CLASSIC CITY NEWS

By Joe Johnson Terry Bernard Ball Jr., 38, of Simmons Street, has been indicted for shooting a man last month on The Block, a popular hangout in east Athens. On July 17th he committed assault with a deadly weapon “by shooting Mario Orlando Baker in the butt,” states the indictment filed in Superior Court last week. The incident happened at around 12:30 a.m. when Ball shot Baker at the corner of Vine and Gressom streets, according to the police report. Baker, a 38-year-old

By Joe Johnson Andera Lashandra Howard, 41, of Vine Street, was arrested last week for allegedly assaulting her boyfriend with a car and gun. The incident happened on the afternoon of July 12th in the parking lot of Triangle Plaza on Nellie B Avenue, where the 47-year-old victim went to go shopping. The victim had no sooner parked his truck when Howard drove up and purposely sideswiped the vehicle with her car and then tried getting into the truck while holding a pistol. She

By Joe Johnson A Superior Court judge has dismissed charges against a 39-year-old Athens man who had been arrested for allegedly shooting another man four years ago. Antwon Maurice Dixon was arrested in 2024 for the shooting that occurred two years earlier in which police said he used a .380-caliber pistol to shoot Michael Sims three times in the lower abdomen during an incident on Lombardy Circle. He was charged and subsequently indicted for aggravated assault, possession of

By Joe Johnson An Athens man has been indicted for murder in connection with a triple shooting in which a teenage boy was killed and two other victims were wounded. Jakel Javaunte Arnold, 23, of Mandy Drive, was charged with malice and felony murder, and four counts each of aggravated assault and possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony, according to the indictment filed in Superior Court last month. The shooting happened on May 8th outside the Pilgrims Pride po

file photo of 300 Blackout By Joe Johnson Police have identified one of the weapons used in a recent shooting in downtown Athens as an AR-15 automatic assault rifle. A just-released police report of the July 5th incident documents witnesses describing an automatic rifle being fired on East Clayton Street. Nobody was struck by gunfire but several businesses were damaged by bullets. One suspect, 19-year-old Damian Swint was arrested later in the day and charged with aggravated

By Joe Johnson A 33-year-old woman was cleaning her home this weekend when struck by a bullet that punched through the door. The incident happened at about 2 a.m. July 19th at Rolling Ridge Apartments off Kathwood Drive and witnesses identified the shooter as a man from Oglethorpe County whose intended target was another man with whom he had an ongoing feud. The victim was injured when one of the bullets ricocheted and struck her in the leg near the ankle, according to polic

Ball By Joe Johnson Terry Bernard Ball, 38, of Simmons Street, was arrested early in the morning of July17th after he shot a man on The Block, a popular hangout in east Athens. The victim, 38-year-old Mario Orlando Baker of Ramble Hills Circle, was transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries to his buttocks and leg. The incident reportedly happened at around 12:30 a.m. when Ball shot Baker at the corner of Vine and Gressom streets, according to police. Alth

Gresham By Joe Johnson The Athens police department has made another arrest in connection with young men shooting at each other early in the morning of July 5th on a crowded downtown street. Fortunately no one was injured although several businesses on East Clayton Street were damaged by gunfire. One eyewitness was working at one the bars where he claimed to have seen some of the suspects firing automatic weapons, including an AR-15. Swint The first suspect was arrested later

By Joe Johnson The police department has made a second arrest for a gunfight that occurred in downtown Athens early in the morning ofJuly 5th. No one was injured when the two young men shot at other males on East Clayton Street, but several businesses were damaged by the gunfire. The first suspect was arrested later in the day of the incident and was identified by police as 19-year-old Damian Swint, and on Monday police announced they had arrested 22-year-old Markavion Gresha

By Joe Johnson A 46-year-old man reported that he was walking on Barber Street early in the morning of June 30th when someone fired a gun at him. He told police that he was passing by Kwik Kar Wash at around 4 a.m. when a shot rang out and he heard the bullet whiz past. He ran through the car wash and hid in a nearby building where he called 911. The man told police that just prior to being shot at he saw someone ducking into some bushes near the car wash. Police located witn

Damian Swint By Joe Johnson One person was arrested Sunday morning following a reported gunfight outside a popular downtown Athens nightspot. No injuries were reported and it appears that several businesses were struck by gunfire, including Bad Moon Bar on East Clayton Street. “Officers did respond to reports of a shooting in the area of Bad Moon on E. Clayton St.,” a police spokesperson confirmed in a Sunday night email. “There were no reports of anyone being struck by gunfi

By Joe Johnson At least one arrest has been made in connection with a purported early morning gunfight in downtown Athens. No injuries have been reported and it appears that businesses were struck by gunfire, including Bad Moon Bar on East Clayton Street. “Officers did respond to reports of a shooting in the area of Bad Moon on E. Clayton St.,” a police spokesperson said in a Sunday night email. “There were no reports of anyone being struck by gunfire however, several busines

By Joe Johnson Three teenagers were indicted this week for an armed robbery earlier this month in the Athens Gardens apartment complex. They robbed a 23-year-.old man of an iPhone 17 valued at $1,200 early in the morning of June 2nd and tried running from police officers when they arrived to investigate, Quintez Damenterll Dunn,15, Jaden Coderious Howard, 17, and Jykece Jamarion Pressley, 18, were each charged with armed robbery an obstruction of law enforcement, according to

By Joe Johnson A large block party in the westside Stonehenge neighborhood this weekend came to a tumultuous conclusion with people fighting and ducking for cover from gunfire. The police department reports that officers initially responded to the neighborhood soon after midnight on June 28th to investigate a loud noise complaint on Altarstone Drive. As officers were trying to determine if a man lying on the ground needed medical attention pandemonium suddenly broke out. “Whi

By Joe Johnson A home in the eastside of Athens was targeted by gunfire last weekend during a drive-by shooting. It happened at around 10:20 p.m. Saturday when shots were fired from a vehicle that struck a house on Morningview Circle, police said. No one was injured, according to police, who said one bullet struck an exterior wall. A resident told police she heard gunfire coming from the Cooper Road intersection, followed by a vehicle racing away.

By Joe Johnson A 15-year-old girl was shot by her boyfriend last week in an apartment in westside Athens. The shooting happened on the evening of June 7th at Broadacres Homes when 16-year-old Elijah Isiah Smith shot the victim in her thigh. According to police, they were with a group of others in the apartment when the Smith shot the girl in response to her saying that one of the other boys was her best friend. Smith fled from the apartment and the girl was transported to the

By Joe Johnson Recently filed court documents describe the cold-blooded behavior of a man accused of murdering two people in downtown Athens three months ago. According to a homicide detective’s sworn affidavit, early in the morning of March 14th Mark Anthony Desousa walked up to Dylan Bentley in a parking lot lot off North Jackson Street and shot him in the back of his head. The bullet passed through the victim and struck Christopher Skinner in the eye. DeSousa then shot a

By Joe Johnson A Superior Court judge this week denied a request for bail by a man who killed two people and injured a third in downtown Athens Following a hearing on Wednesday, Judge H. Patrick Haggard denied bail to 22-year old Mark Anthony DeSousa on grounds that he was a flight risk and posed a significant danger to the community. In custody since March, DeSousa is facing murder charges for fatally shooting Dylan Bentley and Clayton Adams in a parking lot off North Jackso

By Joe Johnson A member of an Athens gang has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for his role in a 2024 drive-by shooting that killed a child at the Hallmark Estates mobile home park. Julian Omar Cubillos, a member of the Everybody Eats street gang last week pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter for his involvement in the shooting that took the life of 3-year-old Kyron Zarco Smith. Cubillos had been in a car with three other EBE gangsters when they opened fire on a riv

By Joe Johnson Mark Douglas Fenley, 58, of Winder, was arrested on the afternoon of May 30th after threatened customers in the drive-thru line at Arby’s on West Broad Street. According to police, the driver of a pickup truck honked his horn at Fenley for pulling his truck in front of him in the drive-thru line, at which time Fenley got out and pointed a gun at him and his mother, who was a front seat passenger. When Fenley went to the side window of the pickup the driver aske