Citizen stops purse thief with help of GSP
On Aug. 5, Monica Johnson reported to a Georgia State Trooper that a suspect was on the run after stealing a purse from inside someone’s vehicle at the Family Dollar, 641 S. Wayne St.
Johnson stated before she got ready to exit her vehicle to go into the store, she saw a male, later identified as Shedrick James, in her side view mirror running with something tucked underneath the front of his shirt. Johnson stated she then began asking people if they left their car unlocked because James had stolen someone’s pocketbook. She located the owner of the entered Honda inside and the pair confirmed that her Michael Kors purse was missing from her front seat. Johnson got back in her vehicle and began to chase after James.
When she arrived at the intersection of South Wilkinson Street and West Andrews Street, she saw a trooper and informed him of the theft. The Georgia State Trooper went after James and saw James attempting to flag down a vehicle so he could escape, but got to him before he could get into a vehicle. James had an outstanding warrant for his arrest for possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, which was verified by the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office. He was transported to the Baldwin County Jail for processing. A warrant was secured on James for entering auto.
Two women caught shoplifting
On Aug. 5, law enforcement was dispatched to Walmart, 2592 N.
Columbia St., in reference to shoplifting. Trinity Martin and Calandra Hines were shopping for customers via the Spark Delivery service. Walmart personnel advised they were to come inside, get the items for the customers, pay using a Spark card, and deliver the items. The women placed their own items into the mix, and paid for it using Walmart/Spark money, in the amount of $75.79. Personnel advised this was not the first time Martin did this, and they would be contacting law enforcement with further incidents in the future.
Both women were taken to the Baldwin County Law Enforcement Center without incident.
Man uses juveniles as distractions to shoplift
On Aug. 7, law enforcement was dispatched to 478 Liquidate, located at 2623 N. Columbia St., in reference to shoplifting. A customer reportedly came to the location to purchase a tool that was in stock on the online website.
An employee located the case to the tool but the tool was missing. Surveillance footage showed a man and two juveniles in the are where the tool went missing July 31. The juveniles appear to distract employees as the man removes the tool from one case and places it into another case. He then pushes the empty case under the shelf. The second case was handed off to a female juvenile as they made their way to the front of the store.
The two males distracted employees as she exited the store. The group got into a white Dodge Stratus and left the location. The tools that were taken were a cordless Milwaukee Force Logic crimp kit with charger, valued at $2,500, and a cordless Milwaukee Throw Press tool kit with charger valued at $500.
Man steals items to wash car
On Aug. 7, law enforcement responded to Dollar General, at 831 S. Elbert St., in reference to a shoplifting that already occurred. While en route to the location, an officer was informed by dispatch that the offender left the scene in a gray in color sedan. Surveillance footage showed a male walk past the last point of sale with two black plastic buckets full of merchandise. After the male exited the store, he ran to the parking lot of Shrimp Boat, where he got into the passenger seat of the vehicle and left the area. The manager stated she did not know exactly what was stolen other than the two buckets but believed the male had items for washing cars. The buckets were $2.95 a piece. Officers rode the area looking for the vehicle or the man in the footage but were unsuccessful.
Woman steals biscuits from Dollar General
On Aug. 8, law enforcement responded to Dollar General, at 106 Salem Church Rd., in reference to a follow-up investigation regarding a shoplifting incident that occurred on Aug. 7. An employee stated that the female suspect frequented the store.
The officer immediately recognized the female on surveillance footage as Mckenlie Nobles. Nobles entered the store, proceeded to the left wall where the refrigerated food is located, and then walked toward the back of the store.
She turned right and exited the camera’s view. A short time later, a male entered the store and walked to the rear, where he met up with Nobles. After walking around the store for several minutes, Nobles and the male approached the register area. Glover confronted Nobles and asked her to open her purse due to previous incidents involving theft.
Nobles agreed and opened her purse, revealing several cans of Pillsbury biscuits. Glover confronted Nobles about the items. Nobles then closed her purse, and she and the male exited the store and entered an older-model white GMC pickup truck. The vehicle in the footage appeared to be a smaller white pickup truck with gray trim along the bottom. A noticeable dent was visible in the center of the tailgate, next to the handle. Utilizing the Flock Camera System, law enforcement located a vehicle matching the description and the driver was consistent with the male observed in the security footage. Using the name of the registered owner, law enforcement searched Nobles’ social media and located a profile that matched it to the male seen in the store’s security footage.
Based on this information, an arrest warrant was secured for Mckenlie Nobles for misdemeanor theft by shoplifting.
Alabama driver arrested for DUI
On Aug. 8, law enforcement was patrolling the area of Vinson Highway and South Wayne Street, when an officer observed a White Lexus SUV with no tag displayed enter a shopping center. The driver, identified as Corey Sticks, crossed over West Andrews Street and came to a stop at a convenience store. Sticks opened the door before instructed to do so, with paperwork in his hand. He reportedly stumbled to keep his balance when exiting, and used the frame of the car to prevent him from falling down. Sticks stated that he just purchased the vehicle and showed the officer the paperwork.
While the officer was speaking with Sticks, they smelled the odor of an unknown alcoholic beverage coming from his person and inside the vehicle. Sticks denied having consumed any alcohol. The passenger spoke up and advised that he had been drinking earlier, but Corey had not.
Sticks agreed to a Standardized Field Sobriety Testing but after doing several tests, Sticks stated he did not feel safe to continue. Sticks consented to the test, which indicated the presence of alcohol, which exceeded the legal limit to drive on the highways of the State of Georgia. Sticks received citations for driving under the influence of alcohol and improper tag display.
Nervous driver caught with multiple drugs
On Aug. 11, law enforcement was patrolling the 2700 block of North Columbia Street, when an officer observed a black 2011 Nissan Murano not signal its lane change from the inside lane to the outside lane. The vehicle did not signal until it was halfway in the other lane. The vehicle weaved inside its lane of travel several times and crossed the center line twice. The officer initiated a traffic stop and made contact with the driver, later identified as Joshua Tucker, who stated he did not have any form of identification on his person. While the officer was speaking with Tucker, he observed nervous behavior and smelled the odor of marijuana emitting from the vehicle. Tucker stated there was no marijuana in the vehicle, but he had smoked Delta-9 marijuana earlier in the day. While searching the vehicle, the officer discovered a small clear bag containing an off-white, slightly brown powder that was believed to be some type of narcotic, possibly Fentanyl. The officer detained Tucker in handcuffs. During a search incident to arrest, the officer located five white pills marked “AN627” and a small container containing a small piece of an orange pill in Tucker’s left pocket. Also, in the left pocket, the officer found a short red straw with white residue, which based on their training and experience is used to snort narcotics through the nostrils. Tucker admitted the powder found in the vehicle to be heroin he purchased in Macon.
Tucker stated the 5 white pills that were located in his front left pocket were Tramadol, and the piece of orange pill was Suboxen. Law enforcement secured warrants on Tucker for the felony possession of a schedule I controlled substance, possession of a schedule III-controlled substance, and possession of a schedule IV-controlled substance.