A Miller County man was shot and killed at the corner of Fourth Street and U.S. Highway 27 Wednesday, August 31, at approximately 10:00 a.m.
According to an incident report, Colquitt Police Officer Kenny Knowles was dispatched to the Inland station on Highway 27 in Colquitt in reference to a shooting.
When the officer arrived, he saw three white males standing at the inside of a gas pump, one was pumping gas in a silver Toyota. A red pickup truck was parked in front of the store with a white male standing on the passenger side.
As the officer exited his patrol car, one of the white males standing at the gas pumps pointed at the red pickup truck. As the officer started toward the pickup, someone yelled, "The guy at the gas pump shot someone."
Officer Knowles then told the suspect to come toward him and ordered him to get on the pavement and put his hands behind his back. The suspect was then handcuffed and padded down to check for weapons. He was placed in the back of the patrol car.
At that time other law enforcement units had arrived from the Colquitt Police and the Miller County Sheriff Department.
Officer Knowles transported the suspect to the Miller County Jail and turned him over to officials at that facility and returned to the scene of the shooting.
The suspect’s driver's license was turned over to Chief Scott Worsley to identify the suspected shooter. The officers started securing the scene and interviewing the witnesses.
The Miller County EMS were working with the victim who had been shot in the back with a 20 gauge turkey gun with #4 shot.
Rocky E. Heard, 48, of 14 Donley Road, Colquitt, was on the pavement behind the red pickup truck and had been shot.
The victim was taken by ambulance to the Miller County Hospital emergency room. He was declared dead shortly afterward.
The shooting scene was turned over to Chief Worsley and Investigator Jason Wells. The G.B.I. was called to the case, and while waiting for the G.B.I. to arrive at the scene, the suspect was identified as Elvin Joe Cloud, 45, of 134 S.E. Robinson St., Iron City.
Two witnesses identified on the incident report were Ray Dean Heard and Timothy B. Gibson. There were a number of other witnesses interviewed.
The body of the victim was sent to the State Crime Lab for autopsy.
A murder warrant and an aggravated assault warrant were served on suspect Joe Elvin Cloud who is still in jail at another location.
According to one witness, the shooting came about after Ray Dean Heard and Rocky Heard got into a fight with Joe Elvin Cloud at the Inland Station parking lot.
Another witness stated that the fight was over when the shooting started, and Cloud allegedly was trying to shoot both of the Heard brothers. He missed Ray Dean Heard, and the blast struck the window of his truck, and he was running in another direction. The victim, Rocky Heard was shot in the back, and later died at the Miller County Hospital due to the gunshot wounds. The autopsy results have not been completed at this time.
The shooting possibly stemmed from a prior incident when according to an incident report, on Monday, August 29, Joe Elvin Cloud was charged with simple assault/simple battery and arrested on that date and placed in the Miller County Jail. He was charged for allegedly reaching inside of a vehicle and slapping Ray Dean and Hope Heard’s daughter, Courtney, after there were words due to a traffic incident on that same day. The witnesses listed were Hope R. Heard and Mike Maugeri.
A no-trespassing order was served on Ray Dean Heard on August 29, from Seminole County that he could not go on the property of Joe Elvin Cloud.
Cloud is still incarcerated in an area jail until a bond hearing sets or denies a bond due to the seriousness of the charges.

“Colquitt was God sent.”
These were the words coming from Louisiana evacuee, Donald Ciaccio.
Ciaccio, his 87-year-old mother, Marie Ciaccio, and Taffy, their Japanese Akata (dog), arrived in Colquitt at 3:00 a.m. Monday morning after driving for over 14 hours, a drive that would normally take only six hours. They are staying at the Kimbrel-Bush Home on First Street.
The Ciaccios, who are residents of Slidell, Louisiana, which is about 30 miles northeast of New Orleans, got mandatory orders late Saturday to evacuate. After several hours of trying to decide if to evacuate was the right thing to do, he began boarding up everything he possibly could, and all three took to the interstate.
The threesome left Slidell on Sunday afternoon around 1:00 p.m. “Traffic was bumper to bumper, and it was total chaos for miles and miles. Everyone was trying to get out, and traffic was hardly moving.”
After riding for several hours and looking for hotel vacancies, the trio stopped for a hamburger. It was there where they learned about the Tarrer Inn in Colquitt, Georgia.
“After we were finished eating, I asked a lady there if she knew of any vacancies. She told me she did, and that was where she was headed and to follow her to the Tarrer Inn in Colquitt.” I asked her, “Where in the world is Colquitt, Georgia?”
“At that point, it didn’t matter,” Ciaccio stated. We started following her and somehow got separated, but managed to find our way, and here we are,” commented Donald.
The pair talked about our small town of Colquitt and about everyone’s hospitality here. They commented they had never been treated so kindly as they have been in Colquitt.
“Everyone is so nice and friendly here. Even the city police drive by and throw their hand up at you. We don’t have that kind of hospitality in Slidell,” remarked Ciaccio. “We had never heard of Colquitt before now, but there’s one thing for sure; we’ll never forget it,” they added.
Donald commented that he had lived through Hurricane Betsy in 1965. He spoke of how they were without lights for only a couple of days with only minor damage. Then in 1969, Camille came through and caused very little damage to their hometown.
But Katrina is entirely a different story and a horrifying one at that.
“I sit in our room and watch CNN all day to try and find out if roads are being opened, so we can return to Slidell to see if we have anything left. It’s heart-breaking to see all the destruction this has caused. “I thought about going north and trying to get in from the opposite side, but with the rising prices of gasoline, I don’t want to do that either, so we’ll continue to stay here until we get word we can return home,” Ciaccio said.
While talking about the destruction and damage Katrina has caused, Ciaccio commented that everything he had left behind could be replaced, but he had forgotten his jewelry that had been handed down in his family and couldn’t be replaced, but other than that he could start over with everything else.
He also has his laptop computer with him and has been able to communicate somewhat with a few of the people back home in Slidell. All they tell him is that he doesn’t want to return home yet. “They tell me it’s like a war zone,” he said.
The two spoke of how pretty our town was and about the many different murals painted around Colquitt. He added that he would like to return one day when his mind is in better shape to enjoy our fine town and maybe even see our folk life play, “Swamp Gravy.”
“It’s really hard to go out and try to enjoy yourselves when you don’t even know if you have a home standing or not,” Donald commented.
As of press time, the Ciaccios are en route back home (or as far as they can go) to see what and if anything they have is left. Our thoughts and prayers go with them and the many others that are having to face the same thing that the Ciaccios are facing.

Two suspects are being sought for the robbery of a convenience store on Wednesday, August 31.
Colquitt police officer, Lonnie Wade was dispatched to Barnard’s Convenience Foods at 108 N. 1st Street at 3:36 a.m. concerning a strong-arm robbery.
When the officer arrived, the store employee on duty, Eddie Butler, stated that two black males entered the store. One of the men asked for something in the deli while the other stayed up front. While the employee was in the back with the other customer, the other black male went into the cash register and took an undisclosed amount of cash from the drawer. The suspect in the front turned over a large pot of hot boiled peanuts, destroying some of the merchandise in the store.
The two suspects were last seen running north on North First Street.
An investigator was called to the scene, and the case was turned over to him. The descriptions of the two suspects were given, and the case is still under investigation.
This is a felony, and those arrested will be charged with strong-armed robbery.

Colquitt and Miller County will be back on the television screen in the very near future, according to Hamilton Northcutt, television host/producer of Georgia Public Broadcasting.
GPB and their crew have been back to Colquitt to film and produce a new show, "State of the Arts," which features a lengthy segment on Swamp Gravy.
The air dates are
•Wednesday, September 14-9:00 p.m.
•Sunday, September 18 - 5:00 p.m.
•Monday, September 19 - 1:00 a.m. & 7:00 p.m.

Gov. Sonny Perdue signed an executive order to eliminate state gas taxes starting at midnight on Sept. 1.
At a noon press conference, Gov. Perdue signed an executive order calling for a temporary moratorium on state collection of all motor fuel taxes, beginning Sept. 1 at midnight in order to save Georgians money at the pumps.
“My purpose in temporarily suspending fuel tax collection is to relieve some of the financial burden placed on Georgians by disruptions of our fuel supply resulting from the effects of Hurricane Katrina,” said Gov. Perdue.
Under state law, the executive order must be approved by the General Assembly. Speaker Richardson and President Pro Tem Johnson assured Gov. Perdue they can meet in special session and approve the moratorium in five days, the minimum time the Constitution allows.
The executive order will remove the 7.5-cents-a-gallon excise tax and the 4 percent sales tax on purchases at the pump, which will mean that consumers who were paying around $3 per gallon at the pump will save over 15 cents per gallon in taxes.
The governor stressed to gas station owners that he fully expects the benefits of the tax moratorium to be passed directly to consumers.
“As we take this action, let me be very clear. I expect this tax moratorium to be passed on to consumers and Georgia citizens who drive,” said Gov. Perdue. “We will be watching, and we trust that our dealers will respect that and pass along this more than 15 cents per gallon savings to their customers each and every day.”
The governor also encouraged Georgians to do what they can to help others.
“Give to the Red Cross, be extra conservative in your utilization of gasoline for a little while, and reach out to our friends and neighbors in need,” said Gov. Perdue.
The Governor’s Office of Consumer Affairs is continuing to investigate claims of price gouging at the pumps. Anyone that feels they have been significantly overcharged at the pump is encouraged to file a claim at www.georgia.gov.

No, it's not a drug bust! It's the local firemen's efforts in trying to help bust Muscular Dystrophy and help Jerry's Kids.
The Colquitt/Miller County Volunteer Firemen don't only volunteer to put out fires, help in all emergencies and help save lives and property, they help raise money for worthy causes such as the current fund drive for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA).
Volunteer members of the local fire department started on August 21, setting up their collection equipment at local businesses and around the square in Colquitt to "Fill the Boot for Jerry's Kids." Each year MDA holds a telethon that raises millions of dollars to help children with muscular dystrophy and for research to hopefully find better treatment and ultimately a cure for the dreaded disease.
The telethon is held on Labor Day each year, with MDA national chairperson, Jerry Lewis, helping to collect funds for the treatment and research.
Sunday evening, firemen were counting the donations that they had collected for the past month, and although the goal was $1,000.00 for the firemen to collect, they had collected $5,800.00 to present on the MDA Telethon on WCTV Channel 6, on Monday, September 5. A group of local firemen took the donations to the MDA Telethon at 1:15 p.m. Monday, and after the presentation, the firemen helped work the telephone for the MDA donations.
If you came to Colquitt in the past month and rode around the city square, you had a fireman's boot shoved toward you in their "Fill the Boot" for MDA.
There were lots of dollars and lots of change. One of the firemen said he felt like he was in church with the denomination of change and currency that hit the boots.
"Some of the folks would pour out what they had in their catch-alls. We got lots of pennies and a few keys and other personal items."
The following firemen stood out on the 100 degree plus streets to help in the cause: Demetrius Grimsley, Erick Whitaker, Justin Whitaker, Keith Fitzgerald, Lance Carpenter, Jerry Miller, Ricky J. Smith, Lindsy Grant, Eric Smith, Emanual Haire, Ralph Rutledge, Henry Harbin, Scott Moore, Terry Miller and Rod Bryan. Many of the other firemen helped by counting the thousands of coins and dollars collected from those who so generously donated to this cause.

Week of September 4, 2005