29-04-2025
Oconee Blotter: Cussing leads to pepper spraying and arrest of roommate
The Oconee County Sheriff's Office reported the following incidents:
DUI CHARGED: On April 17, Deputy Robert McCannon was dispatched shortly before 1 a.m. to a call about a Chevrolet Avalanche parked in the middle of a lane on U.S. Highway 441 at New High Shoals Road. He observed the truck then made a traffic stop. The driver, who smelled of alcohol, had slurred speech and watery eyes, exited the truck and appeared confused and unsteady on his feet. The 21-year-old Bishop man explained he and his 20-year-old companion were just talking when he stopped. The man was given sobriety tests and his eyes showed 'a lack of smooth pursuit.' He was charged with DUI. The female passenger also appeared intoxicated. She was cited for underage drinking. He was taken to jail. She was released to her father.
RECKLESS DRIVING: On April 17, Lt. Sam Smith was traveling on a hilly and winding section of Simonton Bridge Road about 5:30 p.m. when he saw a red Alfa Romeo car approaching at a high rate of speed and passing two cars. Smith had to apply brakes and move toward the ditch to avoid a collision. He turned around, called for backup, and police in Watkinsville were alerted to the possible approach of the car. Smith hunted for the car, which he found abandoned on Holly Point Way in Hickory Hills subdivision. The driver couldn't be located so the car was towed. Later as Smith was returning from a gun range in Athens, he received a call that a man was in the subdivision looking for the Alfa. The officer located the man and his passenger, a 29-year-old woman. The woman eventually admitted she was driving the car and was charged with reckless driving.
THREE NABBED: On April 18, Deputy Steven Heckler and four other deputies went to a home on Treadwell Bridge Road to look for two men and a woman who were wanted on warrants charging them with felony theft by receiving. A 52-year-old Athens man was found outside a chicken house and the other two were also found on the premises.
WATER AND RELIGION: On April 20, Deputy Bill Reynolds was dispatched to Frazier Hill Road in North High Shoals, where several people were in a driveway pointing at a 59-year-old man. The deputy asked the man if he knew the people and he said he did; however, a woman in the group shouted that they didn't know him. The man identified them as his 'brothers and sisters in Christ.' He wanted the officer to know that they didn't own the waterway on the nearby Apalachee River. Sgt. Pat Holl arrived and the man was barred from the property. However, the man wanted to argue the law and refused to leave. He then launched into a religious speech for the deputies, who again ordered him to leave. He refused and was arrested. On the way to jail, he informed the deputy he planned to apply for a firearms carry permit.
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ASSAULT CHARGED: On April 19, Deputy Bill Reynolds was dispatched to investigate an assault on Elder Court, Bogart, where he observed a 36-year-old woman, who was crying and said her boyfriend had choked her. She explained they were drinking and he called her fat and sorry because she didn't work. She was about to leave when he made threats, pushed her down, slapped her face and began choking her. When she managed to escape, she ran to a neighbor's house to call for help. The suspect was gone when officers arrived. The next day, Deputy William Lewis returned to the house. The suspect stepped outside with a cellphone in one hand and a cigarette in the other. He dropped to his knees, but refused to drop the phone. However, after numerous commands, he complied, laid down and was put in handcuffs. A razor knife was found in his pocket. The 36-year-old man was taken to jail.
CUSSING PROBLEM: On April 19, Deputy Devan Blair was dispatched to a home on High Shoals Road after a man reported that his roommate assaulted him. The 56-year-old man explained they were traveling to the grocery store when they began arguing about their living conditions. He said his 62-year-old roommate warned him, 'Don't be cussing at somebody while driving.' The suspect then sprayed him in the face with pepper spray. The suspect stopped the car and the victim exited. The man said he walked home only to see the suspect standing in the yard with pepper spray in one hand and a baton in the other. The man said he explained he only wanted to get his dog, but the roommate began spraying him again. He fled to a neighbor's house. Sgt. Pat Holl arrived and knocked on the door, but the suspect would not open the door; however, he could be heard yelling. Holl explained they wanted to get the victim's dog. When the suspect opened the door, Holl grabbed him by the arm and put him in handcuffs. He was taken to jail.
ROBBERY ALLEGED: On April 20, Deputy Collin Worsham was dispatched to Old Salem Road, where a 54-year-old Greensboro man reported he was robbed of his phone. The man explained he came to the location to hang out with a 46-year-old woman who resided there, when a 63-year-old man aggressively approached and demanded, 'What are you doing on my property?' The suspect grabbed him and pushed an object against his head. He said the suspect then took his cellphone and ran. The suspect was seeing taping the phone to a rake in the yard. The victim said he became so frightened that he drove back to Greensboro and told his sister what happened. The deputy met with the suspect, who said he didn't know the Greensboro man and that he never had physical contact with him. The deputy removed the victim's phone from the rake and charged the suspect with robbery by snatch.
This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Oconee Blotter: Robbery victim says robber taped cellphone to rake
