Police blotter
Appling man arrested as suspect in murder
//
An Appling man was being held in the Columbia County Detention Center without bond Tuesday after his arrest in connection with the death of another Appling man.
George Anthony Reid, 40, is charged with murder, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, and theft by taking a motor vehicle in Saturday's shooting of Thomas Tankersley, 45.
Reid, six other men and a woman were arrested in the case, and all except Reid were released without charges late Saturday night.
Richmond County authorities found the group with Tankersley's 2002 Toyota Sienna minivan Saturday. The vehicle was involved in two Richmond County traffic stops before Reid's body was found. One traffic stop was on Broad Street late Friday; the other took place early Saturday on Watkins Street.
Authorities said they think Tankersley died eight to 10 hours before his wife, Stephanie Tankersley, found him dead of a gunshot wound to the head at his Cobbham Road home on Saturday afternoon.
An autopsy was to be held Tuesday.
The motive behind Tankersley's slaying is still unclear. Sheriff's Capt. Steve Morris said Reid has an arrest history in Columbia County.
Reid was arrested in 1992 on theft by taking, assault and forgery charges.
He was arrested in 1993 and was charged with criminal trespass, battery, burglary and giving a false name.
He was charged with driving without a license in 1996 and arrested on aggravated assault in 1999.
According to the Georgia Department of Corrections, Reid was released from the Coffee Correctional Facility on Aug. 29, 2005, after serving nearly five years on the aggravated assault charge and nearly a year on an escape charge in Richmond County, being released in January 1998, according to department records.
Deputy in good condition
A Columbia County deputy whose police cruiser hit a deer on an Appling road remained in good condition Tuesday, Medical College of Georgia Hospital officials said.
Deputy Thad Brown was called in as backup to a call of an accident involving people with several guns, according to sheriff's Capt. Steve Morris. Brown's patrol car hit a deer on White Oak Road near Morris Calloway Road at about 11 p.m. Jan. 6, Morris said.
The deputy lost control of his car when the air bag deployed. The car overturned several times. Brown was airlifted to the hospital, Morris said.
Brown's injuries were likely caused by objects flying inside the car as it flipped, Morris said.
Animal Care and Control Manager Linda Fulmer said sheriff's deputies hit deer seven times in October, November and December. One of those incidents involved Brown hitting a deer on Nov. 26 on Louisville Road, causing damage to the patrol car, Fulmer said.
Bond hearing scheduled in child molestation case
An Evans man arrested last week accused of long-term child molestation and aggravated sexual battery is scheduled to go before a judge for a bond hearing next week.
Edward George Ferrang, 57, of the 1300 block of Shadow Oak Drive, will appear at a bond hearing before Judge Duncan Wheale on Monday. He is being held in the Columbia County Detention Center on a $25,100 bond for a child molestation charge; no bond has been set on an aggravated sexual battery charge, according to jail records.
Deputies say Ferrang, arrested Jan. 5, inappropriately touched a girl from the time she was 9 to 17 years old.
Martinez Fire Department activity report for the week of Jan. 7-13:
Structure fires, two; vehicle fires, two; woodland fires, three; controlled burns, five; hazardous materials, one; fire alarms, 11; carbon monoxide alarm, one; medical calls, 15; rescue calls, 12; investigation, one; and other, one.