CLASSIC CITY NEWS

The Athens-Clarke County Police Department has released the following: On February 28, 2026, at approximately 1:38 AM, ACCPD officers responded to a report of a rape that occurred in the area of 400 North Thomas Street. The investigation determined that 19-year-old Tydarius Wingfield, of Athens, GA, approached the female victim, who is a UGA student and unknown to Wingfield, and requested to walk her home. During the interaction, Wingfield forced the female behind a building

By Erik Hogan Landscape and nature photography revolve around the skills of observation and noticing. At first glance, these may seem synonymous. However, there is a subtle distinction between the two. This may not adhere to strict dictionary definitions of the these terms, but perhaps suggests a useful way of conceptualizing the skills. Observation is looking in its broadest sense. It involves being fully present in the moment, completely aware of one’s surroundings. This in

AP photo By T.W. Burger In Texas, late in December of 1989, Thomas Everett Blasingame pulled his horse up short, dismounted, lay down in a field, crossed his hands over his chest and died. His coworkers at JA Cattle Co. of Goodnight, Texas found him that way. His horse stood nearby. Blasingame was 91. The Associated' Press story said he was the oldest working cowboy in Texas. He told the Wichita Falls Times the previous summer that he wanted to die just the way he did. Ever w

By Joe Johnson Teco Tobias Boswell, 21, of Colbert, was arrested on the night of February 13th after he reportedly broke into the home of a former girlfriend and assaulted her. According to police, Boswell got into the victim’s University Oaks apartment by busting a window and then he hit the 23-.year-old woman and threatened her with a gun. Boswell fled from the scene and was later located at the hospital where he received treatment for injuries he sustained when breaking th

By Joe Johnson The University of Georgia Police Department has issued the following community notification: February 28, 2026 3:55 a.m. The Athens-Clarke County Police Department is currently investigating a Rape incident that occurred at approximately 1:25 a.m. in the area of 520 North Thomas Street. The victim reported that while in the area of 510 North Thomas Street she was approached by an unknown male who offered to walk her to her residence. The victim reported that

By Joe Johnson A 70-year-old woman has been charged with her husband’s murder in Madison County after she shot him during an argument about a dog. Marion Compton called 911 Wednesday night to report that she had shot her husband and when deputies arrived at the couple’s home on state Highway 72 In Carlton they found 77-year-old Gregory Waco Compton sitting on a couch, dead from a gunshot wound to his head. Marion Compton admitted that she killed her husband and explained why

The Madison County Sheriff’s Office has released the following: Investigators have charged a Carlton woman with felony murder for the Wednesday night, February 25, shooting death of a Carlton man. MCSO deputies responded to a home in the 7000 block of Hwy. 72 E. at approximately 8:15 p.m. Deputies located an unresponsive man in the living room who had been shot in the head. Madison County EMS responded, and he was pronounced deceased. Investigators identified the victim as Gr

By Joe Johnson Shaitiria Quinya Sherod, 22, of Hull Road, was arrested the night of February 16th for simple battery on her sister during a domestic dispute. She compounded her legal problems by obstructing officers, resisting arrest, and spitting on and kicking them. When police arrived at her residence, Sherod reportedly tried to evade arrest by climbing out of a window, When an officer stopped her escape by grabbing her, Sherod kicked and spit at him. After being taken int

Released by the Gwinnett County Police Department: (Norcross, Ga., Feb. 27, 2026) – Gwinnett County Police Department is requesting the public’s assistance in locating a missing 29-year-old from Duluth. Hector Eduardo Rodriguez Montano was last seen on Shackleford Court in Norcross on February 16. He is six feet tall, and 160 pounds. He was last seen wearing a gray hoodie, gray pants, and gray and white shoes. He has dark brown eyes and may currently have a shaved head and

ATLANTA, Feb. 25 — The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation released today its 2026 list of 10 Places in Peril in the state. Sites on the list include: Boggs Rural Life Center in Keysville (Burke County); Civilian Conservation Corps Camp at Hard Labor Creek State Park in Rutledge (Morgan County); Egleston Hall at All Saints’ Episcopal Church in Atlanta (Fulton County); Legion Pool at the University of Georgia in Athens (Clarke County); McCranie Turpentine Still in Willaco

By Joe Johnson A grand jury has indicted a 26-year-old Monroe man for the alleged sexual assault of an Athens juvenile last summer. Darius Lamar Hardin was charged with statutory rape, child molestation, and sexual battery of a juvenile, according to the indictment filed Tuesday in Athens-Clarke County Superior Court. The victim was 14 at the time of the assault in October 2025, court records indicate. Hardin is free on bond and scheduled to be arraigned on April 14th.

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

The Gwinnett County Police Department has issued the following: (Duluth, Ga., Feb. 25, 2026) – Gwinnett County Police investigators make a human trafficking arrest after following up on a previous robbery arrest. On January 20, officers responded to a robbery call at 2000 Satellite Pointe. in Duluth. When officers arrived, they met with Changze Li (28, Buford) who let them into the apartment saying there was a burglary or robbery in progress. When officers entered the apartm

Concerning the "Interfaith vigil held in Athens for ICE mass detainees" - You have the freedom in our country to peacefully support or oppose any cause you like, but have you considered the fact that your vigil in support of those who are in our country illegally was held on the second anniversary of Lakin Riley's murder? I think an apology to her family is in order. Pastor Glenn Guest Danielsville

The following was released by the Athens-Clarke County Police Department On February 21, 2026, at approximately 8:30 PM, the Athens-Clarke County Police Department responded to an injury crash on Olympic Drive. Initial investigation indicates that the driver of a 2013 BMW 650i sedan struck a bicyclist operating a GS5 740W electric bike in the rear. Both vehicles were traveling westbound on Olympic Drive, near the intersection of Athena Drive. The bicyclist, Kul Chokhal, a 37-

By Eddie Whitlock I am obsessed with time: I will admit that. I think I always have been. Lately, though, my focus is on how little time I have left. ​Men in my family die at 70. Sometimes, death comes a little sooner; rarely, a little later. ​If I were to die on my 70 th birthday, that would mean I have 134 Saturdays left. ​I remember sitting with my father when I was very young, waiting in the car while my mother visited someone in the hospital. The old man and I played a

The Athens-Clarke County Fire Department released the following: On Monday afternoon, February 23, 2026, at approximately 2:14 p.m., the Athens-Clarke County Fire Department responded to a reported structure fire on Rhodes Drive. First arriving crews found a working fire at a two-story single-family residence, with heavy fire showing from the rear of the home. Crew initiated an interior attack but as conditions worsened, operations were transitioned to a defensive strategy to

Released by the United States Department of Justice MACON, Ga. – A North Carolina man was sentenced to the statutory maximum of five years in prison for sending antisemitic threats to Georgia's only Jewish State House Representative and the Rabbi of Temple Beth Israel in Macon after both women publicly backed the passage of Georgia House Bill 30, the state's first legislation defining antisemitism. Ariel E. Collazo Ramos, 32, of High Point, North Carolina, was sentenced to se

By Joe Johnson Firefighters are currently at the scene of a structure fire near downtown Athens. One person reportedly sustained burns in the fire on Reese Street, but details are not yet available. Fire crews several hours earlier responded to a house fire in western Athens-Clarke, where two people were injured on Rhodes Drive off of Timothy Road, The blaze was described by officials as intense and it had spread to a neighboring residence. The victims were transported to the