CLASSIC CITY NEWS

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 Erik Hogan A week and a half ago it snowed. Temperatures did not rise above freezing for three days. Experts sang of potential disaster and schools were closed. Gangs of coyotes roamed the powerline cut behind my house, screaming in the austere moonlight. I looked at trees, seeing form and structure beneath settling soft white. Now the calendar slips into February. Daffodils are beginning to erupt from the dormant earth and afternoon temperatures flirt with 70 degrees. Bir

By Erik Hogan A week and a half ago it snowed. Temperatures did not rise above freezing for three days. Experts sang of potential disaster and schools were closed. Gangs of coyotes roamed the powerline cut behind my house, screaming in the austere moonlight. I looked at trees, seeing form and structure beneath settling soft white. Now the calendar slips into February. Daffodils are beginning to erupt from the dormant earth and afternoon temperatures flirt with 70 degrees. Bir

By Joe Johnson A Morgan County man has been indicted for the alleged murder of a victim who was gunned down in the intersection of West Broad and Pulaski streets on December 18th. Jamarioun Clark, 22, of Madison, is charged with murder and aggravated assault for fatally shooting 26-year-old Anargyros “Cole” Mantas, according to the indictment that was filed Tuesday in Superior Court. Authorties have not disclosed whether a motive for the shooting had been established. Mantas

By Joe Johnson A 59-year-old man who passed away this month in a house on Helen Street might be the third person in Athens to have died from the recent extreme cold weather. Rogelio Perez was lying on the floor of the basement that he was sharing with a roommate when the other man found him deceased on the morning of February 1st. According to a police report, “his face was frozen with his mouth wide open,” and “it appeared as if Mr, Perez was attempting to plug in a heater.

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 Following a full week of testimony, the trial of the man accused of murdering University of Georgia law student Tara Baker came to a halt after the wife of the defense attorney was reportedly hospitalized. The prosecution rested its case on Wednesday and the wife of attorney Ahmad Crews was hospitalized as he was preparing to present his case in defense of Edrick Faust.

By Joe Johnson Authorities are asking for the public’s help with identifying a woman whose body was recently found outside of a business along Atlanta Highway. The middle-aged homeless woman is believed to have died from exposure during the recent extreme cold weather. She was found the morning of January 27th by an employee of American Pest Control in the rear parking lot of the business. There were no indications of alcohol or drug abuse, according to County Coroner Michael

Bet By Joe Johnson After a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps was recently found dead from suicide a neighbor provided an American flag to drape over his body as it was escorted from the home. The neighbor paid tribute to the 53-year-old decorated combat vet who reportedly had been experiencing health issues while also trying to cope with his wife’s recent death. He was found by his sister who went to check on him Sunday after learning that he hadn’t shown up for work. A vetera

By Joe Johnson Dominique Joseph, 18, of Simmons Street, was arrested Monday morning after she stabbed her boyfriend during an argument at their home. She allegedly stabbed 22-year-old Dante Clark in his shoulder from behind with a kitchen knife during an argument regarding their moving to another residence. The couple reportedly had been in a relationship for about a year and Clark moved from Atlanta about a month ago to live with Joseph and their child. During the argument,

By Albert DeSimone I understand that “sycophantic” isn’t a commonly used word. According to the Cambridge Dictionary, the word means “praising people in authority in a way that is not sincere, usually in order to get some advantage from them.” In essence, Sycophantic AI creates a yes-person that “echoes your opinions, confirms your biases, and even validates factual errors just to stay in your good graces.” (Gemini AI, and, yes, I see the irony.) In simple words, it’s a suck-

By Joe Johnson Phillip Todd Brooks, 46, of Lexington Road, was arrested early in the morning of January 31st after a domestic violence incident with his wife concerning the television. An argument began when Brooks insisted on watching TV while his wife was trying to sleep, When things turned physical, he head-butted the 41-year-old victim and struck her face with a hole puncher had significant visible injuries to her face. According to police, Brooks also tried physically p

Posted by the Athens-Clarke County Fire Department Yesterday around midday, units responded to a motor vehicle accident on Cleveland Road. The vehicle rolled over, knocking down a power pole, which started a grass fire, eventually catching the fuel tank on fire. Members from from Engine 22, Rescue 4, Engine 26 and Tanker 1 rendered first aid to the occupants, extinguished the car and brush fires, and assisted PD in blocking the roadway until crews could repair the power line

By Joe Johnson The victim of an alleged murder last year at an Athens apartment complex fell to his death while escaping from gang members who were trying to rob him, according a recent court filing, On the night of November 6th, members of the Sex Money Murder street gang were attempting to steal cash at gunpoint from Antonio Jewell at The View at NoDa apartment complex, according to an indictment filed last Tuesday in Athens-Clarke County Superior Court. The 22-year-old vi

Antonio Jewell By Joe Johnson The victim of an alleged murder last year at an Athens apartment complex fell to his death while escaping from gang members who were trying to rob him, according a recent court filing, On the night of November 6th, members of the Sex Money Murder street gang were attempting to steal cash at gunpoint from Antonio Jewell at The View at NoDa apartment complex, according to an indictment filed last Tuesday in Athens-Clarke County Superior Court. The

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

By Erik Hogan Snow Falls. Silent, white, inevitable. Words fall, piling into drifts of letters on a page. Snow on the page. Landing so softly on leaves, dead already. Already fallen. Accumulating drafts of white. The sound of falling. Not silent. Gritty hissing of trees. Snow striking words, settling on thoughts. Piling. Fur by the window watches with teeth birds under drifts of white, dwelling on endings. All silent, save for the falling. Cold absence weighs down boug

By Joe Johnson When police recently responded to a report of cars being broken into at a predominantly Hispanic apartment complex they learned that the same suspects had also robbed someone at gunpoint. The person who called police about the car break-ins was not a victim, but a manager at Kathwood Townhouse Apartments, He was also the person who told police about previous crimes in the complex that included the armed robbery. He “explained that the victims did not report any

Released by the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office (Gwinnett County, Ga., February 6, 2026 )  – On January 9, 2026, the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office Fugitive Unit was alerted by the Gwinnett County Police Department that a group of suspects were impersonating Sheriff’s Office deputies to commit armed robberies.  The Fugitive Unit located Samuel Baxter after surveillance, and with assistance from the Georgia State Patrol, conducted a traffic stop after he exited a residence