Madison Blotter

The Madison County Sheriff’s Office reported the following incidents:

Theft: on Jan. 13, Sgt. Mark Jerome was dispatched to Madison County High School after someone broke into a concession stand during the school’s Christmas break and stole several boxes of candy, including Snickers, Nestle and Hershey’s chocolate bars and Skittles, all valued at $75. The theft is thought to have occurred during or after boy’s basketball practice at the gym.

Forgery: on Jan. 13, a Black’s Creek Church Road resident said three checks were removed from his checkbook, then forged and cashed in Commerce at three locations for about $340. The man was advised to file a report with Commerce police.

Theft: on Jan. 13, an East Jones Chapel Road resident reported someone removed several items from her storage shed and yard, including tools, clothes and two portable propane tanks.

Complaint: on Jan. 13, a Smith Road resident made arrangements with UPS to deliver a package to be placed near a container in a field so the driver wouldn’t have to negotiate the resident’s long driveway in the snow. The resident found someone had driven a vehicle near the container, parked and might have tried to steal the package. The complainant contacted UPS to reschedule the delivery.

Assault: on Jan. 13, a resident on U.S. Highway 29 South reported she was assaulted by a man as she slept.

Complaint: on Jan. 14, a resident on new Church Road near Comer called to report someone walking near his home. Comer police identified a man who said he was walking his dog. later that night, deputy Matthew Pilkington was dispatched to the address and found the man. The pedestrian said he had returned because he lost his glasses while walking the dog. Pilkington told the complainant the man was allowed to walk on the roadside.

Burglary: on Jan. 14, deputy Chris Guest was dispatched to a Homestead Road home where two mounted heaters were stolen off the walls. Tubing was removed from under a kitchen sink, the house’s water heater and a propane gas tank outside. A hacksaw left by the thief was found under the house.

Arrest: on Jan. 15, deputy Brandon Hanley was advised to be on the lookout for a black Acura driving recklessly on Georgia Highway 98 West. Hanley spotted the vehicle traveling east in the westbound lane and was able to maneuver behind the car. Oncoming cars began pulling over to avoid the car, which still was in the wrong lane. Two other deputies joined, and the car stopped near Edgewood Drive. The driver slurred his speech and let deputies know he took some Xanax earlier and had problems with his knee. A search of his car revealed an open can of Icehouse beer and a bottle with 22 pills of what was thought to be a controlled substance. Ryan L. Smith, 33, of Willow Street, Commerce, was charged with DUI, being an uninsured driver, driving on the wrong side of the road, having an open container of alcohol and possession of a controlled substance.

Battery: on Jan. 15, deputy Bradley Free was dispatched to an Ed Coile Road, Hull, home where a woman and her boyfriend had an altercation. The woman said Russell E. Flanagan, 32, hit her several times in the face and mouth and slapped her repeatedly. Free saw bruising on the woman’s face and arrested Flanagan for battery.

Arrest: on Jan. 15, deputy Michael Moore went to a Garnett Ward Road, Hull, home to serve John Bessada, 37, with a court document. A man at the home who identified himself as Daniel Bessada said John Bessada had moved to South Carolina. Moore asked for more information on the man because records on file did not confirm his story. The landlord identified the man as John Bessada, which Bessada then confirmed. He was arrested for giving a false name and date of birth, and was served with the court paper.

Arrest: on Jan. 15, deputy Shawn Rhoades was dispatched to a Hardman Morris Road home for a reported stabbing, although four people there told him no one had been stabbed. Rhoades then learned from dispatch that the stabbing victim was at the Golden Pantry convenience store on Georgia Highway 72. County emergency medical personnel had arrived to treat him for two knife wounds to his upper back and one to the lower back. A woman explained the victim was at a football game party when he started an argument, then hit her in the mouth. she said her son, 24-year-old Charles D. Newton, intervened on her behalf, and the two began to fight. A bloody knife was recovered at the incident location. Three deputies later arrested Newton at the house for aggravated assault. Newton said he stabbed the other man in self-defense. The 37-year-old victim was taken to a hospital and is expected to be charged with battery for hitting Newton’s mother.

Theft: on Jan. 15, a resident on Georgia Highway 72 reported someone stole some oxycodone painkillers from his home.

Arrest: on Jan. 16, deputy Chris Guest was dispatched to a home on Diamond Hill Neese Road in Hull after a concerned relative called regarding a woman there. Deputies found the woman in a back room. she said Tony Devon Bullins would not let her leave. Bullins, 52, was arrested for battery, obstruction of an officer and false imprisonment.

Burglary: on Jan. 16, a Mathis Road resident reported that someone entered his home through the back door while he was at church. The thief took a laptop computer and a safe containing such documents as birth certificates and wills, plus some jewelry and a silver watch. Vehicle tracks were found in the yard.

Theft: on Jan. 16, deputy Shawn Rhoades was dispatched to Tabor Chapel Road. A man said a woman visited his home and that he purchased some items from her. While in the home, the woman was walking around. after she left, some money he had stashed inside an envelope was gone.

Harassment: on Jan. 16, Cpl. Klint Segars was dispatched to a Glenn Carrie Road, Hull, home. A woman said she received a phone call from a man who told her she was going to die. she handed the phone to her husband, who himself was informed he would die a painless death. The caller’s phone number had been blocked.

Assault: on Jan. 16, deputy Brandon Hanley was dispatched to Athens Regional Medical Center, where a man reported he had been assaulted at an address on Georgia Highway 98. His face and mouth were bruised, and a tooth was knocked out. He explained he passed a slower vehicle that then began to tailgate him, so he pulled over. The other driver walked up and hit him several times with a metal pipe. The man said he didn’t understand the assault but didn’t want to pursue charges.

Complaint: on Jan. 16, some men complained that a Jot Em down Road resident uses profane and vulgar language during their open-air CB radio conversations with people in several states each Saturday night. Responding deputy Shawn Rhoades explained the warrant process to the complainants.

Dispute: on Jan. 16, deputy Brandon Hanley and Sgt. Dennis Harbison were dispatched to a domestic dispute on Charlie Bolton Road in Hull. While talking with the two men involved, they learned that Joseph R. Flanagan, 26, was wanted on a county warrant and arrested him. during transport to the jail, Flanagan became unruly and began to hit the divider cage. Hanley pulled over to regain control, but Flanagan kept resisting. Harbison deployed his Taser, and Flanagan complied. Flanagan was charged with damaging the patrol unit and obstruction.

Arrest: on Jan. 16, Cpl. Klint Segars was dispatched to a Hull home for a dispute and arrived to find a woman on the phone with the dispatcher. A nude man jumped out from beside a refrigerator and took a fighting stance, then began to approach Segars, who told him to stop, then pulled out his Taser. The would-be assailant then dropped to his knees. Sgt. Dennis Harbison and deputies Brandon Hanley and Shawn Rhoades arrived, handcuffed the man and placed him in a patrol car, although not without some resistance. The woman said she had met Brian Edward Vierra, 35, of Sacramento, Calif., over the Internet. He came to visit her and they went out for dinner, then returned to her home to have sex. she said Vierra, who had been drinking, became violent. she went into a bedroom and locked the door, but he forced it open and approached her. she said she feared for her life, so she called 911 and got her pistol, which she pointed at him until authorities arrived. on the way to the jail, Vierra began head-butting and kicking the divider cage. Segars had to stop and put him in leg restraints. at the jail, authorities had to put him in a restraining chair. Vierra was charged with simple assault and obstruction and was released the next day on a $3,400 bond.

Theft: on Jan. 17, a Sailors Road man said two teenage girls stole his medication, which he later found under a mattress.

Fraud: on Jan. 17, a man said he lost his wallet at Ingles supermarket in Hull two days earlier. When he realized it was missing, he called his credit card companies and found someone already used at least one card at an unknown location.

Burglary: on Jan. 17, a Lucky Jones Road resident reported someone stole an air compressor and hose from her shop.

Damage: on Jan. 17, deputy Wesley Bryant was dispatched to Pine Valley Farm Road, where someone damaged a mailbox. Other residents along the road reported similar problems.

Originally published in the Athens Banner-Herald on Wednesday, January 26, 2011 report an error

Madison Blotter

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