CLASSIC CITY NEWS

The Barrow County Sheriff’s Office today released the following (Winder, GA) – The Barrow County Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Unit has concluded an undercover operation targeting illegal drug distribution in Barrow County. The investigation resulted in multiple felony arrests. As a result of the operation, the following individuals were arrested: Roderick LaShawn Billings, 37, of Winder, was charged with multiple felony offenses, including the sale and trafficking of cocaine an

By Joe Johnson More than a dozen Athens residents had already died from fentanyl poisoning as the final month of 2025 began. That death toll has climbed even higher during December. “I have about 14 confirmed Fentanyl cases so far” this year,”’ Athens-Clarke County Coroner Michael Eberhart said on Monday, “I have other cases still pending (lab) results.” Among those pending cases is that of a 41-year-old woman who died in her home on Vine Street last Friday. She was found

By Joe Johnson Lonneshia Shafaye Appling was high on methamphetamine on the morning of December 16th when she crashed her car into the Alps Road Kroger, injuring several employees and shoppers. That’s according to arrest records filed in court by the Athens-Clarke County Police Department. The most seriously injured victim was a Kroger employee whose skull was fractured. Appling is a 40-year-old career criminal whose extensive rap sheet includes felony shoplifting conviction

By Joe Johnson The scourge of fentanyl continued to claim lives throughout 2025 in Athens, with a 32-year-old man dying from using the drug in his home on the eastside last week. The deadly drug has been very much in the news locally, with several prisoners dying at the county jail from using fentanyl smuggled in by a woman who had been employed there as a nurse. The most recent victim was found dead by his housemate who went into his bedroom after not having seen him all mor

By Joe Johnson The woman whose car injured several people last week when it crashed into Kroger on Alps Road has been arrested on felony charges, Lonneshia Shafaye Appling, 40, of Ashley Circle, was booked into the county jail Tuesday afternoon on charges of driving under the influence of drugs, reckless driving, possession of drug-related objects, and causing serious injury with a vehicle. Classic City News has reached out to the police department for details about the ch

By Joe Johnson The woman whose car injured several people last week when it crashed into Kroger on Alps Road has been arrested on felony charges, Lonneshia Shafaye Appling, 40, of Ashley Circle, was booked into the county jail Tuesday afternoon on charges of driving under the influence of drugs, reckless driving, possession of drug-related objects, and causing serious injury with a vehicle. Classic City News has reached out to the police department for details about the ch

By Joe Johnson The Athens man who was arrested in September for a decades old murder killed his victim when robbing a bottle of pills, according to recently filed court documents. Kevin Maurice Jones, 48, allegedly beat James Mitchell to death in October 2016 during the robbery at the Athens Gardens apartment complex. He then concealed the body, and for nearly a decade the disappearance of Mitchell was investigated as a missing person case. Detectives continued their invest

By Joe Johnson Two men from Elbert County were arrested this week after they tried breaking into a house on Lakeover Drive. A husband and wife were awakened at about 1:15 a.m. Monday by the sound of someone trying to break down their door. Police officers arrived to find the men who claimed to be looking to get money owed to a cousin from the sale of a car. The residents had no idea what the intruders were talking about. The men were identified as Cory Frederick Maxwell, 35,

By Joe Johnson Two men from Elbert County were arrested this week after they tried breaking into a house on Lakeover Drive. A husband and wife were awakened at about 1:15 a.m. Monday by the sound of someone trying to break down their door. Police officers arrived to find the men who claimed to be looking to get money owed to a cousin from the sale of a car. The residents had no idea what the intruders were talking about. The men were identified as Cory Frederick Maxwell, 35,

Humberto Mondragon-Castro By Joe Johnson Classic City News previously reported about the arrests of three family members when their home on Deer Creek Court was raided by authorities last month. Emily, Magali, and Raul Perez-Mondragon were each charged with trafficking for the more than 500 grams of methamphetamine that was found in the home. An Athens-Clarke County grand jury on Tuesday indicted them for trafficking meth along with another family member, 61-year-old Humberto

By Joe Johnson Three members of an immigrant family were recently arrested in connection with a joint investigation by the FBI, Department of Homeland Security and Drug Enforcement Administration. The arrests were made on November 20th when a search warrant was executed at the family residence on Deer Creek Court Emily, Magali, and Raul Perez-Mondragon were each charged with trafficking for the more than 500 grams of methamphetamine that was found in their home. They are bein

Jasmine Wheeler The following was released by the Clarke County Sheriff’s Office Sheriff John Q. Williams Announces Arrests in Months-Long, Multiple Agency Fentanyl Investigation Athens, GA — December 5, 2025 — FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Sheriff John Q. Williams announces the arrest of several suspects, including a former medical employee from Clarke County Jail, after a months-long investigation by the Clarke County Sheriff’s Office, the Athens-Clarke County Drug Task Force, the

The following was released by the Clarke County Sheriff’s Office Sheriff John Q. Williams Announces Arrests in Months-Long, Multiple Agency Fentanyl Investigation Athens, GA — December 5, 2025 — FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Sheriff John Q. Williams announces the arrest of several suspects, including a former medical employee from Clarke County Jail, after a months-long investigation by the Clarke County Sheriff’s Office, the Athens-Clarke County Drug Task Force, the Oglethorpe Sheri

By Joe Johnson A 29-year-old Athens man recently had a bad experience while under the influence of LSD that he purchased over the dark web, Early in the evening of November 12th police responded to a report of a suspicious person at a Pinefield Way residence and upon arrival they found the man banging on the door.. Upon seeing the police the man ran down the road and then sat down. “He was having difficulty speaking and informed me that he had taken LSD and did not know what

By Joe Johnson A known drug dealer was arrested last weekend after having been seen making a deal and then leading police on a high speed chase. Athens police said they had 31-year-old Taylor Samuel Jennings under surveillance on the night of November 4th when he made an apparent drug transaction at a gas station on North Avenue. When officers attempted the make a traffic stop on his car, Jennings ncreased his speed and made several turns in an attempt to lose his tail. But

By Joe Johnson Police recently went to Howard Johnson on West Broad Street looking for a Watkinsville man who was wanted on drug charges in Oconee County. Management gave them a key card for the room being rented by Joseph Materne, but before going in they knocked and the room suddenly went quiet and officers could hear sounds of people inside trying to hide evidence of drug possession and use. Upon entering the room the officers noticed that it “was shrouded in a cloud of sm

The following has been released by the United States Department of Justice ATHENS, Ga. – A dozen defendants involved in a major methamphetamine ring operating between Mexico and a conversion site in Monroe, Georgia, responsible for converting and distributing thousands of kilograms of methamphetamine shipped in from Mexico and hidden in boxes of jalapeños, are being held accountable for their crimes at the federal level in an Operation Take Back America investigation. “This O

By Joe Johnson Whitney Dustin Beck was arrested in the afternoon of October 25th after he chased a University of Georgia student while wielding a knife on the North Oconee River Greenway. The 55-year-old homeless man had a crack pipe and open whiskey bottle when police located him. The incident was at around 3:20 p.m. when the 20-year-old student was walking on the trail between Inglewood and Old Winterville roads when Beck accosted and began chasing him while swinging a knif

Federal authorities have seized more than 325 pounds of methamphetamine from a Norcross storage facility, the Department of Justice announced, Drug Enforcement Administration agents had Mexican national Marco Cueto-Rosales under surveillance when they saw him go into into the storage unit and move items around in plastic bins and trash bags. A K9 unit from the Gwinnett County Police Department later detected the scent of narcotics, leading to a federal search warrant and the

The following was released by the Gwinnett County Police Department Doraville, Ga., Nov. 6, 2025) – Gwinnett County Police Uniform Officers make a significant arrest during stolen trailer investigation. On October 30, 2025, the Gwinnett County Police Department received a report of a stolen trailer out of Norcross. Uniform Officers from the West Precinct utilized Flock license plate readers to determine the trailer, after being stolen, had been attached to a vehicle associate