From Bryan County Sheriff ’s Office reports:
Matter of record: A man met with a deputy on the side of Highway 17 on March 14 to report he is in the process of moving out and “set aside his belongings next to the road near a sign that read ‘Not Free Stuff.’”
The man said he then rode a bike to a nearby gas station, and “upon his return he noticed his Generac Generator, Bicycle, various tools, and a portable space heater were missing.”
The man gave the deputy the description of a couple vehicles he saw in the area but didn’t have any serial numbers.
DUI, etc; A deputy patrolling Highway 17 around 10:15 p.m. March 12 saw a red Chevy Tahoe that wasn’t staying in its lane. He pulled the vehicle over. It stopped “near the fog line and (the driver) opened the driver’s side door into the right lane of traffic.”
The deputy reported “I approached and the driver was coughing and stated that he had congestive heart failure and that is why he was weaving in the road,” but “I observed in plain view a blue 16 ounce beer can that was opened and had frost on the outside of the can. I noted the driver had a slur to his speech and soiled clothing,” so the deputy asked the man for his license.
“The driver stated, ‘My wife can just drive.’ I made the request a second time,” the deputy continued, noting. “The driver submitted a copy of a Georgia ID only card that identified him (as a Hinesville man). I returned to my vehicle and conducted a license inquiry. The inquiry revealed that (the man) had multiple active suspensions and two active arrest warrants (Liberty SO, Hinesville PD).”
The deputy asked the 53-year-old man to step out and meet him behind his Tahoe. “(He) had a difficult time exiting the vehicle and walked with an exaggerated limp,” the report continued. “I asked (him) if he had been drinking and he responded no. I asked (him) what medications was he taking to make him appear impaired. (He) listed several medications and when asked, admitted to driving with a buzz from his pills.”
The deputy next asked the man if he would take a field sobriety test. “(He) agreed but was unable to do the testing due to water build up in his legs. (He) indicated he had a severe case of ear mites that bothered his eyes.”
Both Liberty County Sheriff ’s Office and Hinesville Police Department said the warrants were active, “but denied placing a hold because of (his) bad medical condition.”
After the man was arrested for DUI and agreed to a blood test, which was unsuccessful, he “was cited and released to his wife due to his ear mites and medical problems.”
Simple battery: Deputies were sent to a Dollar General on Highway 280 around 5:20 p.m. March 14 regarding a “fight in progress.”
Once they got there, they met with a woman who said she and her son were shopping when “a belligerent, large white male who entered the store ranting and using profane language about everything.”
When the man said something disparaging about her son, the woman “decided to civilly confront him,” and he “started threatening to fight her,” then “’man-handled’ her by throwing her around the aisle by the neck.”
The woman had red marks around her neck, and her son told deputies the man appeared to be drunk. Witnesses said the man was under the influence of something and they also tried to get him to settle down.
What video there was of the incident showed a man “wearing an orange, fluorescent t-shirt,” with a beard and hat. He stood between 5-foot-8 and 6-feet tall and weighed “about 300-380 pounds,” the report said.
The man was accompanied by a shorter woman and they left in a Ford Fiesta or Focus.
His victim was given a case card and told to take photos of her injuries. The store manager was told to call BCSO if the man returned to the store.
Welfare check: A school official asked a n Ellabell with her father.
The girl was in good health, and when the deputy told her father he was checking on her “because the administration advised that she has not been to school for 14 days,” the man said his soon to be ex-wife was going through a custody issue and wasn’t fit to take care of the child.
Matter of record: Deputies were sent to a Richmond Hill address around 12:30 a.m. March 12 regarding a “verbal dispute.” “It was a birthday party where people got intoxicated and had a disagreement,” the report said, “and both parties were separated and leaving when we arrived.”
Neighbor dispute: Deputies were sent to a Richmond Hill address around 5:30 a.m. March 11 regarding “a neighbor dispute involving a gun and an unknown person screaming for help.”
There, the complainant said he heard a woman crying out for help at a neighbor’s house, and went over to see what was happening he saw an elderly woman “who he knew was a resident of the home,” and “in distress,” so he tried to help.
But, “he was met by four dogs circling around (the woman) and one bit him “on the left leg just under the knee.”
Then, a younger female came outside and he told her he was just there to help the older woman, and while the younger woman was trying to get the older woman inside a “younger male exited the residence being belligerent towards him,” then went back inside to get a gun, came back out and told him to leave he property. The complainant said the gun was never pointed at him and he didn’t want EMS or to press charges, he was just worried about the elderly woman. A deputy talked with the young male, who said he was woken up to find some belligerent guy with his “grandma,” etc.
EMS was declined and both parties were told they should stay clear of one another.