CLASSIC CITY NEWS

By Joe Johnson Andrea Renee Russo, 37, of Pensacola, Fla, was arrested for fighting in downtown Athens early in the morning of February 15th. Officer Clay Cochran reported that he was patrolling the area at around 2:30 am when he noticed a commotion inside the courthouse parking garage on East Washington Street, where a group of people were trying to separate Russo and the other combatant. While trying to sort out the situation, the officer learned that Russo had instigated

By Joe Johnson A 34-year-old homeless man was arrested after police received reports that he was shadow boxing on top of the courthouse parking deck. When officers responded to the parking structure on East Washington Street they found Dakota Shea English shirtless and exhibiting “behaviors consistent with drug usage to include both eyes pinpointed and jerking,” police said. National EMS also responded but the man had “no issues or physical complaints at time of service.” Eng

By Joe Johnson Zarius Jadaun Burch, 21, of Gainesville, was arrested early in the morning of December 20th after he was found passed out in his car at Thomas and Broad streets. Police said they responded to the area at 2:13 a.m. after receiving a 911 call from a witness who reported that “a male was asleep at the wheel and the vehicle was rolling down Thomas Street.” According to police there were passengers in the car who fled prior to the arrival of officers. They said that

By Joe Johnson Preston T. Beam, 59, of Cavalier Court, was arrested on December 22nd after a skirmish with a band’s roadie at the 40 Watt club. The victim was a 52-year-old Athens man who worked for a band that performed at the music venue on West Washington Street on December 19th. According to police, the roadie was loading band equipment into a vehicle when Beam charged and pushed him up against a doorway, then smacked a phone from his hand when he tried to record the inci

By Joe Johnson An   Oconee County teenager was recently arrested after he led police on a chase that began in downtown Athens and ended on the front lawn of a University of Georgia sorority house. The incident began at around 2:30 a.m. on December 13th when a bicycle cop was flagged down about a possible fight in the area of Jackson and South streets. When the officer arrived in the area he saw a car that appeared to be driving straight towards him. “Even as the proximity be

By Joe Johnson A man was seriously injured recently when he fell from a building in College Square across from the University of Georgia, The incident happened early in the morning of December 7th when 24-year-old Brandon Alexander-Raynor of Augusta fell into an alleyway outside the building at the corner of East Broad Street and College Avenue.. A witness told police that when he heard a noise he looked out the window of his apartment and saw Alexander-Raynor climb off a se

file photo By Joe Johnson Athens police recently arrested several women after they were involved in a fight downtown, According to reports, the incident happened at about 1:30 a.m. on December 7th on College Avenue when police responded to a report of a large group of males and females who appeared to be about to fight. Officers were monitoring the crowd when a large brawl erupted in front of Insomnia Cookies. Officers tried to restore order and had to use tasers and pepper s

By Joe Johnson A Madison County woman has been indicted for a shooting incident downtown last fall that left three teenagers wounded. Tatianna Ambria Wilbon, 24, of Comer, was charged with three counts each of aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, according to the indictment filed in Athens-Clarke County Superior Court. The shooting happened just before 4 a.m. on Septemb

By Joe Johnson The glass display window of a downtown Athens clothing store was recently broken by two homeless men who were fighting. Ryan Kee Frank, 32, and Kyle Ian Fraser-Keeto, 37, were arguing about a phone charger on East Clayton Street at about 9 p.m. on December 3rd when things escalated into a physical altercation. During the fight one of the men pushed the other into the display window of Cillies, causing it to shatter. The store owner responded to the scene and

By Joe Johnson On the night of November 17th a University of Georgia student was crossing North Lumpkin Street when she was knocked down by a car that ran over her foot . The 20-year-old student became the seventh person to be struck by a vehicle this year while in a downtown Athens pedestrian crosswalk. One of those pedestrians, 78-year-old Guy Jones was killed when struck in January on North Thomas Street near the Classic Center. His teenage companion also was struck and in

By Joe Johnson Wendy Elizabeth Gaona, 28, of Watkinsville, was arrested in downtown Athens early in the morning of November 1st after a gun she was handling apparently fired by accident. Luckily, no one was injured. The incident happened just before 2 a.m. on West Clayton Street where Gaona and another woman were arguing about a man. Police said they found the .45-caliber pistol under the seat in Gaona’s vehicle, which had “numerous open containers of alcohol in the doorway

By Joe Johnson Christopher Jerrell McKibben was arrested in downtown Athens on the afternoon of November 19th after he reportedly frightened a couple of teenage girls. The girls, aged 16 and 17, were walking on the sidewalk along North Thomas Street at about 2:25 p.m. when McKibben came at them with his arms outstretched and saying, “I have to do this.” When one of the girls tried running into the street the 33-year-old homeless man allegedly grabbed her by the hip but she sl

The downtown scene after the Georgia-Alabama game in September By Joe Johnson More than 50 people were booked into the county jail following Saturday night’s football game at the University of Georgia. It had been a highly anticipated match up between the Georgia Bulldogs and University of Texas Longhorns with playoff implications. It was also the first time the Longhorns had traveled to Athens to play on UGA’s home turf. Officials at the Athens airport said that Friday had b

photo by Mandy King By Joe Johnson Residents of Georgia Heights apartments were evacuated Thursday night while firefighters investigated the source of a fire alarm activation which turned out to be burnt food on a stove. A resident of the fourth-floor apartment had already extinguished the fire, but firefighters needed to check for possible extension into the walls, said Athens Fire Marshal Rick Vaughn. “This incident serves as a crucial reminder of the importance of staying

By Joe Johnson Firefighters responded Thursday night to an alarm at the apartments over the West Broad Street CVS, Evacuated residents were seen on the sidewalk outside and the road was closed to traffic for about an hour, Classic City News has reached out to the Athens-Clarke County Fire Department for further information. Photos by Mandy King

Released today by the county government: The annual Athens-Clarke County Downtown Parade of Lights is scheduled for Thursday, December 4 starting at 7:00 p.m. This year’s theme is “Cooking up a Great Holiday.”   Performing units will be judged during the parade as they arrive at the receiving stage next to the community tree.    Float entries will compete for such prizes as “Most Original Float,” “Best Use of Theme,” and “Best Use of Lights.”  The best overall float will rece

By Joe Johnson Alumdre Lekeith Larkin was recently arrested in downtown Athens where he was threatening pedestrians and then fought with police officers. The 31-year-old homeless man reportedly had been shouting obscenities at pedestrians and threatening them at the intersection of College Avenue and East Clayton Street at about 7 p.m. on October 24th. He threatened to fight the police officers who approached him about his behavior and when they tried to arrest him a struggl

By Joe Johnson Abdullah Thomas, 27, of West Broad Street, was arrested for DUI on the night of October 17th after he was seen dragging kudzu with his car through downtown Athens. Police stopped his car at about 11:15 pm on North Jackson Street, but it was unknown where he had driven off the road and into a kudzu patch and got vegetation caught up on the vehicle. The Hyundai Elantra had also left a trail of fluids as it drove through the downtown area, according to police. Th

By Joe Johnson Neo-Nazis have been coming to the aid of an Athens man who assaulted a University of Georgia student while he was dressed as an SS officer. They are donating funds to the person who had called himself Gaschambers on his now-deleted X account. Kenneth Leland Morgan last month smashed a glass beer pitcher into the student’s face when she tried grabbing his Nazi armband in the doorway of a bar in downtown’ Athens where Morgan was denied entry because of his unif

By Joe Johnson Wendy Elizabeth Gaina, 28, of Watkinsville, was arrested early Saturday morning after she fired a gun while arguing with a man on West Clayton Street. Police said that she may have thought that the gun wasn’t loaded while handling the weapon. No one was injured and police were unable to find anywhere that was struck by a bullet. Gaina appeared to be intoxicated while speaking to police, and neither she nor the man would talk about the incident without speaking