Threats

April 19 – An officer responded to a call at a local truck stop and spoke with a man who told the officer he had been having problems with another truck driver.

The man said he and the other man had had an argument a few months ago about the proper way to attach a trailer to the truck and the man said the other man pulled a knife on him. The man said he and the other truck driver have had problems since, with the other man yelling obscenities and waving his fists at the complainant, who said he ignored the man.

The man also said the trucker with whom he’s had problems has urinated on the pavement where he has to step to get into his truck. The complainant said the company the two men work for had asked that they stay away from each other. Afraid of sanctions from his company, the man said he did not want to press charges.

The officer spoke with the man the complainant said had been a problem and he denied all allegations of wrong the complainant told the officer. The man told the officer that the complainant often calls him on his CB radio and uses off-color words.

The officer spoke via telephone to a witness who said he did not want to get involved in this case.

April 19 – A woman called police to report a person who worked for her, who was fired at the beginning of April, had kept his keys to a company truck, the gate to the business and one of the company’s tractors. The woman said she had been trying to get the keys back from the man and had arrangements to do so but that the man would not cooperate.

The woman said the man told her he would return the keys once he receives a day’s pay and a letter of separation from the company.

The woman showed the officer a pay stub indicating she had already paid the man. She also told the officer that the man requested she bring another employee with her when they meet to get the keys back and that she was afraid the man would try and fight with the employee. The woman told the officer she would try and retrieve the keys once again and if it didn’t work out she would seek a warrant against the man.

April 20 – An officer responded to the Egrets Circle area in regards to a harassment complaint. The complainant told officers she had, for the past few months, been dating a man she worked with. She said as time passed, however, she became uninterested in the man and started dating someone else.

The woman said the co-worker became violent towards her and began following her around their place of work making rude gestures.

She said she asked him several times to stop and leave her alone, and she said she reported the man to her manager.

The woman then said a few days ago the man sent her a text message containing derogatory language and later the same day she said she the man sent her another text message saying he was going to hurt the man she was currently dating.

The woman said she sent a text message back to the man asking him not to contact her anymore and that he was scaring her.

She also told the officer a mutual friend of her and the man’s forwarded her a message from the man saying he was going to punch her in the face the next time he saw her.

The woman was referred to the magistrate judge.

April 21 – An officer responded to Ashton Apartments where a woman told the officer another woman had come to her home, told her someone had been following her, and then showed the woman a gun, pointing it at her face.

She told the officer the other woman had not threatened her but that there were three children present when it happened. When the woman with the gun asked to use the restroom the other woman took the three children upstairs until the woman with the gun left.

The woman wrote a statement of the events that occurred but said she did not want to press charges.

April 22 – While patrolling Highway 144 an officer saw a black truck that, on seven occasions, failed to maintain its lane and followed too closely behind the vehicle in front of it. The officer stopped the truck and introduced himself to the driver and asked for identification.

The driver told the officer he had had two beers at a pool hall in Savannah and the officer noticed the man’s eyes were bloodshot and watery and noticed a smell coming from the vehicle which smelled like an alcoholic beverage.

The driver was asked to perform some sobriety tests, which the officer noted he did not complete in a satisfactory manner.

A breath test showed the presence of alcohol and the man was arrested for DUI, failure to maintain lane and following too closely.

The man was taken to the police station for processing and a family member posted bond.

April 22 – An officer pulled over a van traveling that had an inoperable tag light and was swerving in and out of its proper lane.

When he spoke to the driver he noticed the smell of alcohol coming from the vehicle. When asked for a license the driver said he did not have one. A passenger in the van sitting in the back seat told the officer he owned the van and had the person driving drive him since he had been and was currently drinking beer.

The owner of the van then handed the officer an opened can of beer, which the officer poured out. The man was escorted to the officer’s police car and the officer noted he no longer smelled the odor of alcohol away from the vehicle.

An investigation revealed the driver of the van was a minor (16 years-old according to the report) and did not have a parent or guardian with him at the time.

The Department of Family and Children Services was contacted since there was no legal guardian to receive the driver. A representative from DFACS told the officer his office would not take the teenager, saying he could not take him if there was no proof of his age.

They referred the officer to deal with Immigration and Naturalization Services (INS) and the Department of Homeland Security.

The officer spoke with another officer who in turn called a police captain, who told the officers to contact INS and the Department of Juvenile Justice.

The INS officer told the officer he did not have jurisdiction over an unaccompanied juvenile regardless of the juvenile’s immigration status and he referred the officer to the local DFACS agency. The officer then spoke with an on-call DJJ case worker who said the child had to be released back to his parents or guardian, but said he would have to be released to DFACS if no parent or guardian could be found.

After more phone calls, the child was eventually released to an apparent guardian.