CLASSIC CITY NEWS

By Joe Johnson Charley Onofre Valdes-Torres, 25, of Herbert Road, was arrested on the night of April 8th by police who were following up on complaints of drug activity at Hallmark Estates. An officer stopped the suspect’s car upon seeing it being driven without headlights in the trailer park off Spring Valley Road and during a search he found oxycodone and various other pills, along with multiple scales. Valdes-Torres was arrested on charges of possession with intent to dist

By Joe Johnson Crystal Jean Bloodworth, 38, of Jackson, Mississippi, was arrested last month after a high-speed police chase with a child in her car. The child was unrestrained while lying on a pile of clothing and Bloodworth was under the influence of drugs at the time, according to arrest warrants on file at Superior Court. Athens-Clarke County police said they are prevented by law from releasing the incident report because it involves a charge of first-degree cruelty to a

By Joe Johnson An Athens man has been found guilty of shooting his marijuana supplier and was sentenced to 25 years with the first 15 years to be served in prison. Following a trial in Superior Court, a jury last month convicted 52-year-old David Ray Wilhelm of aggravated assault and possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony. Judge Eric Norris sentenced him to 15 years in prison and 10 on probation. The crime occurred in January 2025 when Wilhelm shot 54-year-old

By Joe Johnson A man and his passenger were both arrested Wednesday night after a police officer stopped their car for failing to obey a stop sign on Nellie B Avenue. Charles Justin Walls and his passenger, Ronald Junior Malcom, were both found by the officer to be wanted on felony warrants. Walls was wanted for a burglary in Athens and Malcom had an outstanding felony probation violation warrant. Walls was additionally charged with possession of cocaine after he was searche

Childers-Queen By Joe Johnson Two homeless people were indicted this week in connection with the burglary of a home on Beverly Drive in which hundreds of dollars worth of property were stolen. One of the defendants is on probation for a devastating arson fire that destroyed a homeless camp a decade ago. Carole Rayeanne Childers-Queen, 56, and James Anthony Hill, 48, were each charged with first-degree burglary, according to the indictment filed in Superior Court on Tuesday.

Moses By Joe Johnson An Athens-Clarke County grand jury has indicted a pair of alleged fentanyl traffickers. Deundre Moses, 27, and Quatqvious Borders, 27, were each charged with trafficking in fentanyl and possession with intent to distribute marijuana, according to the indictment filed last week in Superior Court. Borders Borders was additionally charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possessing the weapon during the commission of a felony. Both men h

By Joe Johnson An Athens-Clarke County grand jury has indicted a pair of alleged fentanyl traffickers. Deundre Moses, 27, and Quatqvious Borders, 27, were each charged with trafficking in fentanyl and possession with intent to distribute marijuana, according to the indictment filed last week in Superior Court. Borders was additionally charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possessing the weapon during the commission of a felony. Both men had been arrest

Appling By Joe Johnson An Athens woman has been indicted on aggravated assault charges for injuring victims when she intentionally crashed her car into the Kroger on Alps Road three months ago. Lonneshia Shafaye Appling, 40, of Dudley Drive, was high on a combination of fentanyl and methamphetamine on the morning of December 16th when her car plowed into the supermarket, according to the 12-count indictment filed in Superior Court on Tuesday. The most seriously injured vic

Released by the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office On February 18, 2026, the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office arrested D’Evin Brown and Serina Johnson. GCSO Special Investigations Section (SIS) and Gwinnett Metro Task Force (GMTF) personnel assisted the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) with the execution of a search warrant at a Gwinnett County residence. During the search, approximately 1,450 grams of fentanyl were recovered,

By Joe Johnson Terrance Terrell White last year pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of oxycodone and was sentenced to 12 months on probation. The 46-year-old Pittard Road resident now is again suspected of being intoxicated on drugs when he struck and killed a man on an electric bicycle last Saturday night. According to police reports, White was driving a BMW sedan west on Olympic Drive when he struck the e-bike operated by 37-year-old Kul Chokhal of Barnett Shoals

By Joe Johnson A user of the deadly drug fentanyl owes her life to an Athens-Clarke County police officer. On the evening of February 7th police responded to a report of an unconscious drug overdose victim at QuikTrip on Lexington Road. Upon arrival officers found the 37-year-old woman on the floor of the restroom, not breathing and her lips turning blue. Beside her were burnt foil and a cut straw that the officers knew to be evidence of fentanyl use. Officer Benjamin Benedic

Released by the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office A cocaine overdose of a 4 year old child led our investigators to execute a search warrant on February 20th, 2026 in Jefferson. Sheena Dawn Shumake, 35, and Joshua Tyler Shumake, 33, were arrested and booked into the Jackson County Jail for Cruelty to Children First Degree. Thank you Georgia State Patrol, West Jackson Fire Department, Georgia Division of Family & Children Services, and Children's Healthcare of Atlanta for your a

By Joe Johnson Angus Stewart Moller, 61, of Double Bridges Crossing in Winterville, was arrested on the afternoon of February 16th after crashing his pickup truck into the BP gas station on Lexington Road, Police said that he appeared to be under the influence of drugs and that he failed drug impairment testing at the scene. In addition to his truck crashing into another vehicle at the gas station it struck the building, according to the police report. An officer stated in th

By Joe Johnson Carlos Terrell Wise, 32, was arrested at his home in a western Athens-Clarke County subdivision following an investigation by the Northeast Georgia Regional Drug Task Force. Court filings show that on February 4th, when executing a search warrant at his Stonehenge Way residence, officers found 521 grams of methamphetamine, a large amount of marijuana and a .380-caliber pistol. Wise was booked into the county jail on charges of trafficking methamphetamine, posse

By Joe Johnson A 30-year-old woman from Snellville checked into an Atlanta Highway motel room last Thursday evening and less than 48 hours later her lifeless body was found sprawled across the bed. She became the fourth person to apparently die from fentanyl use not even two full months into the new year, continuing the deadly trend of nearly three dozen such deaths in 2025. According to Athens-Clarke County Coroner Michael Eberhart, in 2025 there were 33 confirmed or suspec

By Joe Johnson Kelsey Alexis Coleburn, 44, of Little River, S.C., has pleaded guilty to possessing fentanyl while an inmate at the county jail in Athens, According to court records, jail personnel responded to Coleburn’s cell on December 22nd after she had passed out and they found that she had fentanyl in her bedding. She was subsequently charged with possession of a controlled substance and possession of a prohibited item by an inmate. In a plea agreement reached on Tuesd

By Joe Johnson A judge has denied bail to an Athens woman who was arrested after crashing her car into Kroger on Alps Road, injuring several employees and shoppers, Following a January 28th hearing in Superior Court, Judge H. Patrick denied the woman’s request for bail on the grounds that if released from jail she would pose a significant threat to the community and likely commit additional crimes. Authorities say that 41-year-old Lonneshia Appling was high on methamphetamine

ATLANTA – The Georgia Opioid Crisis Abatement Trust and Advantage Behavioral Health Systems will host a ribbon cutting ceremony for the new REACH mobile treatment program on Monday, February 9, 2026, at 1 p.m. at the Danielsville City Hall in Madison County.   In 2024, the Trust awarded Advantage with $780,000 to develop, launch and staff the REACH mobile clinic program. The program offers medication-assisted treatment, naloxone distribution, peer support, overdose prevention

By Joe Johnson A 22-year-old man apparently froze to deathTuesday night in a homeless encampment off Old Hull Road. Dequavious Ragsdale reportedly showed up at the camp a few days earlier needing somewhere to stay and one of the residents offered to share his tent. A family member reported that he had been staying with her until he left on Sunday. The man who allowed Ragsdale into his tent called 911 at 7:25 am Wednesday to report that his guest wasn’t breathing and hadn’t

By Joe Johnson Maurice Anthony Barnes, 44, of Chalfont Lane, was arrested January 14th on a charge of trafficking fentanyl. He had been the subject of an investigation during which he reportedly sold fentanyl on three different occasions to confidential sources who were being supervision by the Northeast Georgia Regional Drug Task Force. At the time of his arrest, Barnes reportedly had over 4 grams of the deadly drug in his possession. He is being held at the county jail pend