First Responses

By Carol A. Gasser Moore   LOWNDES COUNTY, Georgia – Lowndes County Sheriff Ashley Paulk has three new Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office staff who have been sworn into service.   Two of the new personnel have joined the Jail Operations Division of the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office.  Iyanla Cotton (24) of Valdosta has been sworn…

March 09 – Call to an alarm on South Oak Street. Units in route were told to stage nearby and wait for law enforcement to clear the scene for a possible break-in of the dwelling. After a short time an officer came out and advised that all was okay.   March 15- Call to an…

By Staff Writer VALDOSTA, Lowndes County, Georgia – On Wednesday, March 19, 2025, at approximately 2:39 p.m., the Valdosta Fire Department responded to the report of a residential structure fire at 900 E. Cranford Avenue.  The first fire unit arrived on scene in less than three minutes, to find heavy smoke and flames coming from a…

UPDATE – (3/7/2025): On Friday, March 7, 2025, Farley Arthur Watts III, age 17, of Americus, GA, was arrested and charged with Felony Murder, Aggravated Assault and Theft by Receiving Stolen Property in connection to Peyton Brielle Robert’s death. Watts was arrested in the block of Hosanna Circle in Americus by the GBI, the Americus…

GEORGIA – Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner John F. King announced today that a wildland fire in Vidalia is under investigation. On March 8, 2025, investigators with the State Fire Marshal’s Office were requested to assist in the investigation of a suspicious fire on Old Petross Circle in Montgomery County.“Upon extinguishment, three areas of origin were…

By T.S. Carter   VALDOSTA, Lowndes County, Georgia – Valdosta police handled 4,903 calls for service in February, making 170arrests, the policedepartment said in a report released March 11. The more than 4,900 service calls led to the opening of 208 investigations, In highway enforcement, police wrote 274 citations and made four DUI arrests. Additionally,…

MACON, Bibb County, Georgia – A Southwest Georgia resident with a criminal past who broke into a Macon pawn shop and stole 62 firearms was sentenced to serve nine years in federal prison for his crime. Rontavious Jamal Jackson (34) of Cordele was sentenced to serve 108 months in prison to be followed by three…