Area Breaking News
Fugitive in Valdosta child-sex case held in LA
By T.S. Carter VALDOSTA, Lowndes County, Georgia – Los Angeles authorities are holding a 52-year-old fugitive from Valdosta who is charged with sexually assaulting a girl under 16 over a span of five years. Manuel Gomez first came to the attention of Valdosta police detectives on Jan. 3 whenthey got a complaint of…
Read MoreUPDATED -Labor of Love: Echols County’s US 129/SR 11 re-opens by Valentine’s Day
UPDATE: GDOT’s Juanita Birmingham shared this announcement yesterday afternoon (Thursday, February 13): “I just heard from the area manager, and the road reopened this morning.” Thank you Georgia Department of Transportation!!! By Carol A. Gasser Moore STATENVILLE, Echols County, Georgia – In January about the time that South Georgia experienced snow, the Georgia Department…
Read MoreOne man has found out that it is possible to dial 911 too many times!
By Carol A. Gasser Moore VALDOSTA, Lowndes County, Georgia – Valdosta Police Chief Leslie Manahan has released information about a weekend arrest. According to a Valdosta Police Department (VPD) report, at around 7:45 p.m., on Saturday, February 8, the Lowndes County E911 Center began getting multiple phone call from the same caller. The caller…
Read MoreEnigma reopens for business, but council still frustrated by mayor’s power plays
By T.S. Carter ENIGMA, Berrien County, Georgia – Enigma, Georgia residents are pleading for peace and harmony among their mayor and City Council members. And no wonder! The Berrien County city of about 1,200 residents has been on tenterhooks for a while now as the council’s verbal brawls – and sometimes physical ones…
Read MoreState prison inmates oversaw South Georgia drug ring, feds allege
By T.S. Carter WAYCROSS, Ware County, GEORGIA: Living behind bars at Georgia state prisons did not deter a handful of inmates from running a high-volume drug trafficking operation in the Douglas, Georgia, community and surrounding counties, federal prosecutors say. The prisoners are among more than three dozen Georgians named in federal drug trafficking indictments on…
Read MorePearson Mayor Robert Johnson jailed on charges of trying to fraudulently free inmate; He’s also facing charges involving kickbacks, theft and bribery
By T,S. Carter PEARSON, Atkinson County, Georgia – A state arrest warrant issued Feb. 6 for Pearson Mayor Robert “Buster” Johnson charges that the 49-year-old mayor tried to spring a prisoner from jail with fake documents. Georgia Bureau of Investigation agents booked Johnson into the Atkinson County Jail and later moved him to Coffee…
Read More‼️UPDATE: She has been located safely in Lowndes County! ‼️PUBLIC’S ASSISTANCE REQUESTED: Mariah Catrett missing since Sunday
By Carol A. Gasser Moore UPDATE: She has been located safely in Lowndes County! ECHOLS COUNTY, Georgia – The Echols County Sheriff’s Office (ECSO) has released information about a missing and endangered woman. According to the ECSO, Mariah Catrett was last seen on Sunday, February 2 during the afternoon. At that time, her location was…
Read MoreStolen firearms recovered in Valdosta police raid at Student Quarters Apartments; wanted man nabbed in other arrest at the apartment complex
By T.S. Carter Acting on information developed through a drugs and firearms investigation, Valdosta police Jan. 31 arrested two adults and a pair of teenagers in an afternoon raid at Student Quarters Apartments that turned up a trio of stolen weapons. Police seized an AK-47 “DRACO” pistol, which was reported stolen out of…
Read MoreMan, 71, jailed on pot, gun charges after traffic stop
By T.S. Carter VALDOSTA, Lowndes County, Georgia – A Valdosta police vehicle stop on East Force Street January 31 yielded a handgun and more than a half-pound of marijuana. Police booked the car’s driver, 71-year-old Henry Lee Walker of Valdosta, into the Lowndes County Jail on a trio of charges: Two felonies relating…
Read MorePolice baffled by gunshot that disrupted a Sunday at Valdosta Mall
By T.S. Carter VALDOSTA, Lowndes County, Georgia – The source of a gunshot that sent Valdosta Mall shoppers “running everywhere”Sunday afternoon is a mystery to police, though they suspect the firearm discharge occurred accidentally An off-duty Valdosta police officer shopping with his family heard the gunshot at 2:30 p.m. He ran in the direction…
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