May 24
Property damage
A deputy went to a field outside of Springfield, where a man said someone had driven a four-wheeler or four-wheeled drive vehicle onto his property, cutting doughnuts through his recently-planted peanut crop. The complainant said there was no way to tell how much damage was done until the crop produced.
May 25
Damaged property
Deputies responded to a construction lot near Springfield, and a woman said when she came home, her daughter noticed the porta-potty there on fire. The fire department put out the blaze but the porta-potty was burned completely. She said as she and her daughter drove home through the neighborhood, they saw two teen boys burning toilet paper but did not get a good look at them.
May 26
Simple battery-family violence
Criminal trespass
Obstructing or hindering law enforcement officers
Deputies were called to a Rincon area home on a domestic dispute. The complainant said her husband had been drinking for several days and he got angry when she would not buy him any more alcohol. He was in the living room streaming music from his laptop to the TV when she told him she was leaving. He told her to “go get out of here, get the (expletive) out.” That made her mad, she said. She then wanted him to leave and she was tired of him being drunk all the time. Her husband then “erupted,” throwing his computer off his lap, chasing her around the home, throwing a vase and flipping over the kitchen table.
She said she threw water in his face and tried to run away from him. She was trying to find her phone to call 911 but couldn’t locate it. He told her, “here, use mine, you pay for it” but he threw it on the ground, breaking it. She said she tried to get past him to go to the bedroom where her phone was, but he backhanded her, knocking her to the floor. She said he stood over her, saying, “die, (expletive), die.”
She was able to crawl to their roommate’s room and call 911 from there. Her husband yelled at her, “call them (expletive), you will go down, too.” While she was on the phone with 911, he began hitting himself in the face, asking why did she hit him.
Deputies spoke to the husband, who said nothing was wrong and he was sorry they wasted their time. He continued to be vague in his answers to deputies, telling them that’s how he was and “besides, I know you are gonna take us both to jail, so go ahead and take us.” Deputies explained to him that wasn’t necessarily true, but his answers as to what happened remained vague. He was arrested and taken to jail.
May 26
DUI
A deputy saw a motorcycle and a pickup that appeared to be racing on Highway 21. The motorcycle rider told the deputy the pickup driver was “driving crazy” and tried to run him off the road. Another deputy pulled the suspect truck over about 10 minutes later. The pickup driver started to get out of the vehicle, even though he was told several times to remain inside. He was very unstable on his feet and his words were slurred. There also was a strong odor of alcohol coming emanating from him.
While continuing to disobey commands from deputies, the driver went to the back of his truck and kept reaching into his left pants pocket, despite being told several times to keep his hands out of his pockets. Because of his actions and demeanor, he was handcuffed. Deputies patted him down and found a handgun with three rounds in his left pocket. A computer check showed the gun was reported stolen in North Carolina, and the driver would not answer if he had a weapons carry license. Dispatch also confirmed that the driver was a convicted felon who had not completed his first offender obligations.
Because of his actions and movements, it was determined to be unsafe to administer a field sobriety test. He also refused to submit to a breathalyzer test. When read the consent notice for giving blood, he replied, “I ain’t doing nothing.”
He was booked on charges of driving under the influence, failure to maintain lane, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and theft by receiving a stolen firearm.
May 27
Harassing phone calls
Deputies went to a home where a man said he had been receiving harassing phone calls from someone he worked with two years ago. The complainant couldn’t remember anything about the suspect, other than they once worked together. He said the suspect called him three times and left three voicemails stating he “knew where he lived and was coming to fight.” He said he received six text messages from the same man about wanting to fight.
May 27
Identify theft
A Guyton man said a recovery firm called him about a cable bill he owed. He told them his cable bill is up to date and it was discovered someone else had set up an account in his name in Atlanta.
May 28
Entering automobile
A Clyo woman came to the ECSO to tell deputies she left her home the night before around 11 p.m. and found a door on her vehicle was open. It appeared someone rummaged through the interior, including the center console. She said to her knowledge no damage was done and nothing had been taken. She said she had not had previous problems with theft nor did she have any immediate suspicions about who could have done it.
May 28
Civil matter
A Springfield woman said a power line had fallen on top of her mailbox off Highway 30, causing damage. She said she reached the power company but was told they would not replace her property since the storm that knocked the power lines down was an act of God.
May 28
Burglary-second degree
Deputies responded to a Clyo home on the call of a stolen firearm. A man said he discovered a .22 revolver had been taken from a storage building. A window screen had been removed, pieces of broken window trim were found but there were no fingerprints. Deputies also observed pry marks were visible. The complainant said no other weapons were taken, though one rifle had been moved from its original location.
May 28
Destruction of mailboxes
A Rincon area resident said his mailbox was damaged, and it appeared a Powerade bottle had been thrown at it. The complainant said he may set up a hunting camera.
May 28
Civil matter
Deputies went to the home of a Springfield area woman who said a man struck her brick mailbox. She said the man had stopped by her house to borrow something to help him wash his car, and that he called her right after he ran into the mailbox, saying he would get her his insurance information to fix the damage. Her landlord gave her an estimate to repair the mailbox, but the man who hit it said he would not pay and would not give her his insurance information.
May 29
Arrest
A deputy was dispatched to a Springfield address to arrest a man on violating drug court stipulations. When the deputy arrived, the subject was outside, smoking a cigarette, and was arrested without incident.
May 29
Traffic complaint/violation
A man and a female witness said another man had driving recklessly, running stop signs and allegedly hitting a trash can. A deputy tracked down the driver, who said they were at a stop sign when the driver’s uncle almost hit them at a stop sign. He said they had to leave the road to avoid being hit and then had to turn around so they could warn the driver’s grandmother, in case his uncle went to her house.
May 29
Theft by taking
A woman told deputies her son had borrowed his father’s tackle box and fishing pole to go fishing. While he was there, someone in a pickup came to the pond, and he noticed the tackle box missing after the truck left. He knew who owned the truck and sent him a message. The offender admitted to taking the tackle box but said he returned it to the location. The victim went back to where the tackle box had been stolen but could not find it. The complainants later told deputies the offender’s mother returned the items later that day.
May 29
Theft by taking-misdemeanor
An Eden man told deputies he believed his brother had taken his laptop computer. The complainant said he left the computer in his daughter’s room while she was sleeping, and he noticed it was gone after his brother left the house. The victim also said his brother has a history of stealing and had taken the laptop previously to a pawn shop. As deputies interviewed the complainant, he said a car passing by was his brother, attempting to leave. Deputies got the brother to agree to go back to the pawn shop with his mother and retrieve the computer. The victim was not interested in pressing charges but was advised if he changed his mind, he could take out his own warrant through the magistrate’s court.
May 30
Criminal trespass
Deputies answered a call from a Clyo residence about a domestic incident that turned physical. The complainant said she and the father of one of her children had been arguing about him yelling at her oldest son. She said when she told the man to leave her house, he instead plugged his phone charger into a wall socket. She unplugged and “playfully” hit him on the leg with it. Another deputy later said he saw welts on the man’s leg.
The complainant said she made a comment about the man being a deadbeat father, and he then took her phone and smashed it on the bed post. She also said he grabbed the shoulder strap of her tank top, pulled her to the bed, slapped her and choked her. There were no visible indications she was hit or choked, and she later said she was pushed, not pulled, to the bed. The man admitted to breaking the phone but said that as he was sitting on the bed, they got “playful with one another,” and he wrapped his feet under her legs and pulled her onto the bed without any ill intent.
After his arrest, the man was advised on the procedure for pursuing warrants against the complainant for striking him with a cell phone.
May 30
Agency assist
A deputy clocked a vehicle on Highway 21 at Highway 119 traveling at a high rate of speed. After being pulled over, the driver said his speedometer was broken and he was using his cell phone to measure his rate of speed. He had picked up to answer his phone when the deputy clocked him.
May 30
Possession of marijuana
While on patrol following a suspicious person call, a deputy saw two people walking down a Guyton area road. When asked for their ID, the woman said hers was at home and as the man pulled out his identification, a small bag containing a green, leafy substance fell out. He told the deputy, “Please, man, don’t take me to jail for that weed.” He was arrested and charged with possession of less than an ounce of marijuana.
May 31
DUI
Failure to maintain lane
A deputy was on Old Augusta Road South just after midnight when he heard a car approaching from the south. The vehicle honked its horn seven times in quick succession and rounded the curve at a high rate of speed, its passenger side wheels crossing the fog line. The car slowed down abruptly, and the deputy could hear music coming from the car as it passed in front of him.
The deputy turned on his blue lights and the car eventually pulled over one mile later down the road. The deputy asked the driver why he was blowing the horn, and the driver denied doing so. When told he failed to maintain the lane, he replied, “That’s funny. I don’t seem to ever have had that problem.” The driver fumbled for his driver’s license and dropped it as he handed it to the deputy. The deputy asked the driver to open his door and retrieve the license. The driver said, “Why? You dropped it.”
As the driver did pick up the license, the deputy noticed glassy and bloodshot eyes. The driver said he was coming back from Savannah, and as the conversation continued, the deputy smelled a faint odor of alcohol coming from the car. The driver said he had nothing to drink throughout the evening.
The driver said he went to Savannah to attend a concert but could not remember the name of the band. The driver had a hard time understanding the deputy as he asked questions, responding frequently with “Huh?” and “Excuse me?”
When the deputy asked the driver if he would consent to a breath test, the driver answered “Do I have to do that?” The deputy told him it was his choice, and the driver said, “Then I’m not going to do that.” The deputy then informed the driver was he was under arrest on suspicion of DUI. When asked again if he would submit to a breath test, the driver said, “I want to talk to my lawyer first.”
While waiting for the wrecker to collect the car, the deputy went through the vehicle and found a paperback book, a T-shirt and a souvenir card from the “Crawl of the South” bar tour, with 13 of the 32 slots for bar visits punched.
May 31
Terroristic threats and acts
A man said he was at his father-in-law’s house, working on a deck when his son-in-law brought his kids over to use the pool. The son-in-law said if his father-in-law was there, he was not going to bring his kids over. He took his kids back to the vehicle and returned, looking at his father-in-law while saying “I will kill you” and left saying “I will kill him.” Witnesses said that since the complainant and his wife got married six months before, the son-in-law has been threatening to kill him but had never said to him directly previously. The mother said her son may be having some mental issues and said she was worried. The parties said they just wanted the incident documented.
May 31
Agency assist/civil standby
Guyton Police officers asked for help at a civil dispute, where a woman said she was trying to remove her belongings from her home when the offender would not let her in. When deputies got to the house with her, the man was extremely irate and unruly, yelling and cussing at the woman. The man calmed down when the deputy spoke to him, and he stood by as the complainant removed some basic belongings. She also was advised to contact the civil division for an escort when she returned to remove the rest of belongings.
