. Yamma Noyola Brown Lumar, Deanna Brown Thomas and Venisha Brown.

Venisha Brown remained in the Richmond County Jail on Thursday under no bond.

Two murder suspects are in custody and another faces charges after his release from the hospital following Saturday night’s drug-related murder outside Bi-Lo in Augusta, authorities said.

Warrants have been filed against Ricardo Lavert Jones (from left), John Lee Scarboro, and Bartrell Griffin for the offenses of robbery by sudden snatching and felony murder. The photo of Griffin is a previous mugshot.

An off-duty deputy working a special assignment heard shots being fired near the Bi-Lo at Southgate Shopping Center about 10:20 p.m. Saturday and found the body of 35-year-old Michael Hanson outside the store.

The suspects were caught in a vehicle on Cook Road, and deputies realized Griffin had been shot. Sheriff’s Sgt. Glan Rahn said Sunday that he is not sure who shot Griffin, but he knows the injury was not self-inflicted.

Jones and Scarboro have been committed to the Richmond County Jail and Griffin will be committed after his release from the hospital for a non-life threatening gunshot wound sustained during the robbery.

Sgt. Rahn said he is not sure what item was “snatched” in the robbery, but he confirmed the incident appears drug-related. The victim was not a random stranger to the suspects, but he was in the parking lot by himself in an apparent meeting with the three suspects before being shot, the sergeant said.

An out-of-town visitor tried twice to get onto the property of Augusta National Golf Club on Saturday night and ended up in jail.

Joseph Murphy, 50, of Hatfield, Pennsylvania, was charged with criminal trespassing.

Authorities say Murphy walked up to the club’s main gate on Washington Road at 8:40 p.m. Saturday. Deputy Shane Van Dyke told him only members were permitted inside, according to a sheriff’s report.

The man left and returned 10 minutes later … IN HIS CAR!

“Murphy bypassed the security guard, and was stopped shortly after by a marked Richmond County patrol vehicle,” sheriff’s Sgt. Glen Rahn said.

Murphy drove through the gate and did not stop for security, a report says. He drove onto the property, but Deputy Van Dyke conducted a traffic stop and arrested the man. Augusta National officials told the sheriff’s office they wanted Murphy prosecuted for trespassing.

The suspect was booked into the Richmond County Jail and released after posting $1,300 bond.

Investigators have a real mystery on their hands in last week’s house fire in which an Augusta man was found dead inside and his girlfriend suffered horrific burns to most of her body.

The mystery: Karla Harter (left picture) came running out of the burning home at 3625 Crawfordville Drive and was claiming to be a victim.

“The lady came out of the fire saying her husband set her on fire,” said Kenneth Boose, chief deputy of the coroner’s office.

But sources tell The Jail Report that boyfriend Henry Jefferson III, 51, (right picture) was found dead with stab wounds. That is leading investigators to look into another theory: Did the girlfriend stab her boyfriend, set the house on fire and accidentally burn herself in the process?

“The fire was definitely a suspicious fire,” Boose said. “It was intentionally set.”

Boose said the Jefferson’s death and circumstances surrounding the fire are still under investigation. “Nothing has been ruled out,” he said.

Meanwhile, Harter continues to fight for her life at Doctors Hospital after suffering third-degree burns.

A 21-year-old North Augusta man was fatally shot in his apartment Tuesday morning while his wife and four children were at home, authorities said.

Police are talking to his 20-year-old wife and there are no other suspects, NADPS LT. Tim Thornton said.

The children — ages 4 months, 1, 3 and 4 — were at home but were unharmed, he said. They have been turned over to their grandparents.

Police received a 911 call about 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at North Augusta Gardens Apartments on Hugh Street about a shooting. The victim was found with a gunshot wound to the head and was rushed to GRU Hospital, where he died. His name has not been released.

Lt. Thornton said SLED has been called to assist in the investigation. Asked if the wife is the shooting suspect, he said he was “not sure.”

“Right now, we’re just trying to sift through the pieces,” he said. “We don’t have anybody else of interest. We believe we have everybody involved in the incident identified.”

North Augusta police say 20-year-old Terry Cook is being charged with murder in the shooting death of her husband, 21-year-old Dakota Cook.

The couple are pictured here in an image from the wife’s Facebook page.

Police say Dakota Cook died Tuesday morning from a single gunshot wound inflicted by his wife, Terry Cook.

Coroner Tim Carlton said the shooting “appears to have been the result of an ongoing domestic dispute.”

Mrs. Cook has been charged with murder and will be taken to the Aiken County Detention Center later today but for now remains incarcerated at Public Safety headquarters pending transport, public safety Lt. Tim Thornton said in a press release.

The four children in the home at the time of the shooting are now in the custody of their grandparents. They are ages 4 months old, 1, 3 and 4.

Lt. Thornton did not mention a motive. Police received a 911 call about 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at North Augusta Gardens Apartments on Hugh Street about a shooting. The victim was found with a gunshot wound to the head and was rushed to GRU Hospital, where he died.

Lehman Lord Jr., the owner of Lord’s Collision Center in Augusta, remains in jail  after his indictment by two grand juries on charges of sexual battery and child molestation on a teenage relative.

Lord, 37, of Scarlett Circle, Evans, has been indicted on charges of child molestation, contributing to the delinquency of a minor and electronic furnishing of obscene material to a minor in Richmond County, according to authorities.  In Columbia County, he’s been indicted on charges of sexual battery, aggravated sexual battery and contributing to the delinquency of a minor, sheriff’s Maj. Rick Whitaker said.

A Richmond County Sheriff’s report filed in December spells out the allegations against Lord by a teenage female relative:

The 15-year-old girl said Lord had sexually abused her on multiple occasions, grabbing her and touching her in a sexual manner leading up to the primary assault on June 1, 2013.

The teen said she attended a party at one of her friend’s houses June 1 and she became intoxicated. She contacted Lord to pick her up. Back at Lord’s home in Evans, the victim fell asleep and woke up to find the suspect’s hand down her pants. The next morning, he acted like nothing had happened.

The victim showed investigators text messages from Lord last summer saying he wanted to be the teen relative’s “snuggle bunny” and that he didn’t want her to think he was a pervert. There was also a picture that was taken that showed both her and Lord posing together as she smoked what she stated was marijuana.

An investigation led to the April 1st indictment of Lord and he is being held under no bond.

A woman identifying herself as Lord’s wife answered the phone at Lord’s Collision Center Friday and said she stands by her husband’s innocence. The woman said the accuser is a “rebellious teenager” who wants to remain in a relationship with a boy who is 4 years older than she is.

At least two ticket scalpers were arrested Friday outside Augusta National Golf Club after refusing orders to leave a restricted area, authorities said.

Douglas Weinstein, 71, of Flowermound, Texas (pictured), and Alvin King, were each arrested for disorderly conduct under the ticket scalping codes, according to sheriff’s Capt. Scott Gay.

King has not been booked into the jail yet and his mugshot was not available.

Capt. Gay said both men were seen trying to buy or sell Master’s badges and were told to somewhere else. When they did not obey orders, they were arrested for their illegal activity in the restricted area.

Before today’s arrests, Richmond County authorities had no problems warning ticket scalpers and getting their cooperation.  Apparently, signs warning Masters patrons about the ticket-scalping law were helping.

Under Georgia law, golf fans cannot buy or sell tickets within 2,700 feet of the Augusta National property. Outside of that area, only licensed sellers can buy or sell tickets.

A 14-year-old Augusta boy was killed overnight after he and another juvenile were struck by a hit-and-run driver on Gordon Highway.

Zykeith Harris, 14 (pictured), was pronounced dead at 12:20 on the 1400 block of Gordon Highway, according to Chief Deputy Coroner Kenneth Boose.

Authorities said the second juvenile is receiving medical treatment for serious injuries at GRU Hospital. The name of the second victim was not released.

“The Richmond County Sheriff’s Office, Traffic Division, is asking the public’s assistance in identifying an unknown vehicle that struck two pedestrians on Gordon Highway near Dan Bowles, sheriff’s Sgt. Monica Belser said in a press release.

If anyone has any information regarding this crash, please contact the Sheriff’s Office at 706-821-1080.

A 23-year-old local man was charged Saturday with trespassing at Augusta National Golf Club, authorities said.

Ryan Chancelor Pond was escorted off the Augusta National property by security and told not to return, according to sheriff’s Capt. Scott Gay. When he returned, he was taken to the Richmond County Jail and charged with criminal trespassing. Capt. Gay did not say why the suspect was told to leave or whether he had a ticket.

Despite a low bond of only $285 for the misdemeanor charge, Pond remained in jail Sunday afternoon and missed the final round because of his actions.

Pond has a criminal history in both Richmond and Columbia counties, including charges of marijuana possession, theft by taking, driving while license suspended and underage drinking when he was a minor. Last October, he was charged with a probation violation.

A Jackson teenager has been charged with fatally stabbing a 24-year-old man over the weekend.

Skyler Wright, 18, is being held at the Aiken County Jail pending murder charges in the death of Brennan M. Tucker. The incident occurred about 8 p.m. Sunday on Silverton Street in Jackson, SC.

WRDW-TV is quoting witnesses that say the pair were arguing about $5 that Wright owed the victim for marijuana. However, residents say that is not true and that Tucker was trying to protect a pregnant woman and get Wright out of her home when Wright stabbed him.

Coroner Tim Carlton said Tucker was stabbed during an argument and was rushed to GRU Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 9:30 p.m. An autopsy is scheduled for today.

Wright fled the stabbing and was captured Monday morning, WRDW-TV reports.

Jackson Police Chief Dennis Rushton was not available for comment Monday morning.

At age 18, Wright had already made three previous trips to the Aiken County Jail in the last year. He has been previously charged with a parole violation, giving false information to police, possession of a pistol by an underage person and possession of controlled substances.