Bond was denied a Sparta man facing charges in multiple Georgia counties for taking money from gambling machines.
Quinton Terrel Watts, 26, was arrested Aug. 15 and charged with falsely making, altering, forging, passing or counterfeiting lottery tickets and felony theft by taking.
Watts was in Jones County Superior Court Sept. 5 asking for a bond. He was represented in the motion by defense attorney Benjamin Williams. Assistant District Attorney Cara Fiore represented the state, and Superior Court Judge Stephen Bradley presided over the bond motion.
Williams said his client was a lifelong resident of the area and had no criminal convictions. He said Watts is a family man with a one-year-old son.
The attorney said Watts was no risk to flee or commit a new felony and asked for a reasonable bond.
Fiore gave the court the facts of the case. She said Watts broke into gambling machines in Jones County and took the cash, then used that money to purchase lottery tickets.
The prosecutor said the defendant was already out on bond in Columbia County for the same offense, on bond in Turner County for robbery charges and has warrants for his arrest in Savannah for the same charges.
“I think he is a risk to reoffend and obviously does not follow bond conditions. He will be indicted in October,” Fiore said.
She said she is working with other counties on the case.
Williams told the court that his client was innocent until proven guilty.
Bradley stated bond was denied based on the fact Watts was already out on bond.
A report by Jones County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Matthew Johnson of the crime that led to Watts’ arrest stated he was dispatched to a convenience store on Eatonton Highway at 5:30 p.m. July 8 pertaining to a theft from a slot machine.
Johnson said the complainant told him someone with a key to the machines had taken $4,000. He said he was shown the store video of a black male and female appearing to play the machines. The deputy said the male produced some kind of instrument, opened the machines and emptied them. When the suspects left the store, they were observed in a black Audi SUV. Johnson said the vehicle was tracked by Flock cameras and the tag recorded.
The deputy said all the information gathered was given to JCSO Investigator Lt. Kenny Gleaton.
During a Sept. 6 interview with Gleaton, he said information was circulated with a description of the vehicle, and Baldwin County reported a traffic stop. The investigator said the citation not only identified Watts but included his Sparta address.
Gleaton said warrants were taken out for Watts’ arrest. He said a check of the suspect’s history revealed he was already on bond in Columbia County for the same offense.
The investigator said a Flock camera alerted on Watts in Monroe County, and he was taken into custody.
“He is wanted in multiple jurisdictions, and we think there are several people involved leaving a trail across Georgia,” Gleaton said.
He said he is not ruling out the possibility of it becoming a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations case.
The investigator said the Georgia Bureau of Investigation is working the largest case against Watts in Clayton County for the theft of $80,000 involving the same type of gambling machines.
