Jail Report Exclusive:
Timothy Shelnut, former member of the Georgia Board of Regents and the richest individual to ever call Augusta home, was locked up today for contempt of court.

Shelnut, 66, is being accused of hiding assets to avoid paying $199,000 in alimony to his ex-wife, Sam Shelnut, according to authorities and sources.

Mr. Shelnut was locked up following a hearing Friday morning before Judge J. David Roper. According to the Richmond County Jail website, he is being held without bond at the detention center.

Shelnut is a former bond and insurance magnate who was a close political ally of Charles Walker, Sue Burmeister and Linda Schrenko.

Among many properties, he once owned the Columbia County News-Times. He is possibly the richest and most well-known Augustan who was locked up or was James Brown.

Beginning July 1, all Paine faculty staff and students will be required to wear their school identification on the college grounds at all times.

And visitors are not exempt from the new policy.

Anyone on the campus grounds, including those attending community seminars, workshops and activities at the Health, Education, Activities and Learning (HEAL) Complex, will be required to acquire a visitor’s badge to be worn during their time on the grounds.

Beefed up security at the school is one of four initiatives the private college is implementing before the start of the 2014-2015 school year.

The initiatives were announced by President George Bradley and Vice President of Institutional Advancement Helene Carter at a morning press conference today at the school’s Frank Yerby house.

Four more certified officers have been added to the Paine College Police force. The officers will work with six security personnel to have a 24-hour presence at all drive-in entrances to the campus.

And the school will continue to work with the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office and has the ability to communicate directly with the department via special equipment.

The sheriff’s office had a large presence at the school recently when three shootings in two days occurred on or near the campus.

Here’s a look at the cover of the new issue, hitting stores Wednesday, June 18.

This week’s issue has a look at the popular TV show that plans to film at the Richmond County Jail. Plus, we’ve got crime news from every county in the CSRA as well as all arrest information, dumb crook news, word search, fun with captions, wanted people and the “Match the Convict to the Crime” game.

Pick up your copy today at a local convenience store for just $1.

A 2-week-old baby has been released from the hospital and his young mother arrested after she left the baby in her SUV while taking a cosmetology exam at an Augusta college on Thursday morning, authorities said.

Alicia Manigault, 20, was charged cruelty to children in the second degree.

The suspect told deputies that she left baby Christopher Howard in her 2011 Toyota Forerunner while she took final exams inside the College for Cosmetology School at Virginia College, on Wylds Road in Augusta.

Deputies were dispatched about 8:40 a.m. Thursday when someone saw the child unattended in the SUV. “Christopher was estimated to have been in the vehicle from 30 minutes up to 1 hour,” sheriff’s Sgt. Monica Belser said in a press release.

Deputies found the SUV with the engine turned off. The windows were only down 1-2 inches each, Sgt. Belser said.

“Deputies observed a baby carrier in the rear cargo area of the Forerunner with Baby Christopher inside of it, covered with a white blanket. Deputy Green took immediate action and climbed through the sunroof of the Forerunner, unlocked the doors, and took Baby Christopher out of the vehicle,” Sgt. Belser said. “EMS arrived on the scene and transported the infant to GRU for medical treatment.”

After the baby was stabilized and hydrated, he was released and turned over to his maternal grandmother.

The Department of Children and Family Services responded to GRU and launched their own investigation.

Aiken County authorities say 24-year-old Dominique Roscelo Johnson surrendered Wednesday in connection with Tuesday’s shooting at Nicholas Village in Aiken that left a victim with a gunshot to the hip.

Around 3:40 pm Tuesday, deputies found the victim laying in the roadway in front of 525 Pine Street suffering from an apparent gunshot wound to his left hip, sheriff’s Capt. Eric Abdullah said.

The suspect and victim had been arguing before the shooting, and the victim attempted to walk away when he was shot.

Johnson fled the area in a tan in color Cadillac. The victim was transported to Georgia Regents University by EMS for treatment where he is in stable condition, Capt. Abdullah said.

A Beech Island woman has been charged with ill treatment of animals after authorities found a dead dog outside her home and five malnourished dogs inside with no food.

Cottie Ledford, a 25-year-old woman with a growing criminal record in Aiken County, was arrested Wednesday by animal control officials.

“A dog was dead on her property. That dog was smelling up the neighborhood,” said Brian Sanders, assistant county administrator in Aiken County.

When someone complained, animal control officials investigated and found five dogs inside and confiscated them.

“They were found to be malnourished and sick, and that is an arrestable offense,” Sanders said. “They were in pretty bad shape. … There was no food out for the dogs. Just feces.”

Sanders said the dogs are being evaluated by animal control, but he did not believe any were euthanized.

Ledford remained in the county jail on Thursday night. She has at least three previous arrests in Aiken County. She had a shoplifting arrest in July 2011. Two years later, she was jailed on charges of stealing electricity and malicious injury to property. She was arrested again four months later after not showing up to court on those two charges.

An Aiken County judge ordered toe-sucking sex offender Joey Leaphart to spend a year in prison for failing to properly register.

Aiken County Summary Judge Tracey Carroll ordered a sentence of 366 days for Leaphart. He is sitting in the county jail right now, awaiting transport to prison.

This week’s sentence should be a welcome relief for local women and law enforcement, who have been on alert for this pervert. He has been seen across the CSRA, asking women to kiss their feet so he can get down and actually suck their toes, according to previous police reports.

Columbia County authorities took the unusual step of warning residents of the sex offender on their Facebook page.

Earlier this month, he tried to kiss a woman’s feet outside a Grovetown restaurant. He said he was from Atlanta and came to town for a funeral but had lost his wallet and needed gas money. The woman and her friend gave him money, and the suspect asked if he could kiss her feet.

“He told her it might bring her good luck, because he had kissed his wife`s feet, and she had won a thousand dollars right after that,” a sheriff’s report says.

The lady refused and left the restaurant quickly.

A day later, Leaphart was arrested in Aiken County for violating the S.C. Sex Offender Registry law by not properly registering, setting up the court date.

Leaphart became a registered sex offender after serving five years in prison for licking an 11-year-old’s toes.

A child molester was stabbed to death Sunday morning by a fellow inmate at the Augusta State Medical Prison.

Shannon Levi Grier (pictured) was pronounced dead at the prison at 6:20 a.m. Sunday, Chief Deputy Coroner Kenneth Boose said in a press release.

Grier appears to have died from multiple sharp force trauma, Boose said.

Grier, 29, was serving a 25-year sentence for an aggravated child molestation and aggravated sodomy that occurred in Fulton County in 2007, according to a prison website. His release date was set for 2032.

Statement from GBI’s Patrick Morgan: “The identity of the second inmate involved in the altercation is not being released at this time pending consultation with the Augusta Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office concerning criminal charges. The second inmate has been transferred to another state prison… for security purposes.”

Grier’s body was transported to the GBI Crime Lab in Decatur, GA where an autopsy will be performed at a later time. The investigation is ongoing and is being conducted by the GBI, the Georgia Department of Corrections, and the Richmond County Coroner’s Office.

A North Augusta mom was arrested for child neglect after she confessed to frequently leaving her 9-year-old daughter alone in a neighborhood park while she worked all day at a McDonald’s in Augusta.

Debra Harrell, 46, of Weston Street, was charged Monday with unlawful neglect of a child.

A witness told police that she saw the girl at Summerfield Park on Old Edgefield Road about 9:30 a.m. Monday and didn’t see an adult around. The woman became concerned when she left for work and then returned around 2 p.m. to see the same girl still alone at the park.

So the witness asked the girl where her mother was, and the child said her mother had dropped her off at the park to go to work.

“The child went on to tell her that she is dropped off all the time to play at the park while her mother is at work,” the officer’s report says.

For lunch, the child said she sometimes walks to a McDonald’s inside the North Augusta Walmart.

Police took custody of the girl and called the mother to come to police headquarters.

“She was interviewed and confessed to abandoning her child,” the report says.

Harrell remains in the Aiken County Jail at this hour.

A Richmond County deputy has been placed on administrative leave with pay after one of his girlfriend’s children used his taser while he was at her home, accidentally injuring the child’s sibling with it.

According to sheriff’s Capt. Calvin Chew, the road patrol officer is on leave pending the outcome of the investigation.

“It has been learned that a child was able to obtain possession of the deputy’s taser while inside a home and the taser was accidentally discharged striking another child in the household,” Capt. Chew said. “Adults were present and transported the child to GRU for treatment.”

The deputy’s name was not immediately released.

Danielle S. Roberson is wanted for jumping bail on charges of grand larceny in Aiken County. A warrant has been issued for her arrest.

She is described as 5 feet, 5 inches tall, 216 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. Her last known address is on Andrews Branch Road in North Augusta.

Know where she is? Do not try to apprehend her. Please call bonding agent Ed Wilson at 803-649-1013 or 803-349-6106.

Who drives without headlights at 4 in the morning? How about a trio of thieves hoping to get away with the theft of truckload of fireworks?

Aiken County authorities say they arrested three men after their truck was pulled over for driving without headlights early Wednesday in Aiken.

An Aiken officer noticed the truck pulling out from an area next to a fireworks business on East Pine Log Road.

“The officer saw that the truck was full of fireworks and occupied with three suspects,” sheriff’s Capt. Eric Abdullah said in a press release. “One of the suspects ran from the traffic stop location while the other two were detained pending the investigation.”

Deputies soon discovered that a storage vehicle at Petersons Fireworks on East Pine Long Road had been broken into.

Arrested are (clockwise from top left) 24-year-old Lancy Cheatham, 24-year-old Allen Jackson and 26-year-old David Richardson, who ran but later surrendered. They were each charegd with breaking into motor vehicle and grand larceny.

Scott Hudson, a part-time reporter for WGAC News and local author, was arrested Friday night on the Savannah River for operating a vessel under the influence and not having a personal flotation device. He spent Friday night in the Aiken County Jail before being released Saturday.

After his release, Hudson emailed The Jail Report with this explanation and apology to fans of his news reports:

“On Saturday, I was not out partying on the river. I spent the majority of my day working on a client’s website and decided I wanted some pictures of the river at dusk to use for the site. I asked my friend Michael “Griff” Griffin if I could use his jet ski to take those photos. Now, after lunch I had sat and sipped on a couple of beers while designing the site, but I was in no way intoxicated. Indeed, before heading out, I sat in the marina office and talked with both Griff and Marina Manager Mike Stacey. Neither men detected I might be intoxicated and Griff would have never allowed me to take his property out in an inebriated state that could put him at legal risk. Once out on the river right around 8 pm or so, I took a jet ski out to where I wanted the photos. I was not wearing a life jacket, but there is always one in the well of the ski and my understanding was you simply had to have one with you and not on, per se. On the boat I had no open containers of alcohol and was drinking a lemonade drink with no alcohol in it.

“On the jet ski, I was obeying all laws and not racing or jumping wakes when a South Carolina DNR agent approached me and asked why I was not wearing a vest. I told him that I would put one on, but instead he took me onto his boat and began asking me how much I had had to drink. I offered right there to take a breathalyzer test and he refused to give me one. He stated that my face was “flushed” indicating that I was intoxicated. I explained that I suffer from extreme psoriasis and that my face always appears flushed. The agent then advised me that I was under arrest. He then, for several hours took me to different locations, all the while commenting about how he knew me from the radio and the closest he had ever come to arresting a local celebrity was when he arrested a groomsman at either Jordan Zey’s wedding or one which he was in attendance.

“It was over two and a half hours before I was finally taken to a law enforcement spot and offered a breathalyzer, which at that point, I declined because the agent had made it clear that I was going to jail regardless. He had commented that so much time had passed that nothing much would register, but that he had found me clearly drunk and acting suspicious and that was enough for an arrest.

“I must say that even though it was a dreadful and scary experience, the staff at the Aiken Co. Detention Center were polite and professional. If nothing else, perhaps my arrest will highlight that DNR officials do not seem to operate on the same guidelines as Sheriff’s deputies must. An on the spot breathalyzer would have proven my innocence in the matter, but the agent was determined to make an arrest and even paraded me in front of other DNR agents to display his “catch.”

“For those who have been fans of my reporting, I apologize for the appearance of me doing the wrong thing. However, I have outlined the circumstances of this arrest and I hope everyone will allow me to have my day in court to prove that I was not guilty before drawing a conclusion.

Regards,

Scott”

Aiken Public Safety is requesting the communities’ assistance in locating a father and son who fled officers.

Ernest Simpkins, 44 (left) and Jalen Simpkins, 21, both of Graniteville, are being sought. Ernest Simpkins is wanted for Harassment, Reckless Driving, and Failure to Stop for Blue Lights and Siren. Mr. Simpkins is also wanted by Aiken County Sheriff’s Office for Violation of an Order of Protection.

Jalen Simpkins is wanted for Obstruction of Justice and Resisting Arrest with Bodily Injury.

On Monday, police say Ernest Simpkins was following his ex-wife along the roadway and used his vehicle to block her in before entering her vehicle. Upon exiting her vehicle, Ernest Simpkins returned to his vehicle and then followed the victim to the parking lot of Aiken County Sheriff’s Office before fleeing the location.

A short time later, the vehicle was observed exiting the city limits and travelling on Jefferson Davis Highway. Aiken officers attempted to stop the vehicle, and the vehicle continued into Graniteville. Once in Graniteville the driver stopped the vehicle and fled the traffic stop on foot.

After a short time the suspect’s son, Jalen Simpkins, arrived at the scene of the traffic stop indicating he was the driver of the vehicle, and then he fled on foot. The officer involved knew Jalen Simpkins was attempting to draw the attention of perimeter officers to aid in the further escape of his father.

Jalen Simpkins was being placed under arrest for obstruction of justice when he began to resist those efforts. During the resistance he pushed an officer to the ground causing the officer to suffer injuries. He then fled the area on foot.

Anyone with information related to the whereabouts of these individuals is asked to contact Crimestoppers of the Midlands at 888-CRIME-SC (888-274-6372). Callers will remain anonymous and could be eligible for a cash reward of up to $1,000.

Authorities have filed reckless homicide charges against a North Augusta man who allegedly caused the death of two friends in January by wrecking while driving 94 mph in a 45 mph zone.

Aulstin Beard, 21, was booked on Monday on two counts of reckless homicide and released the same day.

According to the S.C. Highway Patrol, Beard was behind the wheel of a 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee on Jan. 8 on Dixie Clay Road when he wrecked. Tyler Gardner, 20, and Helen Reid, 18, were in the car with Beard and died in the wreck. Their seat belts did not save them.

A lengthy investigation by the Highway Patrol determined that Beard was traveling at 94 mph when he lost control and hit a tree. That led to this week’s charges.

Beard faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

The Aiken Bloodhounds have done it again.

Officers were trying to arrest a drug suspect in Beech Island on Wednesday morning when the man ran into the woods. Leslie Alan Murphy, 37, was spotted at 303 Church Road, but he ran into the woods.

A bloodhound tracking team was called to the scene where they captured Murphy 20 minutes after they began the search for him. Murphy was taken to the Aiken County Detention Center where he was booked on five outstanding arrest warrants for Violation of the Drug Distribution Law.

“This arrest, like so many others, was successful because of the joint efforts from the initial responding deputies creating a perimeter to having a well-trained tracking team,” Sheriff Michael Hunt stated in a press release. “Cases like this shows the positive impact of information sharing between concerned citizens and law enforcement.”

The Bloodhound Tracking Team is comprised of deputies and officers from Aiken County Sheriff’s Office, Aiken Department of Public Safety and North Augusta Department of Public Safety.

A criminal arrest warrant for the offense of murder was issued Wednesday for Tyrafred Amira Campbell in the prison murder of Shannon Levi Grier.

The killing occurred June 29 at Augusta State Medical Prison.

Campbell is currently in the custody of the Georgia Department of Corrections for armed robbery convictions. At a later date, he will be transported to the Columbia County Detention Center in Appling to be formally charged with murder, authorities said.

Once Campbell is processed at the detention center he will be released back into the custody of the Georgia Department of Corrections.

No motive or details on how the killing occurred was mentioned in a press release from Special Agenct Patrick E. Morgan.

Grier, a convicted child molester, was stabbed to death while sleeping at the Augusta State Medical Prison.

Grier appears to have died from multiple sharp force trauma, authorities said.

Grier, 29, was serving a 25-year sentence for an aggravated child molestation and aggravated sodomy that occurred in Fulton County in 2007, according to a prison website. His release date was set for 2032.

If you’re wondering what happened to all the mugshots on AugustaCrime.com, here’s the answer:

The mugshots we posted were pulled directly from the jail websites operated by the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office and the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office.  Georgia legislators recently passed a law requiring all sheriff’s offices in Georgia to stop posting mugshots by July 1, 2014.

Why? Because there were many predatory websites that would post those mugshots and then charge the people money to take them down. In the meantime, “news” sites like ours (which do not charge or exploit people, but simply report the news of arrests) were caught in the mix. We now lose easy access to mugshots unless we sign a form agreeing not to charge money to take photos down. Then, we have to get them in a format that is not easy to load to the site directly.

So the short answer is this: Georgia legislators killed mugshot websites as they existed before.

Because our website also includes Aiken County mugshots (from South Carolina) we still post those mugshots. And we continue to take them down if someone provides evidence their charges were dismissed or they were found not guilty. (Call 706-814-1359 or email publisher@thejailreport.com).

So, as we work on tweaking our website, we plan to continue to post the names of those arrested in Richmond and Columbia counties, as they are pulled from their websites. And we’ll keep you updated if we figure out a way to post mugshots from Richmond and Columbia counties again.

REMEMBER: All mugshots are still available in each week’s print edition of The Jail Report, sold in Richmond, Columbia, Aiken and Edgefield counties. For subscription information, click here: http://thejailreport.com/where-to-buy/subscribe-home-delivery/

An Evans day care worker has been charged with battery and fired after allegedly abusing a 4-year-old boy in an incident captured on video.

Meloni Satin Williams, 32, of Augusta, was charged last Thursday with misdemeanor battery after the July 9th incident at A Child’s World, at 7100 Evans Town Center Blvd, Evans.

The boy’s mother called authorities July 9 after noticing scratch marks and abrasions on her son’s arm that were not there when she dropped him off that morning, according to a sheriff’s report. The woman returned to the day care and met with the manager.

The mother and manager viewed surveillance footage for the classroom and observed Williams grab the boy by his arm and drag him to a chair and then push him into it, the report says.

“Ms. Williams then grabbed him a second time and dragged him to the restroom, away from cameras, for approximately two minutes,” a report says. “While she was in the restroom with the juvenile, the other children were left unsupervised.”

The teacher was seen leaving the restroom holding the boy under her arm and carrying him around the classroom, a report says.

When the sheriff’s office visited the day care to investigate, manager Brenda Warren told them Williams had been terminated after the initial viewing of the incident. The officer called Williams on her cell phone and asked to meet, but the teacher declined to meet “due to being drowsy from medication and not having transportation,” a report says.

A warrant was obtained and Williams was arrested last week. She has been released on bond and could not be reached for comment.

Tina Dunn, owner of A Child’s World, told The Jail Report that they handled everything properly after being notified of the allegations, including reviewing video, firing the teacher and notifying their governing body.

“That is one of those unfortunate things that happens, but it happened,” Dunn said.

Dunn said the mother was satisfied enough with their response that she brought her son and a second child back to the day care.

A Child’s World has been operating at the Evans location since June 2 after buying out the previous day care, Children’s Unique Christian Day Care Center.  Williams worked at the previous day care and was hired by A Child’s World after passing a criminal background check, Dunn said.

Officials at GRU Hospital have filed charges against a young mother who taped the mouth of her 2-year-old son to keep him quiet, according to authorities.

Stephanie Harris, 21, of Albany, Ga., was at the hospital Sunday when a nurse walked into the dark hospital room and noticed the child with a disfigured face. She discovered the mother had placed tape on the mouth of the child, who was born with Down syndrome, authorities said.

The nurse took the child out of the room as the mother exclaimed, “It is none of your damn business,” according to authorities.

The nurse took the child and removed the tape, and the boy ended up in the custody of DFACS.

When the suspect saw the nurse later, she said, “Did you turn me in?”

The nurse did, and Harris was arrested for deprivation of a minor and taken to the Richmond County Jail.