CLASSIC CITY NEWS

By Joe Johnson Tributes are publicly being made following the death of 22-year-old Antonio Jewell, a 2022 graduate of Clarke Central High School. The young man known as AJ was found deceased Friday night at The View at NODA apartment complex near downtown Athens. His death is under investigation by the Athens-Clarke County Police Department. Addressing the Gladiator Nation, Clarke Central Athletics on its Facebook page said, “AJ was a proud Gladiator who represented Clarke C

By Joe Johnson Police are investigating the death of a man whose body was found Thursday night in The View at NODA apartment complex near downtown Athens. The body of 22-year-old Antonio Lamar Jewell of Winterville was found at the rear of the new complex that opened in May on the former site of Bethel Midtown Village, Police would not say why the man’s death is being investigated by Criminal Investigations Division detectives. “CID is actively investigating the circumstance

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

Dear Mr President.  I voted for you -twice.  In general I think you and your entire cabinet team are doing a positively fantastic job cleaning up the Biden mess and rooting out the outrageous excesses of the far left.  But assassination of suspected drug traffickers at sea is going too far. Law abiding American Citizens loath drug traffickers too.  But here’s the thing Mr President. If we allow drug traffickers to be summarily executed without a trial then somewhere down the

By Joe Johnson Athens police are investigating a shooting incident last weekend in which two homes in an Eddex Court duplex were struck by gunfire, A 61-year-old man was watching television in his home at about 11:45 pm Saturday when a mirror above where he was sitting was struck by a bullet, and three adults and two children were inside the neighboring home when it was struck by gunfire. Police said they found a mix of handgun and rifle shell casings on the street outside t

By Joe Johnson Joseph Daniel Harper, 42, was arrested on the afternoon of October 20th after he beat his girlfriend and wouldn’t let her leave the apartment. The 50-year-old victim told police that Harper punched her, struck her head with a pipe and threatened to stab her with a knife. Her face was bruised and she had a black eye, but declined medical attention. The incident happened at the Clarke Gardens complex while Harper was in violation of a court protective order from

By Joe Johnson A 14-year-old boy was severely beaten by a group of thugs as he was on his way home from a Halloween event at the East Athens Community Center. According to a police report released Thursday, the incident happened in the evening of October 31st when the victim was walking home to the Nellie B community from the trunk or treat ard was surrounded by a group of youths, one of whom wore a ski mask and brandished a handgun. He tried to run home but fell, police sa

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

A Riveting Portrait of “Mr. Civil Rights” Featuring  Michael Anthony Tatmon  as Thurgood Marshall and directed by  Prodan Dimov ,  THURGOOD  offers audiences a stirring and deeply human portrait of one of America’s most transformative leaders. The play captures Marshall’s courageous journey — from his early days as a civil rights lawyer challenging segregation in  Brown v. Board of Education  to his historic appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court, where he upheld the principle

The following has been released by the candidate With broad community backing and a record of hands-on service, Mara Zuniga, a passionate advocate fornbipartisan solutions and community-driven leadership, has officially announced her candidacy for Mayor of Athens-Clarke County. Zuniga, who first ran in 2022 as a political newcomer, came within striking distance of victory against three candidates, including a 12-year incumbent. She raised a significant sum of money in just

By Joe Johnson Erin Kathleen Blakock, 55,, was arrested early in the morning of October 25th after she caused extensive damage property damage in her own apartment complex and fled from the scene. According to police, it was about 1:30 a.m, when Blalock drove her Ford Bronco into two vehicles and a pair of air conditioning units at Cambridge Apartments. As she attempted to drive away a witness was able to put the SUV in park and take away the keys, police said, at which time

Joe Lewis Harper By Joe Johnson Two men were arrested late the night of October 4th after a street fight in which one repeatedly tried to run down the other with a sport utility vehicle. The men reportedly were fighting because one of them wouldn’t pay for a car ride to go buy crack cocaine. An officer reported that he was on patrol at around 11:45 p.m. when he was alerted to the incident that was captured by a surveillance camera involving 61-year-old Joe Lewis Harper and

By Kristen Linthicum/UGA Today At the onset of cold and flu season, a group of University of Georgia schools and colleges joined together to promote community health at UGA’s Health Sciences Campus. Last week, students and faculty from across the university — including the College of Public Health, Augusta University/University of Georgia Medical Partnership, the School of Medicine and the College of Pharmacy — hosted the second Normaltown Community Health Fair. The event off

By Joe Johnson Tommy Moore, 78, of Hickory Drive, was arrested for DUI Monday afternoon after driving his Chevy Trailblazer off of Moss Road in Winterville and plowing through some 60 feet of woods. Police said they found a bottle of homemade moonshine in the SUV, along with open and empty cans of beer, and that Moore reeked of marijuana and alcohol. He told police that marijuana would be found in his blood if tested because he smokes weed daily. He declined treatment by EMTs

By Belle Wilkins/ UGA Today Lt. Col. Weston Layfield understands the pride and camaraderie that comes from serving in the United States Armed Forces.   Now, as professor of military science at the University of Georgia Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) , he’s sharing experience gained from a long career in the U.S. Army with students as he trains the next generation of cadets.    Layfield has been in the U.S. Army in various command and staff positions across the cou

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   A University of Georgia student was arrested last week for allegedly driving a motorcycle at nearly three times the posted speed limit. A police officer reported that he was monitoring traffic on South Milledge Avenue at about 1:30a.m. May 16 when 21- year-old Sachin Vishnoi zipped past on a 2024 Kawasaki Ninja at an estimated speed of over 90 mph. The officer chased after and stopped the biker upon catching up over a mile down the road, which has a posted s

By Joe Johnson A man was recently arrested for setting fire to the backseat of his girlfriend’s car as she was driving on an Athens highway. The woman was driving on Hull Road on the morning of October 11th when 36-year-old Brad W. Nunley set the fire and she was extinguished it by beating the flames with her shoe, according to police. When she pulled into a convenience store on Danielsville Road Nunley grabbed the car keys and began to leave, When the woman tried keeping h

By Joe Johnson A pair of drug dealers were arrested on October 9th when police raided a home in northern Athens. Dwight Howard Moreland, 57, and Vernon Demetre Lester, 54, were each charged with selling heroin possessing crack cocaine with the intent to distribute and several related crimes in connection with the execution of a search warrant at 251 Lombardy Circle by the Northeast Georgia Regional Drug Task Force. Superior Court records show that both men have felonious crim

The following was released this morning by the Athens-Clarke County Police Department: The victim in this case has been identified as Elmer Gualna-Mez, 22 of Athens, Georgia. On October 26th, at approximately 11:39 p.m., the Athens-Clarke County Police Department responded to a vehicle crash involving a pedestrian at the intersection of Highway 29 N and Highway 72. The initial investigation determined that the driver of a 2017 Nissan Versa, a 33-year-old male of Hull, GA, was