News Around Us

Bainbridge - A Bainbridge teenager has been arrested for burglary for the second time in a month, according to the sheriff's office.

The sheriff's office arrested Marlon Antonio Jordan, 17, of 314 Independent St., and charged him in connection with a burglary reported at Scott's Grocery at 2943 Georgia 97 North in the early hours of Tuesday, August 28, said Capt. Gale Bowyer.

Store owner Gene Scott stated he had seen a man running north along the highway after the store's alarm went off.

Deputy Robert Griffin discovered the store's front door had been kicked in and a bolt cutter was lying inside.

Bowyer, a crime scene investigator who assisted Major Wendell Cofer with the case, said he was able to collect finger prints from items in the store. The finger prints were processed by the Thomas County Sheriff's office, who used an automated finger print identification system to match the fingerprints from the store to ones collected from Jordan when he was arrested earlier in August by Bainbridge Public Safety.

Jordan was charged August 10 in connection with a burglary at the Independent Street Church of God in which a computer was stolen and resold. Jordan has bonded out of jail according to records.

Blakely - The Early County School System has been awarded a $4.3 million Early Reading First grant by the U.S. Department of Education. Early County was one of four Georgia school systems and 32 nationwide to receive the three year grant.

The Reading First Program supports training and programs for early childhood development centers serving three and four-year-old children with an emphasis on preparing every child for a successful start to school.

Project director Sonja Rowland said, "We are so excited bout the opportunities Early Reading First brings to the children of Early County."

The program supports the development of early childhood centers of excellence that focus on all areas of development, especially on the early language, cognitive, and pre-reading skills that prepare children for continued school success and that serve primarily children from low-income families.

Early County Elementary School is in its third year of a five year grant. The Early Reading First program will enhance opportunities for pre-school children while Reading First offers schoolage children a wide range of language support.

Blountstown - The death of an Altha baby remains a mystery as the Bay County Medical Examiner's Office has ruled the cause "pending further studies."

Authorities say one-monthold Jax Lee Gilley was found unresponsive on the morning of August 17 in a double bed he shared with his parents, Betty Adkins, 19, and Eric Lee Gilley, 24. Major Roman Wood of the Calhoun County Sheriff's Office responded to the family's home and found the child had been dead for some time. The mother advised she last saw her alive at midnight when she fed him a bottle at bedtime.

According to a spokesperson with the Medical Examiner's Office, testing should be completed by November 20.

Cuthbert - A former Cuthbert police investigator who worked under former Mayor Willie Martin is on the run, and police have an arrest warrant out for him.

The 31-year-old 5'10", 220 pound Terrance Walker is wanted in connection with owning and operating a "Chop-Shop."

According to police, Parole Officer Jerry Farrown spotted a white Freightliner on Fountain Bridge Ridge on August 24 that he believed was stolen. The Calhoun County Sheriff's office pulled over the driver, Eric McDaniel of Cuthbert. McDaniel was informed they believed the truck was stolen, and he gave them permission to search it. He told lawmen he was just a driver, and he worked for Terrance Walker.

Police located the hidden VIN number and realized the truck was stolen. The incident is believed to be part of the larger multi-county investigation of a heavy equipment theft ring.

Havana - Quincy police nabbed a burglar Tuesday morning within a few minutes of a break-in, thanks in part to a burglar alarm and an observant neighbor.

Officers responded to a burglar alarm at around ten o'clock Tuesday morning on the east side of Quincy.

Neighbors of the house that had been burglarized told police they had seen a young black male leaving the area wearing a black pull-over cap. Both the Florida Wildlife Canine Unit and the Gadsden Canine Unit were soon on hand and helped with the search for the suspect, who had been seen leaving the area on foot.

According to the Quincy Police Department, the suspect was seen on a porch at a house in the neighborhood.

Both investigator Delwyn Hall and Lt. Larry Gilyard saw the suspect and stopped him for questioning.

After questioning the suspect, he admitted to that burglary and others in the area.