CLASSIC CITY NEWS

The restaurant has released the following: Ted’s Montana Grill Hosts Hiring Event, Bringing More than 50 Jobs to Athens: Ted’s at Beechwood Slated for Late Summer Opening What: Ted's Montana Grill, known for elevated comfort food made fresh, from scratch, is now hiring more than 50 new Team Members including Bartenders, Servers, Kitchen Team Members, and Server Assistants (Hosts). The restaurant is seeking passionate, hospitality-driven leaders committed to delivering an auth

By Joe Johnson An Athens man has been charged with vehicular homicide in connection with a collision between his car and a moped last month. Enrique Robbins, 26, of East Meadow Drive, was arrested Thursday after the victim died in the hospital from the June 12th collision. According to police, 66-year-old David Keith Engel was riding his moped on Lexington Road when Robbins drove into his path when turning onto the street where he lives, Athens police charged Robbins with mis

By Joe Johnson A 72-year-old Athens man had just withdrawn $1,300 from the bank last week when he went to McDonald’s on Gaines School Road to have a meal with a friend only a have someone snatch the cash-stuffed envelope from his shirt breast pocket. The robbery happened at about 12:30 p.m. on July 2nd and was recorded by the restaurant’s security system that has been reviewed by investigators, Police described the suspect as a slightly built black male in his 20’s or 30’s wh

Damian Swint By Joe Johnson One person was arrested Sunday morning following a reported gunfight outside a popular downtown Athens nightspot. No injuries were reported and it appears that several businesses were struck by gunfire, including Bad Moon Bar on East Clayton Street. “Officers did respond to reports of a shooting in the area of Bad Moon on E. Clayton St.,” a police spokesperson confirmed in a Sunday night email. “There were no reports of anyone being struck by gunfi

By T.W. Burger Kay Scoggins was tall, blonde, blue-eyed, beautiful, kind, affable, tough as nails, really country, and sort of a force of nature. She served as a patrol officer and state trooper for decades and even ran for president at least once. She got 13 votes. In an interview a few years later she said she had not made a lot of promises during her campaign except to ensure freedom of speech and maybe put a doublewide mobile home on the front lawn of the White House. Eve

By Joe Johnson At least one arrest has been made in connection with a purported early morning gunfight in downtown Athens. No injuries have been reported and it appears that businesses were struck by gunfire, including Bad Moon Bar on East Clayton Street. “Officers did respond to reports of a shooting in the area of Bad Moon on E. Clayton St.,” a police spokesperson said in a Sunday night email. “There were no reports of anyone being struck by gunfire however, several busines

FBI wanted poster Here’s a story of mine that was published by the Athens Banner-Herald on June 9, 2010 and was based on correspondence I had with the most prolific bank robber ever to have terrorized Athens, the Southeast, and possibly anywhere else in the country. By Joe Johnson When he was 17 years old Bruce Allen Hughes put on his mother's wig, pointed a toy pistol at a bank teller and demanded $1,000. That's how the “Crown Royal Bandit”got his start robbing banks in 1977

By Albert DeSimone The continuum from capitalism to communism describes economic systems, though these systems also heavily influence political and social structures. At their core, they represent fundamentally different answers to the basic economic question: Who should own and control the resources used to produce goods and services while distributing the fruits of economic progress? Capitalism: Capitalism is a basic economic system that, at its core, is driven by a combina

By Joe Johnson A 66-year-old man died in the hospital this week from injuries he suffered on June 12th when his moped collided with a car on Lexington Road. David Keith Engel, whose home address was the Salvation Army homeless shelter, was injured on the afternoon of June 12th when he was riding his moped on Lexington Road and a car traveling in the opposite direction turned into his path at East Meadow Drive and he was ejected in the collision. The incident continued for be

By Joe Johnson Jason Gutierrez Martinez, 20. of Woody Lane, was arrested on July 1st on multiple counts of sexual exploitation of children. He was booked into the county jail on 10 felony counts that stem from an investigation that was launched last month when Athens police received information from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children regarding the possible online possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material. That led to a search of Martinez’s

By Joe Johnson Three teenagers were indicted this week for an armed robbery earlier this month in the Athens Gardens apartment complex. They robbed a 23-year-.old man of an iPhone 17 valued at $1,200 early in the morning of June 2nd and tried running from police officers when they arrived to investigate, Quintez Damenterll Dunn,15, Jaden Coderious Howard, 17, and Jykece Jamarion Pressley, 18, were each charged with armed robbery an obstruction of law enforcement, according to

By Joe Johnson Jeffrey Joseph Pourciau, 59, of Lafayette, LA, was arrested on the afternoon of June 29th in an Athens clothing store where he reportedly exposed himself to several employees, One of the employees, a 21-year-old Athens resident, told police that she was helping Pourciau look for a shirt in Buckle at Beechwood Promenade when she “observed the zipper of the shorts he was wearing open and could see his penis and testicles in view.” A second employee gave a similar

By Joe Johnson The motorcyclist who lost his life Tuesday morning after crashing on the Athens Perimeter has been identified. According to the Georgia Department of Public Safety, 46-year-old Crawford resident Michael Fletcher was traveling west on the highway and approaching Epps Bridge Parkway when his motorcycle left the roadway and struck a cable barrier in the median, causing him to be ejected. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

By Joe Johnson An off-diuty police officer recently got caught racing on an Athens street and was let go without even a speeding ticket. According to an Athens police report, the incident happened on the afternoon of June 28th on the city’s west side. Officer Shane Pepin said in the report that he was with other officers in the parking of Andy’s Frozen Yogurt on West Broad Street just prior to 4 p.m. when the sound of loud car engines and exhaust caught their attention, follo

By Joe Johnson An off-diuty police officer recently got caught racing on an Athens street and was let go without even a speeding ticket. According to an Athens police report, the incident happened on the afternoon of June 28th on the city’s west side. Officer Shane Pepin said in the report that he was with other officers in the parking of Andy’s Frozen Yogurt on West Broad Street just prior to 4 p.m. when the sound of loud car engines and exhaust caught their attention, fol

Two Glock pistols allegedly purchased from a gun shop in Athens on May 15, 2021. (DOJ) The following was released today by the United States Department of Justice: THE GRAND JURY CHARGES: At all times material to this Indictment: GENERAL INTRODUCTION The manner and means used to accomplish the objects and purposes of the conspiracy included, among other things: 1. Defendants RAFAEL ENRIQUEZ, ELIJAH LUCENA, KEONTICE REED, and MELVIN GRIFFIN and others, known and unknown to the

By Joe Johnson Authorities this morning are investigating a crash on the Athens Perimeter that reportedly claimed the life of a motorcyclist, Athens police confirmed that the incident happened on the inner loop of the highway between the U.S.441 and Epps Bridge Parkway exits. The crash is being investigated by the Georgia State Patrol and Oconee County Sheriff’s Office.

The following was released today by the Athens-Clarke County Police Department On June 26, 2026, the ACCPD Gang Unit, with the assistance of the Northeast Georgia Regional Drug Task Force, along with ACCPD’s Strategic Response Team and K-9 Unit, executed search warrants in the 200 block of Rocksprings Court and the 100 block of Madison Avenue. As a result, officers seized seven firearms, approximately 1.5 pounds of marijuana, and $17,339 in U.S. currency. Jaylen Brown (22), T

By Joe Johnson A large block party in the westside Stonehenge neighborhood this weekend came to a tumultuous conclusion with people fighting and ducking for cover from gunfire. The police department reports that officers initially responded to the neighborhood soon after midnight on June 28th to investigate a loud noise complaint on Altarstone Drive. As officers were trying to determine if a man lying on the ground needed medical attention pandemonium suddenly broke out. “Whi

By Paige Brimer It was a warm autumn morning when two friends and I took a stroll along the Greenway off MLK, Jr Pkwy. We decided to stop and sit on some rocks by the riverside to enjoy a little company, coffee and creation. It wasn't long, however, until a pesky side of creation had us unnerved and searching our bags for bug spray. Mosquitoes were swarming, and that's no exaggeration. They were everywhere! After we got ourselves sprayed down, we began to speculate about why