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BCSO reports: Man accidentally shoots self
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From Bryan County Sheriff’s Office reports:

Accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound: Deputies were sent to I-16 near mile marker 143 in Ellabell around 11:27 a.m. Dec. 14 in “reference to a driver that had accidentally shot themselves while driving.”

They found the car on the side of the road “and all occupants of the vehicle were outside the vehicle,” with one “holding his left hand, which was covered in blood.”

After the passenger and the driver were identified, the driver, was found to have a “gunshot wound to his palm with powder burns and an apparent exit wound to the side of his hand.”
He told deputies ‘he was attempting to empty the weapon (a Taurus 9 millimeter) when he accidentally fired it.”

The bullet “also penetrated the driver’s door from the inside. The bullet presumably struck the pavement of the interstate after leaving the door,” the report continued. “(The man) advised that he was traveling to the gun show in Savannah.”

Deputies “rendered aid” to the man until Bryan County EMS arrived. He was taken to Memorial for treatment.

 Shooting: On Christmas day, deputies got a call from Effingham County 911 regarding a “white male who said he’d been shot at the intersection of Highway 280 and Highway 80 in Blitchton,” a report said. “After being shot the male subject old Effingham County 911 he turned onto Highway 80 east and was east bound when he wrecked his 1999 white Ford pickup and then went to his girlfriend’s house, who then took him to Parker’s in Faulkville.”

The man was taken to Memorial with “a gunshot wound to his left side,” the report said.

 Intoxicated subject: Deputies were sent to a Richmond Hill bar around 1:45 a.m. Dec. 22 regarding a man “passed out in his vehicle in the parking lot.” Bryan County EMS was already there and said the man had already been checked and didn’t want to go to the hospital, and when the deputy checked him out he was “inside of his vehicle on his phone … (and) extremely intoxicated.”

The owner of the bar said the man “came into his bar just before closing and went behind the bar and poured a beer for himself. (The owner said the man) was escorted o7ut of the bar at that time and not served any alcohol,” the report said, noting the owner didn’t want the man back on his property.

The man’s wife was called and she came and picked him up.

Criminal trespass; A Richmond Hill man reported Dec. 11 “unknown parties cut Christmas lights in his front yard.” The man also said the cord to his inflatable decoration had been cut. He didn’t know who might have done it. He was given a case number.

Failure to obey traffic control device: Here’s a sad one from Dec. 9. A deputy was on Highway 17 at the I-95 intersection stopped at a red light when he saw a minivan pass his and run the light. The deputy tried to pull the driver over and it kept going, “at 10 to 15 mph despite my attempt to pull the vehicle over.”

With the help of officers from RHPD, police eventually got the car to stop “in the middle of the roadway,” and found the driver was an elderly man who appeared disoriented.

A deputy saw the driver “was using both feet, on the brake, in order to keep the vehicle stopped. Additionally, (he) appeared to be steering his vehicle despite being stopped.” The man was also unable to put the van into park without help from his wife, the report noted.  

The man was unable to tell deputies his age or give a driver’s license, and both he and his wife said they lived in North Carolina but were from England. Neither knew what state they were in but were headed to South Carolina.

After some discussion with Bryan County EMS, the man agreed to be taken to St. Joseph’s for an evaluation and his wife agreed to stay in a motel in Richmond Hill for the night.

Damage to property: Deputies were called to a Highway 17 address around 1:44 p.m. Dec. 19 “in reference to a subject living in a vacant house.”

There, deputies and RHPD officers saw the garage door was open and a side door had been damaged, and when they got inside they found furniture barricading doors. There also was a fire in the house, which was filled with smoke.

A woman then called out and said she was coming out, and told authorities she had been “ran out of Chatham County and she did not have anywhere else to go.” The woman said she found the house, thought it was abandoned and stayed because she was homeless.

The woman had been burning furniture in the fireplace to keep warm, so the Richmond Hill Fire Department came to put it out. The woman was taken to the Midway Motel after being given a pending warrant after the property manager said he wanted to press charges.

 Assist other agency: This from a Dec. 15 report in which deputies were “contacted by the FBI Terrorist Task Force out of ATL to check on an address off of Daniel Siding Loop Road. They said they had received bomb threats and the phones were coming back to that address. Deputies spoke with the residents there and no one had any of the phone numbers were given or the names associated with the p hones. Deputies did call the numbers while on scene and there were no ring tones heard. Deputies then spoke to the agents and they advised that they thought it might have been someone using spoof numbers and address.”

 Harassment: A Richmond Hill man reported Dec.22 he was being harassed by the owner of a pit bull that had “previously attacked his pet,” a report said. The man said the woman stopped her car in front of his home and “shouted profanities and then drove away,” and that the same woman had “harassed (him) on the community Facebook site ….”

The man said the woman’s pit bull had been picked up by animal control, and he “was under the impression that he would be notified by Animal Control prior to the dog’s release,” the report continued.

The deputy said he’d check into it and told the man how to get a warrant.

 Vehicle fire: An Ellabell woman reported Dec. 27 she was driving south on Groover Hill Road “when she noticed smoke coming out of the heater vents,” a report said.

The woman said “second later she could see fire under the hood. (She) stopped the vehicle and ran away from it as it was rapidly engulfed in flames.”

When he got there, the deputy saw the car, a 2018 Dodge Charger, “completely engulfed in flames and periodic explosions were coming from the vehicle,” he reported. The fire department came and put out the fire and the car was towed. The woman was given a ride home by a family member.

 Theft; A Richmond Hill woman reported Christmas day someone stole “liquid propane from three 20-pound tanks. (She) stated the tanks were purchased in October this year and should not be empty.” 

She was given a case number.

 Speeding: A deputy clocked a Chevy pickup headed north on Highway 17 at 77 mph on Dec. 26 and pulled the driver over. “The driver presented me a Ohio ID card … (his) vehicle had an Ohio tag that came back registered to a Dodge van. (He) was unable to provide me with proof of insurance.”

The man was cited for speeding, no insurance, etc. His vehicle was towed.

 

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