Suspicious man arrested near UGA sororities

By Joe Johnson

Athens police recently arrested a man who was reportedly behaving suspiciously in the heart of the University of Georgia’s Sorority Row.

Officers responded at about 8 p.m. on August 16th to investigate a report of a suspicious man sitting in a pickup truck parked in a South Milledge Avenue driveway.

Callers to 911 said “they believed he was looking at the females involved in sorority activities in the area,” one of the officers reported,

Identified as Mathew Rickard, a 34-year-old resident of Walton County, he claimed to be lost and was looking for directions.

The officer reported that he found that hard to believe since Rickard had a phone he could’ve used for directions or asked someone for assistance but he didn’t.

When confirming the man’s identity the officer learned that police in Gwinnett County had an active warrant for his arrest.

Rickard was arrested and the Lawrenceville Police Department placed a hold on his release.