Man arrested in metal theft
An Augusta man is facing theft charges after a Time Transportation employee identified him stealing from a neighboring business.
According to an incident report, police were called to the business on Sand Bar Ferry Road about noon Monday after the employee said he saw a man loading catalytic converters into a green BMW parked by the fence at Pull-A-Part. The witness told police he saw the BMW head to Direct Metals Recycling, where the man tried to sell the stolen items. Time Transportation is between the two businesses.
North Augusta Walmart thief sought
North Augusta police are searching for a man who stole $8,000 worth of cell phones from Walmart.
According to a news release, a man entered the Knox Avenue store around 3:25 a.m. on April 23, broke a sliding glass cabinet door and stole 13 cell phones. He was seen leaving the store in a silver or gold colored Ford Crown Victoria or Mercury.
Anyone with information is asked to call Investigator J.C. Busbee at (803) 441-4278 or email jbusbee@northaugusta.net.
Military recruiters working to get graduates to join
With high school graduation right around the corner, Army recruiters are fanning out across the Augusta area in an effort to persuade more than 300 young men and women to commit to military service by the end of September.
The next two weeks could mean all the difference in determining whether local recruiters meet their mark, said Staff Sgt. Franklin Stonom, of the Army’s recruiting office on Wrightsboro Road.
Fire chief grilled about department problems
Fire Chief Chris James was back in the hot seat Monday over two recent departmental mishaps and the city's request for proposals from ambulance providers.
Augusta Commission members Marion Williams, a former firefighter, and Donnie Smith, a public safety officer, peppered James and Procurement Director Geri Sams about the city's request for ambulance services, which Sams said drew 13 vendors to a recent pre-bid conference.
Sheriff's office relaxes uniform needs
The traditional image of the detective in dress pants and a tie is changing as the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office adapts to a dress code that’s “more practical.”
Employees in the civil and criminal investigations divisions can now wear tan battle dress uniform, or BDU, pants and black microfiber polo-style shirts.
“They’re out in the field a lot,” Lt. Lewis Blanchard said of the affected employees. “It’s a lot more conducive to be in a uniform suitable to that environment.”
Robbery suspects could return to face charges today
Two suspects arrested in South Carolina in connection with two recent downtown assaults will likely return Tuesday to face charges in Augusta, police said.
Chambliss seeks to declassify Benghazi e-mails
U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss said on Monday that he plans to ask the CIA to declassify all e-mails surrounding the Benghazi, Libya, attacks in an attempt to make the investigation into last year’s assault a national security issue and not a “political exercise.”
Chambliss’ announcement comes a week after leaked e-mails showed that State Department leaders suggested changes to the official talking points crafted for the Sept. 11 incident, including the deletion of mentions of specific terrorist groups.
Criminals file phony tax forms and grab returns
Criminals are outwitting the Internal Revenue Service by filing tax returns before the legitimate taxpayers can and reaping thousands of dollars in wrongful refunds.
Using stolen Social Security numbers and their corresponding names and birth dates, the criminals – some of them convicted felons – have electronically filed hundreds of false returns with made-up incomes and withholding information, said Sgt. Randy Hayes, of the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office’s Technical Crimes Division.
New owners official for GreenJackets
The Augusta GreenJackets officially announced their new ownership group Monday, marking the beginning of a new era in the team’s history.
Agon Sports & Entertainment officially became the new ownership group, purchasing the team from Ripken Baseball, which owned the club for seven years.
2 charged in Lincolnton gunplay
Two Warrenton, Ga., brothers have been charged after shots were fired Saturday at an American Legion post in Lincolnton.
The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office was called at 12.14 a.m. to the post at 1070 Thomas Lane Post Road after shots were fired at a party for teenagers. Witnesses told police that the shots came from a red Ford as it left the parking lot.
Police later responded to a fight at a fast-food restaurant parking lot, where an officer saw a man discarding a pistol after removing it from a Ford matching the one seen at the shooting.
Body found, foul play not suspected
Richmond County Coroner Grover Tuten said he doesn’t suspect foul play in a body discovered Friday in a vehicle off Washington Road.
The body of Dayton Counsell, 21, could have been in the Washington Square parking lot for several days before being discovered.
An autopsy is pending.
Prison term imposed for shooting case
A Hephzibah man accused of taking part in the shooting of two people pleaded guilty Monday in Richmond County Superior Court.
Brandon E. Leverett, 23, was sentenced to 15 years in prison, followed by five years on probation, by Judge J. David Roper.
Leverett, Marcus D. Adams, 22, and Derrick Barbour, 23, were indicted together on two counts of aggravated assault and weapon charges in the Jan. 14, 2011, shooting of Thomas Dyson and Jayrin Williams. Charges against the other men are pending.
Attack on ex-girlfriend results in prison term
An Augusta man charged with rape pleaded guilty to reduced charges Monday and received a three-year prison sentence.
Dejonnerio T. Holder, 30, must serve an additional seven years on probation after he completes the prison sentence, Judge J. Wade Padgett ordered Monday in Richmond County Superior Court.
Dolores Robinson, the Augusta Humane Society president, dies at 75
When the phone rang in the middle of the night, Dolores Robinson didn’t think twice about hopping out of bed to rescue a dog or cat stranded on the roadside.
Robinson, 75, the president of the Augusta Humane Society Inc. for the past 20 years, died Friday.
The funeral will be at 2 p.m. Thursday in the chapel of First Baptist Church. Burial will be in Westover Memorial Park.
“She was the ultimate giver,” said Steven Fishman, the CEO of the humane society, who knew Robinson since he was a child.
Open house for River Watch Parkway extension Tuesday
The extension of River Watch Parkway is expected to cause a monthlong detour that could affect the commute for Columbia County residents.
The Georgia Department of Transportation is holding an open house today about the detour for the road project.
GDOT spokeswoman Cissy McNure said it is not known when the detour will begin.
The department will take bids for the project beginning in October.
Augusta man dies from motorcycle injury
An Augusta man died during the weekend after losing control of his motorcycle near Gordon Highway last Thursday.
Richmond County Coroner Grover Tuten said Kevin Ports, 41, was pronounced dead at Georgia Regents Medical Center about 9 p.m. Sunday from a pulmonary embolism because of blunt-force trauma.
Police said Ports was traveling east on Gordon Highway about 2 a.m. Thursday when he accelerated at a high speed onto Milledgeville Road.
2 sought in package store holdup
Police are searching for two people who robbed a Windsor Spring Road package shop on Friday.
According to police, two black men in hooded sweatshirts entered Windsor Package Shop, 4108 Windsor Spring Road, around 3 p.m. and demanded the owner get on the floor while they took an undisclosed amount of cash.
Witnesses saw them leave in a green Ford Explorer or Mercury Mountaineer.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office at (706) 821-1020 or (706) 821-1080.
Fatal Aiken fire set by arsonist, investigators say
A Montmorenci house fire that killed an Aiken County man and his 2-year-old daughter was purposely set by an arsonist who lit the home ablaze in “multiple areas,” investigators said Sunday.
The torching of the two-story house at 331 Old Tory Trail on Saturday had “multiple areas of origin” and “no accidental means of ignition,” according to the initial findings of an arson investigation on the home led by the Aiken County Sheriff’s Office.
Social media increasingly important for military families
She detailed her pregnancy, with her husband a world away. She diagnosed sudden spells of dizziness. She wrote of the challenges of keeping a budget while attending school.
But mostly, Shayla Bowling – a proud Fort Gordon Army wife – has relayed the complexity of life as a military spouse, tending to a home with two young children, with a husband summoned for repeated deployments.
“My husband has been in the military four years,” Bowling said. “When he first deployed in 2009, I started blogging.”
Coroner frustrated with long wait time for autopsy reports
Four months or more is too long to wait for the complete results of an autopsy of a dead body, said Richmond County Coroner Grover Tuten.
Because of a backlog at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Crime Lab in Atlanta, Tuten said he waits 20 to 26 weeks to get the final report of an autopsy.
“It’s ridiculous. Completely ridiculous,” Tuten said.
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