CLASSIC CITY NEWS

By Joe Johnson A police officer this week saved the life of a 75-year-old man who overdosed on drugs in a westside Athens hotel room. It happened on the morning of June 15th at Microtel Inn on Ultimate Drive, where Officer Tyler Vaughn found the victim lying on the bed, unresponsive and not breathing. After carefully moving the man to the floor the officer administered the Narcan opioid overdose reversal agent then saw that his chest began to rise. “I performed a few sternum

By Paige Brimer My son Levi Brimer is gifted but learning disabled. He is bipolar and I swear something only half diagnosed: a narcoleptic (diagnosed) insomniac (medicated in youth). In his life he's been a poet, comedian, dad extraordinaire, a provider/Award Winning Executive Chef, a gamer, music junkie, occasional dance king, and an overall caring and loving heart and soul. When he was fifteen years old we moved away from an area where he had developed close friendships. I

By Joe Johnson A 34-year-old woman died last weekend from apparently using the drug fentanyl. She was found unresponsive in the bathroom of her Highland Park Drive home Saturday morning and attempts by roommates to revive her with the opioid overdose reversal agent Narcan failed. The woman had reportedly been trying to overcome addiction and had relapsed in recent weeks. The roommates told police that she likely overdosed on fentanyl. At least 14 people are known to have die

By Joe Johnson A home in the eastside of Athens was targeted by gunfire last weekend during a drive-by shooting. It happened at around 10:20 p.m. Saturday when shots were fired from a vehicle that struck a house on Morningview Circle, police said. No one was injured, according to police, who said one bullet struck an exterior wall. A resident told police she heard gunfire coming from the Cooper Road intersection, followed by a vehicle racing away.

By Joe Johnson George Anderson, 58, of Norwood Court, was arrested early in the morning of June 3rd because a woman who was driving hiim failed to dim her car’s bright lights for oncoming traffic. During a traffic stop on Barnett Shoals Road police searched the car because of a glass pipe with residue that was observed in the center console and Anderson having an arrest warrant for failing to appear in court. A bag allegedly belonging to Anderson was found to contain 174 gram

By T. W. Burger I found it, naturally, while looking for something entirely different. In a box on a bottom shelf in my office, jammed in with some other mementos, was my old Mr. Trash hat. It was filthy. Of course, it was filthy when I put it away, sometime back in the early 1980s. The grime is easy to explain. Mr. Trash, while it existed, was a “refuse removal business,” which most of us would still call “garbage company.” I was the field manager, though I’m not sure I had

Athens, GA - Touring one-man puppet company, Puppet Pants of Atlanta, GA will perform an evening of handmade marionette entertainment at Dead Beat Club on June 24 at 8:00 pm. The club is located at 585 Barber Street. In a true “old world” style form of entertainment, the puppeteer in full view brings string puppets to life without the use of electronics, artificial intelligence or 3D printing, reigniting a cultural artistic renaissance of art and craft to revitalize one of th

By Albert DeSimone Jimmi Hendrix used it. Jimmy Page, Pete Townshend, Dave Davies, and Tony Iommi used it, as did many others from the 1960s hard rock scene. We’re talking about the power chord and how it was incorporated into the distorted sound of rock music in the 1950s. The process of the heavy, distorted sound of hard rock goes back to Sister Rosetta Tharpe. The Godmother of Rock and Roll, as she is often referred to, is credited with creating the first rock and roll s

ATHENS, GA — The Classic City Juneteenth Music & Arts Fest 2026, hosted by the Athens Anti-Discrimination Movement (AADM), will take place on Saturday, June 20, 2026, from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at Georgia Square Mall, located at 3700 Atlanta Highway, Athens, Georgia 30606. Under the theme, “For the People. By the People,” means that Classic City Juneteenth Music and Arts Festival is more than an event. It is a community gathering, a cultural experience, and a reminder that w

By Joe Johnson Brandon Leon Evans, 37, of Mitchell Bridge Road, is facing a felony cruelty charge for an incident in which his infant son’s skull was fractured. According to court documents, Evans was arrested as the result of an investigation into why the 6-month-.old child had been brought by his mother to the hospital with head injuries in October 2022. The woman told police that the infant was injured while Evans was caring for him the night before. An investigation deter

From the Gwinnett County Police Department (Buford, Ga., Jun. 14, 2026) – Gwinnett County Police is seeking the public’s help in locating a 71-year-old man with dementia from Buford. Timothy Garcia Burce, also known as "CoJack," was last seen near 610 Forest Streetin Buford at approximately 10:50 p.m. on June 13, 2026. He is five feet nine inches tall and weighs around 180 pounds. He was last seen wearing a white shirt, blue jeans, and black and white shoes. Burce has stitche

The Madison County Sheriff’s Office posted the following on its Facebook page: We’re asking the public to help us find a missing elderly male with dementia in the area of 1416 Frank Bird Rd. He is 88 years old wearing a flannel shirt, blue jeans, and a Georgia ball cap.if you see him call 911 or (796)795-2101. The post did not include the man’s name, but a commenter said it is Nelson Scoggins,

By Joe Johnson Dwayne Scott Johnson, 59, of Rolling Ridge Drive, has been indicted for allegedly sexually assaulting a 7-year-old boy. He was charged with child molestation, aggravated child molestation and sexual battery against a child under 16, according to the indictment filed on May 28th in Superior Court. The indictment stems from Johnson’s arrest in March. He is being held without bail and is scheduled to be arraigned on June 24th.

By Joe Johnson A 54-year-old Athens auto shop worker will spend the rest of his life in federal prison after using his employment as a front to distribute hundreds of kilograms of methamphetamine across northeast Georgia, federal officials announced on Friday. James Len Ramey of Comer received two concurrent life sentences in federal prison Friday, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Georgia. U.S. District Judge Tilman E. "Tripp" Self III presi

Released by the United States Department of Justice MACON, Ga. – The man who distributed hundreds of kilograms of methamphetamine from the Rapid Lube in Athens where he worked, covertly stashing boxes in the shop, was sentenced to life in prison today as part of a Homeland Security Task Force investigation into a cross-border drug ring moving thousands of kilograms of drugs from Mexico in boxes of jalapeños to a conversion lab in Monroe, Georgia. James Len Ramey, 54, of Comer

By Joe Johnson A 15-year-old girl was shot by her boyfriend last week in an apartment in westside Athens. The shooting happened on the evening of June 7th at Broadacres Homes when 16-year-old Elijah Isiah Smith shot the victim in her thigh. According to police, they were with a group of others in the apartment when the Smith shot the girl in response to her saying that one of the other boys was her best friend. Smith fled from the apartment and the girl was transported to the

By Joe Johnson Recently filed court documents describe the cold-blooded behavior of a man accused of murdering two people in downtown Athens three months ago. According to a homicide detective’s sworn affidavit, early in the morning of March 14th Mark Anthony Desousa walked up to Dylan Bentley in a parking lot lot off North Jackson Street and shot him in the back of his head. The bullet passed through the victim and struck Christopher Skinner in the eye. DeSousa then shot a

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

Issued today by the Gwinnett County Police Department: Lawrenceville, Ga., June 9, 2026) – Gwinnett County Police detectives are requesting the public's assistance in locating a missing juvenile. On June 2, 15-year-old London Henville was reported missing by her father. It was learned that she left her residence in Lawrenceville between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m. that morning. After receiving the report, London was entered into the Georgia Crime Information Center (GCIC) and National

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