Arrests

Teens charged with series of burglaries in Liberty Co.

February 3, 2012
Teens charged with series of burglaries in Liberty Co.

Tyler Paterson, 18, and a 17-year-old friend have been charged with a long list of thefts in Liberty County. Both are charged with burglary of an unoccupied dwelling, grand theft and dealing in stolen property. The pair have admitted to taking part in a series of thefts over the past three months. “This case is very large in the number of people who have been victimized by these two,” according to Liberty County Sheriff Donnie Conyers. He stressed the need for community members to secure their property by locking doors and windows. He also advised that it’s good to...

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Meth, loaded gun and brass knuckles found in truck during traffic stop Friday

February 3, 2012
Meth, loaded gun and brass knuckles found in truck during traffic stop Friday

An Altha man was arrested on numerous charges after a deputy who knew he did not have a valid license conducted a traffic stop after learning he had been seen driving through Blountstown Friday evening. Calhoun County Sheriff’s Deputy Jody Hoagland pulled in behind a pickup driven by James Russell Johnson, 29, after spotting him pull out from the Texaco station on West Central Avenue in Blountstown. After he was stopped, Johnson told the deputy his license was suspended due to his failure to pay child support. Johnson was asked to exit the truck. The deputy noticed that before...

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Intoxicated driver with history of DUIs arrested Saturday

February 3, 2012
Intoxicated driver with history of DUIs arrested Saturday

by Teresa Eubanks, Journal Editor A frantic woman alerted FHP Trooper Dallas Jones that a dangerous driver was running people off the road and would surely cause a crash if not stopped Saturday afternoon in Blountstown. Jones had pulled up to the gas pumps at Big Bend around 2:30 p.m. when a woman in a van pulled up and started shouting, “He’s going to kill somebody.” The trooper quickly caught up with the driver, who was northbound on Hwy. 71 in a 2003 Ford Crown Victoria. “He was going in both lanes and off the shoulder of the road,”...

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Girls arrested after taking a Hosford School bus for joy ride

February 3, 2012

by Teresa Eubanks, Journal Editor Two teenage girls are facing charges of felony grand theft and trespassing on school grounds after they stole a school bus and took it on a joy ride through Hosford Sunday night, according to a report from the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office. “The 13-year-old was driving. The 15-year-old was along for the ride,” said Liberty County Sgt. Jamie Shiver. A worried mother contacted the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office after the girls drove by her home a couple times and honked. She recognized the driver and said the girls had visited her son earlier that...

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Woman transferred to burn center after boiling water thrown in her face

February 3, 2012
Woman transferred to burn center after boiling water thrown in her face

A man who reportedly threw boiling water on his girlfriend was arrested on an aggravated battery charge Sunday evening. Linda Buffy Doughty, 48, was rushed to Calhoun-Liberty Hospital before being transferred to an Augusta, GA burn center for specialized care. Officers and EMTs were dispatched to the Hentz Avenue residence of Harmon Nathan Brody, 60, around 8 p.m. where they found Doughty in tears with blisters forming on her face and right arm. Brody declined treatment for a wrist injury caused when Doughty hit him with a baseball bat. Brody said they began arguing when he discovered she had...

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Two charged with making methamphetamine

January 27, 2012
Two charged with making methamphetamine

Two people were arrested on methamphetamine charges when state probation officers conducted a residence check of a man living on Old Post Road in Liberty County last week. The officers were accompanied by Sgt. Todd Wheetley of the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office, Blountstown Police Lt. Timothy Partridge and Investigator Kevin Godwin of the Gadsden County Sheriff’s Office when they arrived Jan. 18 at the home of Kenneth Walden. Officers found Walden, 38, and Ronnie Brandon Pitts, 29, in a shed behind the home and as they walked up to speak with them, noticed several items commonly used to make...

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Altercation sends one to hospital, one to jail

January 27, 2012
Altercation sends one to hospital, one to jail

An altercation between two men ended with one going to the hospital and the other to jail earlier this month. Stephen Mathews, 36, of Blountstown was charged with aggravated battery for a fight between him and Joseph Baker, 53, that occurred Jan. 5. A police officer responding to a report about the incident arrived to find the two men fighting in the road. The injured man, Joseph Baker, said he was walking along Lockwood Avenue when he was approached by Mathews. He said Mathews struck him and they began fighting, during which Mathews bit him on the nose and...

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Woman charged after traffic stop in Bristol

January 27, 2012
Woman charged after traffic stop in Bristol

A 20-year-old woman pulled over for an equipment violation was charged with possession of less than 20 grams of marijuana after deputies noticed the odor of marijuana inside her car. Kirsten Paige Mullis of Santa Rosa Beach was westbound on SR 20 Jan. 13 when Liberty County Sheriff’s Deputy Bobby Revell noticed her left headlight was out. She was stopped along SR 20, across from Hoecake Road around 10:15 p.m. While running a check on her car tag, Revell spoke with Mullis and her passenger, Brittian Carrisse Collins, 20, of Tallahassee. When the women were asked to step out...

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Blountstown man arrested for using stolen credit card

January 27, 2012
Blountstown man arrested for using stolen credit card

Nearly three months after a warrant was issued for his arrest, a Blountstown man is in custody on a charge of fraudulent use of a credit card. Joe B. Williams, 27, was released on $261 bond after he was booked into the Calhoun CountyJail Jan. 18. When questioned this past November, Williams admitted stealing the credit card from a vehicle in the emergency room parking lot at Calhoun-Liberty Hospital. Loretta Lynn Lindsey reported the theft to the Blountstown Police Department on Oct. 28, 2011 and said her wallet had been taken from her vehicle. She said the wallet held...

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Pair arrested on meth charges in Hosford

January 27, 2012
Pair arrested on meth charges in Hosford

Two Hosford residents were arrested for manufacturing methamphetamine within 1,000 feet of a school after investigators searching their Woodmen Street home found supplies and ingredients used to make the illegal drug. When Sgt. Todd Wheetley and Sgt. Brian Bateman of the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office, Blountstown Police Lt. Timothy Partridge and Investigator Kevin Godwin of the Gadsden County Sheriff’s Office arrived at the property on Jan. 18, they discovered several items in a trash can that had been set out on the road for the next day’s collection. Inside the bin they discovered a 20-ounce bottle with a bi-layer...

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