News Around Us

Bainbridge - Sheriff's deputies search for a suspect in a burglary investigation early Sunday led them to uncover a meth lab hidden inside a bedroom closet, an investigator said.

Investigator Pat Trolinger arrested 26-year-old Steven Ray Bradley of Colquitt early Sunday morning after finding a meth lab at a home near Brinson where Bradley was staying.

Trolinger said he had been contacted by Seminole County Deputy Lee Owens, who was looking for Bradley as a suspect in a burglary case. According to Trolinger, Owens believed Bradley was staying with a Brinson man with whom the investigator was familiar. The two deputies went to a residence at 929 Hatcher Road, where they found Bradley crouching outside the home. After Bradley identified himself, the deputies received permission to search his car, which he had hidden in the woods.

Finding nothing in the car, the deputies received permission from the home owners to search inside for stolen firearms. A search of the bedroom where Bradley had been storing his belongings revealed items commonly used to make meth.

Bradley was charged with manufacturing meth and possession of meth.

Warrenton - A Sparta man was taken into custody on drug related charges following a routine traffic stop Saturday, September 22.

According to a report by City of Warrenton Police Officer Steven Mathis, he observed a 1992 Toyota with a broken taillight on Meadow Road.

Officer Mathis initiated a traffic stop on the vehicle and asked the driver, 42-year-old Larry Edward Bell of Sparta for his driver's license and insurance card, but Bell was unable to locate his insurance card.

While Bell was searching for his insurance card, Officer Mathis detected a strong odor of alcohol coming from inside the vehicle. Officer Mathis asked Bell if he had been drinking, and Bell replied that he had one or two drinks earlier in the day. Bell submitted to a field sobriety test, which determined that he was not over the legal limit.

Officer Mathis conducted a pat down check on Bell and found a small plastic bag containing a green leafy substance in Bell's right watch pocket. The substance tested positive for marijuana.

Bell was placed under arrest and charged with possession of marijuana less than an once. He was transported to the McDuffie County Law Enforcement Center.

Pelham - Police have charged Ashley Richardson with theft by taking in a robbery at Aden's Mini Mart located on US 19 in Pelham.

Ms. Richardson, who was a former employee of the mini mart, was caught on the store's video surveillance camera as she appeared to take over 70 books of Georgia Lottery tickets.

The store's cameras show Ms. Richardson entering the store at approximately 4:50 a.m. Shortly after she entered the store, a Pelham Police car on patrol in the area rode by the store at which time the camera also captured Ms. Richardson as she ducked to hide from the officer. Ms. Richardson left the store only to return and reenter the store at approximately 5:22 a.m.

Jack Lindsey of Aden's Mini Mart told officers that Ms. Richardson could have kept her key after she was no longer employed at the store.

Havana - Nathan Williams, 26, missing since August 28, was safe and sound last week.

He was located in Jacksonville, FL. Williams was last seen at Quincy Pizza Hut nearly four weeks ago.

His family reported him missing after he did not show up at home after a trip to Quincy. Gretna police chief Bryan Bess said he had followed up on several leads but had not been able to locate Williams.

Bess sent out a teletype concerning Williams to law enforcement agencies around the country.

The National Crime Information Center (NCIC) had Williams' information when the Duval County Sheriff's Department ran Williams' identification through the system after a routine stop.

Williams is being held in the Duval County jail on felony warrants out of Leon County.

Cairo - Young students riding a bus home from school Monday were scared and shaken after a tractor-trailer hit them, but, fortunately, no one was seriously injured in the accident.

At 3:32 p.m. Monday, Scotty Dewayne Holland of Mississippi struck a bus carrying 37 students from several Grady County schools with the tractor-trailer he was driving.

Seven students were immediately transported to Grady General Hospital, where they were treated for minor injuries and released. Six other students were brought to the hospital later by their parents; these students were also treated for minor injuries and released.

Holland was travelling west on U.S. Highway 84 East in his 2001 Freightliner, owned by Nighthawk Express of Macon, Mississippi, when he struck the 2006 blue bird school bus driven by Bernice Sellers Ponder on the left rear side near the back tire, a Cairo Police Department incident report says.