CLASSIC CITY NEWS

By Joe Johnson Izalee Tasha Cooper, 32, of Vine Street, has been sentenced to five years in prison for a car crash last year in which her teenage niece was seriously injured. She pleaded guilty in Superior Court last week to driving under the influence of a controlled substance and causing serious injury with a motor vehicle . Judge H. Patrick Haggard gave Cooper a total sentence of 15 years, with the first five to be served in prison and the balance on probation, The crash o

By Joe Johnson The Cedar Shoals High School community is mourning the death of an alumna who was a star athlete. Retana Yvette Hayes was found deceased in her car on the evening of June 4th. The cause of death is pending an autopsy at the state medical examiner’s office. Ms. Hayes, 55, had been a standout basketball player at Cedar Shoals who last year was inducted into the school’s athletic hall of fame. “Retana was schooled on the basketball court by Marvin Nash. She could

By Joe Johnson Authorities are investigating after woman was found dead in her car at Intown Suites on South Milledge Drive. The body of 55-year-old Retana Yvette Hayes was found in her car at around 9:20 pm on June 4th, according to police, who said they found no indications that she died from foul play. A witness told police that he saw Hayes arguing on her phone in the car less then an hour before she was found deceased. The extended stay hotel was listed as the woman’s ho

By Joe Johnson The Athens-Clarke County Police Department is investigating two rapes that women reported to them over the past week. The first was reported on June 2nd by a 36-year-old woman who said she was raped in her West Broad Street boarding house. Police said they learned about the second rape on June 7th when officers responded to a person-down call at the victim’s home. Upon arrival they found the victim crying hysterically and with her clothes disheveled. She would

By Joe Johnson A Superior Court judge this week denied a request for bail by a man who killed two people and injured a third in downtown Athens Following a hearing on Wednesday, Judge H. Patrick Haggard denied bail to 22-year old Mark Anthony DeSousa on grounds that he was a flight risk and posed a significant danger to the community. In custody since March, DeSousa is facing murder charges for fatally shooting Dylan Bentley and Clayton Adams in a parking lot off North Jackso

By Joe Johnson Thomas Randall Culp Jr., 63, of Pamela Drive, was arrested on May 27th following an investigation into animals living in deplorable conditions in a house he owned on Timothy Road. Arrest warrants obtained by Athens police state as follows: “Said accused did knowingly and intentionally allow 30 cats to live in a house that has not been lived in by a human in more than one year, is littered with feces, multiple puddles of urine with an extremely strong ammonia sm

By Joe Johnson The Georgia State Patrol is investigating a fatal crash that occurred on Epps Bridge Parkway In Oconee County. It happened late Wednesday afternoon when a pickup truck reportedly sped through a red light at the Athens Perimeter exit ramp and struck a car that was turning onto Epps Bridge Parkway, The driver of the Chevrolet Malibu was pronounced dead at the scene. A van was also struck but no serious injuries were reported. The incident is under investigation b

By Joe Johnson A member of an Athens gang has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for his role in a 2024 drive-by shooting that killed a child at the Hallmark Estates mobile home park. Julian Omar Cubillos, a member of the Everybody Eats street gang last week pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter for his involvement in the shooting that took the life of 3-year-old Kyron Zarco Smith. Cubillos had been in a car with three other EBE gangsters when they opened fire on a riv

By Joe Johnson A security guard was arrested at the Social Security Administration on Prince Avenue this week after roughing up a man who had taken photographs inside the building. Charles Mack Jones, a 65-year-old Elberton resident, told police that he was taking pictures of signs in the government offices because he wanted to read them at home. He claimed that the guard, Michael McCarey Williams, confronted him about photography being prohibited then slammed him to the grou

By Joe Johnson Mark Douglas Fenley, 58, of Winder, was arrested on the afternoon of May 30th after threatened customers in the drive-thru line at Arby’s on West Broad Street. According to police, the driver of a pickup truck honked his horn at Fenley for pulling his truck in front of him in the drive-thru line, at which time Fenley got out and pointed a gun at him and his mother, who was a front seat passenger. When Fenley went to the side window of the pickup the driver aske

Released by the BISSELL Pet Foundation: Gainesville, Ga. (June 1, 2026) — HSNEGA participated alongside more than 335 shelters in 39 states during the 10th anniversary of BISSELL Pet Foundation’s largest national adoption event, which collectively saved 16,073 pets. During the 17-day event, HSNEGA offered a special $50 adoption fee for dogs and cats six months and older, with 79 total animals getting adopted during the Empty the Shelters promotion. "Ten years ago, we launch

By Joe Johnson Will Crawford Dean, 68, of Westchester Drive, was sentenced to prison this week after pleading guilty to trafficking cocaine. He had been arrested in April 2025 during an investigation by the Northeast Georgia Regional Drug Task Force In which a search of his home yielded in excess of 227 grams of prepackaged powder and crack cocaine, oxycodone, and 74 grams of marijuana in designer packaging, according to court records. Dean was subsequently indicted by a gra

By Joe Johnson Brandon Levi Brimer, 38, of Prince Avenue, was arrested on the night of May 29th by police who had surrounded his apartment upon responding to a report of him shooting a gun in the street. The incident happened at the Winfield Chase complex where Brimer was observed entering after having discharged a handgun while walking on Prince Avenue. Police officers surrounded the man’s apartment, from which yelling and screaming was heard, and they tried convincing Brime

By Joe Johnson Authorities are investigating the death of a man whose body was found last week in his apartment on Sunset Drive Athens police said they responded to the home on the afternoon of May 26th after a neighbor reported finding 39-year-old Alexander Garcia unresponsive in his apartment. After being unable to reach him, the woman said she stood on a chair to look through a window and saw Garcia on the floor. Police said that he was deceased upon their arrival. Detecti

By Michael H. McLendon It is imperative that you vote on in the runoff election on June 16th ! Even if you did not vote in the May primary you can vote in the June election! The stakes are high for the Classic City and for you. Athens is in a mess. It is a battlefield littered with the consequences of bad decisions over the past 8 years. This election is about who has the skills and seasoned leadership experience to successfully get Athens out of the mess and restore the lust

Officer killed in off-duty accident Released by the Lawrenceville Police Department Lawrenceville Police Officer Killed in Off-Duty Traffic Accident (May 30, 2026; 08:00AM) It is with profound sadness that the Lawrenceville Police Department announces the passing of Officer Travis Clarke, who was killed in a traffic accident on Friday, May 29, 2026. The accident which is being investigated by the Gwinnett County Police Department occurred while off-duty. Officer Clarke jo

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,