The following information is gleaned from incident reports, which are public record, from the Jones County Sheriff’s Department and Gray Police Department May 9-14, 2024.
May 9
Attempt to elude
Sgt. Walker was monitoring traffic on Hwy. 49 when he ran a GA tag on a vehicle to check for valid registration and insurance. The information check came back to show the registered owner had a suspended license for DUI. Walker saw the vehicle in the distance and increased his speed to catch up to the vehicle. Walker then noticed that the vehicle taillights disappeared, so he thought the vehicle had increased its speed to get away from the sergeant. Walker then noticed the vehicle turn into a parking lot and the sergeant turned around in the roadway to attempt to catch up to the vehicle. At that time, the vehicle in question turned around and sped away. Walker then activated his blue lights and sirens and the vehicle darted down a side street and quickly parked on the side of a stranger’s house in attempt to elude the sergeant. Walker pulled in the residence and made contact with the vehicle and driver. The sergeant drew his service weapon and ordered the driver to exit the vehicle. The male driver advised Walker that the “others ran.” The driver/owner insisted that there was another driver who fled the scene on foot, however there was no other driver.
Walker placed the male subject under arrest for driving while license suspended and fleeing and attempting to elude and transported the male to the Jones County LEC.
May 13
Home burglary
Deputy Allen was dispatched to a residence in reference to an alarm call. Upon his arrival, Allen began checking the exterior of the house from the front porch. While walking around the side of the residence, the deputy noticed the master bedroom window open with the blinds disturbed and the curtain hanging out of the window. At this time, Allen requested additional units and the homeowner. Moments later, Sgt. Johnson and Deputy Elliot arrived on scene. While the homeowner was en route they advised the Sgt. that they could use forced entry if necessary. Allen and Sgt. Johnson forced entry into the front door of the residence and announced their presence. The residence was cleared, and no one was found to be inside the residence. The homeowner arrived on scene and went through the house to see if anything was missing and could find anything. A short while later, Allen was notified of a male subject walking down the street and he appeared to be homeless, and residents advised they had never seen the male before. Allen, Johnson and Astyk all responded to the notification of the male subject. When the officers made contact with the male subject, they asked him where he had been and where he was going. The male told the officer that he was homeless and had been walking for several days. Allen checked the male via the GCIC/ NCIC database, and it showed there was an active warrant out of Bibb County for failure to register as a sex offender. The male was then placed in handcuffs and transported to the Jones County LEC. Upon arrival at the LEC, the male was read his Miranda Rights in which he stated he understood, and he agreed to speak to the deputy and started apologizing. The male told the deputy that he was walking and noticed the house and believed it to be vacant. The male stated that he began by sleeping on the back porch of the residence but got cold. He went to the front of the residence where he took the screen off a window with a screwdriver and entered the residence through the window. The male subject stated that when he went through the window, the alarm began going off and he attempted to disarm the alarm, but it continued to go off. The subject also stated that when the alarm would not stop, he exited the home through the master bedroom window and ran off into the woods. The male also stated that once he got to the woods, he realized he left his bookbag in the master bedroom, so he went back to the residence and entered the home a second time through the master bedroom window to retrieve his bag and the alarm was still going off, so he ran back out of the house and that’s when the deputy found him walking. With all evidence present, two warrants were sought for the male for burglary in the first degree.
May 14
Suspended license and warrants
Deputy Elrod was on patrol when he observed a vehicle traveling down Shurling Dr. with a cracked windshield. Elrod ran the tag number on the vehicle, and it came back to show the registration was expired. Elrod activated his blue lights and initiated a traffic stop on the vehicle. Elrod made contact with the female driver and a female passenger. The deputy gave the occupants information to dispatch to run a check and that came back to show that the driver had a suspended license, and the passenger was wanted out of Monroe County for failure to appear. Deputy Riberio arrived on scene and transported the female driver and female passenger to the Jones County LEC. The driver was given a citation for driving on a suspended license and a written warning for the expired registration and cracked windshield. The passenger was taken into custody for her outstanding warrant.
