CLASSIC CITY NEWS

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 A 19-year-old University of Georgia student last week died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Ryan Victor Snyder reportedly shot himself on December 4th with a gun he rented at the Athens Gun Club off Atlanta Highway. He died the following day in his home town of St. Louis, Missouri. Ryan was a business student at UGA and in high school had played basketball and volleyball, and also wrestled. He was a National Honor Society member and his obituary said that R

By Joe Johnson A home was damaged by fire Friday at Winter Grove Mobile Home Park on Winterville Road. Two people were home at the time but they got of their trailer without being injured, said county Fire Marshal Kevin Kearney. He said the residents have been temporarily displaced due to their home being seriously damaged. Kearney sent investigators to the scene to conduct a cause and origin analysis.

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 Stanley Lajarvis Clemons, 42, of Statham, has been charged for a domestic violence incident in which he allegedly kicked the victim in the face and stepped on her neck to hinder her breathing. The incident happened in July 2024 when they lived together on Garnett Ridge Drive, according to an indictment filed Tuesday in Superior Court. Grand jurors charged Clemons aggravated assault and family violence battery. He remains free on a $2,500 bond while awaiting h

By Joe Johnson An Athens-Clarke County grand jury this week indicted 42-year- old Joseph Daniel Harper for beating and holding prisoner his girlfriend. He was charged with aggravated assault, aggravated stalking, false imprisonment, possession of a knife in the commission of a felony, family violence battery, and terroristic threats, according to the indictment filed Tuesday in Superior Court, The charges stem from an incident at the victim’s apartment in October when Harper

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

Released this morning by the Gwinnett County Police Department: Lawrenceville, Ga., Dec. 11, 2025) – The Gwinnett County Police Department is requesting the public’s assistance in locating a missing 40-year-old man from Norcross. Lavoyd Ricky Linnen Jr. has not had contact with his family since November.  He is six-foot one inch tall and weighs 150 pounds.  He has black hair, brown eyes, and a black beard.  Anyone with information on Lavoyd’s whereabouts is urged to contact G

From Athens-Clarke County Leisure Services It is time for the annual Deck the Hollow at Memorial Park! This special four-night event in the Zoo includes lights, crafts, concessions, ambassador animal encounters, and live performances! This event is open to all ages, however children must be accompanied by an adult.   The dates are Thursday, December 11- Sunday, December 14 from 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. The fee is $5 per person at the gate (children younger than 2 are admitted free).

By T. W. Burger I am sitting here in a comfortable chair with my feet stacked up, all laid-back and comfy, laptop teetering on what remains of my lap, and a mug of hot tea perched nearby. I am thinking about my father. Standing at the other end of the room is the eastern red cedar we just murdered out in a farm field and mounted on the sill of the bay window. My father has been dead for more than a quarter-century, but now and then I see him in the mirror, lurking in the bone

Classic City News has previously reported about the former cop being arrested for molesting and exploitating a juvenile female member. Now the United States Department of Justice has just released the following additional information:  GAINESVILLE, Ga. – Former Athens-Clarke County Police Officer Amber Nicole Ferguson has been indicted on charges of production and attempted production of child sexual abuse material, possession of child sexual abuse material involving a mino

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

By Joe Johnson Stanley Trevex Bess, 29, of Beaverdam Road in Winterville, was arrested on the night of November 18th by a police officer who saw him throw a piece of trash onto Waddell Street. As the officer told him to pick it up, Central Dispatch confirmed that Bess was wanted for a felony probation violation from his 2013 armed robbery conviction. He is being held without bail at the county jail.

The following was released by Eric Grisler for Georgia Eric Gisler flipped Georgia State House District 121 to the Democratic Party on Tuesday by a 197 vote margin. The final tally of 50.9 percent for Gisler against 49.2 percent for his Republican opponent Mack “Dutch” Guest IV was reported by the Georgia Secretary of State’s office shortly after 9 p.m. “We did it!,” Gisler told supporters after the GA Secretary of State’s office had declared him the winner.  “We won because

By Joe Johnson Athens police have identified a pair of suspects in the burglary last month of a convenience store on Hawthorne Avenue, After breaking into Variety Mart early on the morning of November 5th the thieves made off with two safes, a cash register and thousands of dollars in merchandise. A couple of days later a police officer received “credible information” concerning the identities of the burglars and the car they had used for the heist, The officer was patrollin

By Joe Johnson The Ahens-Clarke County Police Department is investigating the aggravated assault of a 15-year-old boy by armed street gang members who made him strip naked ACCPD said the gangsters were juveniles, though one adult was arrested. Ry’ Male McGuire, 18, of Coleridge Court, was charged with aggravated assault, false imprisonment, terroristic threats and acts, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, and participation in criminal street gang activi

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 today by the Athens-Clarke County Police Department On November 29, 2025, ACCPD received a call regarding packages on a sidewalk in a neighborhood that appeared to have been dropped by a delivery driver. Upon arrival, ACCPD officers located about 70 packages with varying addresses in the Athens area. They contacted the delivery service (which we will not name) and made them aware of the situation. Officers were informed that the delivery driver had

Illustration by Chris Pomeroy By Emily Mayville The United States has long been the epicenter of public research, supported in part by two institutions: the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF). Combined, these institutions invested $783 million in Georgia in 2024. The University of Georgia, consistently recognized for its high-tier research, received $76 million in federal grants in 2024. Our gridiron rival in Atlanta, Georgia Tech, i

By Joe Johnson Athens police said they were investigating after finding the body of a 63-year-old man in his home on Merlin Place. A neighbor had requested that a welfare check be made on Walter Carrasquillo because she had not seen him in two weeks. She reported that the man was alone because his wife “had been taken to Florida,” and a strange odor was coming from his home. When police arrived they found a phone glued to the front door that was connected to a cable. Upon mak