CLASSIC CITY NEWS

From ACC Leisure Services Celebrate "Mud Day" at Sandy Creek Nature Center! Come play in the mud with us and appreciate all the benefits of mud! "Mud Day" is scheduled for Saturday, June 13 from 10:00 a.m. - noon. This program is open to anyone who likes to get in the mud. Registration is not required. The program is free of charge. Attendees should wear clothes that they don't mind getting dirty and closed toe shoes that will stay on in the sticky mud. No crocs, flip flo

From ACC Leisure Services: The Athens-Clarke County Unified Government welcomes the community to celebrate Independence Day at the Star Spangled Classic on Saturday, June 27 at Southeast Clarke Park at 4440 Lexington Road! Complete details and map are available at www.accgov.com/fireworks The event is free and starts at 6:00 pm with activities including carnival rides, face painting, inflatables, a photo booth, and more. A special concert by the Original Splitz Band will tak

By Joe Johnson Federal officials are seeking to deport an immigrant who was arrested last month after he reportedly tried to ram two police cars. Israel Cesmas Albarran, 26, of Pine Hollow, tried to intentionally strike the police cars with his pickup truck, according to police. The incident happened on the night of March 28th on Newton Bridge Road where a police officer reportedly had to swerve to avoid a head-on collision with Albarran’s truck. The officer reported that it

By Joe Johnson Athens police last week needed to use its WRAP restraint system on a woman who they arrested for stealing from a downtown business, The incident happened on the night of May 20th at Magic Wines on West Broad Street where 36-year-old Tieleah Niechole Browner argued with the clerk and left without paying for a bottle of Gatorade. The clerk didn’t call police until Browner returned to the store a few hours later. She refused to identify herself to police officers,

Released today by the Gwinnett County Police Department Gwinnett County Police Vice Unit investigators seized more than $900,000 worth of counterfeit designer merchandise following an investigation into the sale of fake luxury items. The investigation began after officers received a citizen complaint regarding counterfeit designer merchandise being sold online and in person. Investigators later identified Quentessa Gordon and Tameka Gordon as suspects connected to the operati

By Joe Johnson A former nurse has pleaded not guilty to charges stemming from her alleged theft of drugs from the infirmary at the county jail in Athens. Jasmine Turquoise Wheeler was arrested last year on multiple theft and drug possession charges that resulted from an investigation into several fentanyl related deaths of jailed inmates. At her arraignment in Superior Court this month Wheeler pleaded not guilty to one count of possession of a controlled substance and seven c

Issued at 1:34 p.m. by the Athens-Clarke County Police Department: Crash-Dr MLK Pkwy shut down between Loop and Conrad Dr. nixle.us/HC6FP Reply with a friend's # to forward

Issued at 1:34 p.m. by the Athens-Clarke County Police Department: Crash-Dr MLK Pkwy shut down between Loop and Conrad Dr. nixle.us/HC6FP Reply with a friend's # to forward

William Gipson, Wendi Gipson, and Chasen Gipson. The following was released by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation An investigator with the Athens-Clarke County Police Department was terminated after being arrested alongside two others in connection with a child abuse investigation in Franklin County. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation arrested and charged 18-year-old Chasen Gipson, 54-year-old Wendi Gipson, and 52-year-old William Gipson on May 18. Chasen Gipson was charged

Issued this afternoon by the Gwinnett County Department:: We are asking for the public’s assistance in locating a critically missing adult. Hein The Vu, age 37, left his residence in the area of Wilson Manner Circle in Lawrenceville on May 15, 2026 and has not returned or made contact with his family since then. Vu is an Asian male, 140 pounds, 5’5” tall, with short brown hair, and wears glasses. He was last seen wearing blue jeans with a black shirt. He was also in possessi

file image The Barrow County Sheriff’s Office released the following on Sunday morning: MEDIA RELEASE Barrow County, Georgia, May 24, 2026, at 0:01 a.m. Law Enforcement Response to Barricaded Suspect The Barrow County Sheriff’s Office is currently assisting the Winder Police Department with an active barricaded suspect incident in the area of Box Circle in Winder. At approximately 9:12 p.m., law enforcement officers were dispatched to the area following reports that led to an

By Joe Johnson Brian Alberto Ozuna, 16, of Lucky Jones Road in Hull, was hospitalized on the night of May11th after he crashed his car while fleeing from police in Athens. The incident began at around 8:30 pm when a police officer attempted a traffic stop on the teen’s Dodge Charger because it’ appeared to have illegally dark tinted windows, After bringing his car to a stop, Ozuna suddenly raced away as the officer was walking toward him, The officer estimated that during the

By Joe Johnson An Athens-Clarke County grand jury this week returned a 10-count indictment against a man accused of murdering two people and injuring a third during a shooting in downtown Athens last March. Mark Anthony Desousa, 22, of Jefferson, was charged with two counts each of malice and felony murder, and three counts each of aggravated assault and possession of a firearm in the commission of a crime, according to the indictment filed in Superior Court on Tuesday. DeSou

By Joe Johnson The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has identified the man killed this month during a confrontation with police in Athens as 33-year-old Joe Baythavong.of Hoschton. The incident happened on May 12 in the 1000 block of Hull Road when Athens police officers responded to reports of a man shooting a gun. Upon arrival they encountered Baythavong brandishing the weapon and ordered him to put it down, according to the GBI. “(Baythavong) then pointed the gun to his he

Released today by the Gwinnett County Police Department (Norcross, Ga., May 20, 2026) – Gwinnett County Police are asking for the public’s assistance in locating Bernardo Antonio Romero-Linarte, who is wanted on multiple felony warrants related to crimes against a child. The warrants obtained for Romero-Linarte include kidnapping, false imprisonment, aggravated sodomy, aggravated child molestation, sexual battery, and child molestation. Romero-Linarte’s current whereabouts ar

By Joe Johnson An attorney representing a man accused of murdering two people in downtown Athens has filed a motion that seeks to have his client released from jail on bail. Mark Anthony DeSousa is facing murder charges for fatally shooting Dylan Bentley and Clayton Adams last March in a parking lot off North Jackson Street. A third victim, Landon Skinner, survived being shot in the face. According to court filings, Bentley was killed execution style when Desousa walked up fr

The following was released today by the Clarke County School District Athens, Georgia — The Clarke County School District is pleased to announce valedictorians and salutatorians for the 2026 graduating classes of Cedar Shoals, Clarke Central, and Classic City high schools. These students finished their high school careers with the highest and second-highest grade-point averages, respectively, in their graduating classes. CEDAR SHOALS HIGH SCHOOL Valedictorian – Christopher Ko

graphic illustration By Joe Johnson A University of Georgia student reported that someone tried entering her home this week while she was in the shower. The young woman told police that she was showering at about 10:45 pm on May 7th in her unit at Riverbend Club Apartments when she heard a commotion in the bedroom. She said that upon seeing a pair of hands pushing up the window she let out a scream that scared off the intruder. A witness related that he saw a younger white ma

Cassidy By Joe Johnson A 24-year-old Madison County man was charged with murder this week after he fatally shot his roommate at their home in Comer. According to a sheriff’s office incident report, on the morning of May 18th Jacob Richard Allen Cassidy shot 46-year-.old Billy Jack Swafford during an argument in their home on Osley Mill Road. The victim reportedly had been shot multiple times by Cassidy, who then fled from the scene. When located, Cassidy claimed that he had

Released this afternoon by the Athens-Clarke County Police Department On May 16, at approximately 1:55 PM, the Athens-Clarke County Police Department responded to a single-vehicle dirt bike crash near the intersection of Whit Davis Road and Pettit Lane. When ACCPD arrived, the operator of the dirt bike, Worley Lorenzo Robinson, a 28-year-old male from Elberton, Georgia, was located in the roadway with critical injuries. ACCPD’s initial investigation indicated that Robinson wa