DALTON, Ga — A Dalton man pleaded guilty to aggravated sexual battery on Wednesday in Superior Court in Whitfield County and was sentenced to 10 years in prison without parole followed by life on probation, the district attorney said.

Eric Daniel Collett, 29, must also register as a sex offender and abide by sex offender and other conditions.

Collett faced charges of rape, aggravated child molestation, seven counts of child molestation, aggravated sexual battery and two counts of sexual battery against a child under the age of 16. He was arrested by the Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office on Jan. 4, 2018, after a female juvenile said he was “touching me and doing dirty things to me,” according to an incident/investigation report.

Authorities began investigating on Dec. 29, 2017, after the juvenile’s grandmother met with a deputy.

Jeannette Farmer Eady, 74, passed away Tuesday, May 19, 2020. Graveside services will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday, May 21, at Nunn-Wheeler Cemetery with the Rev. Freddie Hogg officiating. Mrs. Eady was born in Milledgeville and was a graduate of Baldwin County High School. She worked for Dr. …

Grady Ray Townsend (Pop) of Oxford, passed away Friday, May 15, 2020, at the age of 89. A Marine, Mr. Townsend valiantly served his country in the United States Marine Corps during the Korean War and was a faithful member of Heritage Hills Baptist Church. He was a hardworking, selfless man w…

Benjie Dewayne Fountain, 58, passed away Thursday, May 15, 2020. Private services will be held at West View Cemetery. Benjie was a life-long resident of Baldwin County. He was a retired electrician. He was preceded in death by his father, James E. Fountain; and two brothers, Eddie Fountain a…

A private burial service for Mrs. Lois Gilbert of Sparta, Ga., will be held for family. Her memories shall forever remain in the heart of her children, Johnnie Gilbert, Jennie Rous, Brenda Gilbert, Polly Wheeler, Eddie Gilbert, Bobby Gilbert, Deborah Gilbert, Timmy Gilbert, Trudy Butt and Ro…

Funeal services for Mrs. Evelyn R. Abram of Sparta, Ga., will be held privately with family. Her memories will be cherished by her children, Timothy Duggans, Charles Duggans, Kathy Harper, Lucious Abrams, Reva Williams and Vanessa Cheathem. Services entrusted to Dawson’s Mortuary, 98 Hopgood…

A couple living at the Arbor Village Mobile Home Park in Douglasville decided they’d Better Call Harry after they fell behind on their rent and the property manager shut off their water.

According to Erin Willoughby of Atlanta Legal Aid, “Under Georgia law, it is illegal for a landlord to knowingly interfere with your utility services and it’s actually punishable by a $500 fine.”

Harry accompanied Amanda Bartlett and Vincent Burdett to court for an eviction hearing, where the judge ordered the water turned back on, and also gave the couple time to vacate the home.

While investigating this story, Harry uncovered a larger issue involving that property manager. Bartlett says that Kristopher Travitz once tried to get into her home to fix a blind that wasn’t broken.

“He was trying to force his way in, and he kept saying it had to be fixed and we couldn’t say no,” said Bartlett.

What Bartlett and the other residents at Arbor Village didn’t know is that Travitz is a registered sex offender. The former Cobb County deputy was convicted of sexually assaulting female inmates.

Harry asked Travitz following the eviction hearing whether Travitz should tell the tenants of his status. After saying he had no comment, Travitz added, “Do your homework first.”

Harry did his homework and learned that Travitz never informed Douglas County authorities about his place of employment. Besides having keys to the homes, Travitz has been working less than one thousand feet from a daycare and two churches.

After hearing about this, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office responded immediately. Travitz no longer works at Arbor Village, and if he returns, he’ll be arrested.

Copyright 2018 WGCL-TV (Meredith Corporation). All rights reserved. 

Atlanta, GA (CBS46) Halloween is upon us and CBS46 is advocating for your safety, sharing a startling statistic that you may not be aware of.

Did you know that children are TWICE as likely to die on Halloween than any other day of the year.

A study by State Farm talks about dangers of children being hit by vehicles on Halloween. Children are so focused on costumes and candy and aren’t thinking about speeding vehicles driving by.

Another danger is sex offenders in neighborhoods where children are trick-or-treating. State law bans them from participating in Halloween-related activities and events.

Click here to check the Georgia sex offender registry

In DeKalb County, the sheriff’s office will send deputies out to remind offenders about their restrictions.

In Spalding County, the sheriff’s office posted signs in the yards of offenders warning children not to trick-or-treat at that particular home.

In Grovetown, the sheriff’s office initially had a plan to force offenders to sit in the county chambers during trick-or-treat hours but they cancelled it after backlash on social media.

As far as trick-or-treat hours, they vary from community-to-community. Ideal times are between 6:30 p.m. and 8 p.m.

A big reminder for parents when it comes to your kids being around cars this evening, don’t let yourself get distracted and don’t post on social media until after your kids are back at home safe.

Copyright 2018 WGCL-TV (Meredith Corporation). All rights reserved.

MOULTRIE, Ga. — A Colquitt County man indicted on 18 charges involving alleged sexual acts with an underage girl was among those recently indicted by Colquitt County grand jurors.

Elio Soria, 35, 400 W. Mulberry St., Funston, was indicted on 10 counts of child molestation, three counts of aggravated sexual battery, two counts statutory rape and one count each rape, enticing a child for indecent purposes and criminal attempt to commit a felony.

According to the indictment, the sexual abuse of the girl, who was under 16 at the time, started in December 2016 and continued through July of this year.

After his arrest on charges Soria was released on a $30,000 bond. He is currently being held in Colquitt County Jail on an unrelated probation violation charge.

In other cases involving sex offenses:

• Amos Lamar Goram, 22, 1002 Sixth Ave. S.E.; enticing a child for indecent purposes, child molestation, aggravated child molestation and statutory rape.

• Dezman Chase McDuffie, 16, 827 Sardis Church Road; aggravated child molestation and aggravated sexual battery.

• Rhoderick Moore; statutory rape and rape.

• Marcus  Demond Moore, 28, 2137 E. Central Ave.; two counts child molestation and sexual battery against a child under 16.

Violence-related indictments

• Cedric Barge, 22, 818-B Fifth St. N.W., and Andrew Lamar Madry, 34, 523 27th St. S.E. Apt. 3; home invasion and battery.

• Christopher Dylan Weed, 17, 805 E. Railroad St., Quitman; terroristic threats, violation of Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act, simple assault and stalking.

• Donta Perez Wilson; armed robbery, burglary, two counts aggravated assault and four counts possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.

• Steven Demond Richardson, 38, 316-C S. Church St., Doerun; aggravated stalking, terroristic threats, obstruction of a police officer and harassing communications.

In a separate indictment Richardson is charged with: aggravated assault, theft by taking, pointing gun or pistol at another and interference with driver’s control of vehicle.

• Shyanne Audranique Young, 19; robbery by force, burglary and theft by shoplifting.

• Timothy Isaac McKee, 18, 125 Edmondson Road; simple battery (family violence), battery (family violence), two counts cruelty to children, aggravated assault, aggravated stalking and criminal damage to property.

In a separate indictment McKee is charged with battery, disrupting public school and three counts obstruction of a police officer.

Other indictments

• Roy Daniel Murphy, 235 Jim Sharpe Road; forgery, four counts exploitation and intimidation of disabled adult, elder person or resident.

• Luke Allen Moxley, 32, 149 Moxley Lane; burglary, three counts theft by taking, two counts entering an automobile.

• Maurice Antwon Smith, 35, 1703 Woodbend Road, Stone Mountain, Ga.; burglary.

• Troy Alex Tyrone Davidson, 34, 178 Randall Salter Road, Omega; possession of firearm by first-offender probationer.

• Ronald Cory Casteel, 38, 1801 West Blvd.; possession of firearm by convicted felon.

• Shalee Vinson, 22, 111 20th Ave. N.W., and James Michael Wilson, 21, 4184 Hwy. 133 S.; theft by taking and forgery.

• Terry Phillip Sauls, 32, 608 Laurel Ave., Adel; aggravated stalking.

• Justina Lynn Jones, 30, 12832 Hwy. 33; stalking.

• Colin Anthony Terrell Jr., 26, 500 Joe Gray Road; driving while license suspended.

• Raekwon Jamal Brown, 18, 157 West Road, Poulan; fleeing or attempting to elude police officer, theft by receiving stolen property and reckless driving.

• Jason Lee Baird, 33, 223 Bonnie Tuk Road, and Claude Nelson Cowart; theft by taking.

• Rikizo Armand Davis, 37, 1302 First Ave. N.W.; nine counts financial transaction card fraud.

• Sam Lang, also known as Sam Lang Jr., 58, 149 Beacon St., Camilla, and Erroll Antonio Parker, also known as Antonio Parker Erroll and Antonio Errell; entering an automobile and three counts burglary.

• Johnny Brooks, 48, 816 Joe Louis Ave.; two counts each theft by taking and theft by conversion.

• John Lester Butler Jr.; theft by taking and theft by conversion.

• Dennis Hightower, 53, 434 10th St. N.W.; five counts burglary in the fourth degree and four counts theft by deception.

• Ronnie Eastman Powell, 41, 490 Hwy. 319 N., Tifton; possession of firearm by convicted felon.

• Tommy Wayne Baxley, 71, 7604 County Road 91, Slocumb, Ala.; deposit account fraud and failing to pay for natural products or chattels.

• Jimmy Franklin Carter, 51, 351 Pasco Road, Thomasville; theft by conversion and conversion of payments for real property improvements.

• Maria Juan Bartolome, 20, 1231 Eighth Ave. S.E.; theft by taking.

• Joshua Lee Taylor, 26, 2610 Hwy. 158 W., Douglas; theft by taking and theft by receiving stolen property.

• Buck Timothy Rogers, 45, 1637 Bob Taylor Road; executing fictitious checks and forgery.

• Jerry Tomar Lewis, 37, 251 Selina Road; possession of firearm by convicted felon, failure to stop at stop sign and driving without license.

• Christina Kay Henry, also known as Christina Jones, 36, 4095 S. Pine St., Coolidge; theft by taking.

• Walter Stewart Jackson Jr., 41, 155 Mill Ridge Circle, Tifton; deposit account fraud.

A former Darien police lieutenant who was under felony indictment in the theft of drugs pleaded guilty recently to a single misdemeanor count of violating his oath of office as a public officer, court records show.

Nicholas “Nick” O. Roundtree entered his plea about two weeks ago before Superior Court Judge Glenn A. Cheney. The judge sentenced Roundtree to three years probation and ordered him to pay a $1,000 fine, court records show.

The other charges of theft by conversion, theft by taking and another count of violation of an oath by a public officer were dismissed, records show.

Because Cheney sentenced Roundtree under the first offender statute, his criminal record will be cleared once he completes his probation without re-offending.

Roundtree was an investigator with the Darien Police Department until late 2014 when the Georgia Bureau of Investigation completed a probe of the suspected disappearance of drugs from the department’s evidence room. The GBI estimated that $1,500 in narcotics had been removed from the evidence room over a four-year period and Roundtree was subsequently charged with theft by taking. Darien Police Chief Donnie Howard, who had requested the GBI probe, placed Roundtree on administrative leave. Soon after, Roundtree, who was the custodian of evidence, resigned from the force.

A grand jury later indicted Roundtree on two counts each of theft and violating his oath of office, records show.

Officials could not say where Roundtree is working now, but he had worked as a car salesman in Brunswick after his resignation.

Roundtree was charged not long after his investigation of a middle school band director resulted in child molestation charges.

James Raymond Clark Jr. lived in Darien but taught music at Jane Macon Middle School in Glynn County. Roundtree began investigating Clark after an Atlanta man accused Clark of molesting him in 2000 and 2001 when he was 12 and 13 years old. Because of the statute of limitations, no charges could be filed on those allegations.

Clark was charged in March 2014 with aggravated child molestation and criminal intent to commit statutory rape. As soon as he was confronted by officers, Clark resigned and wrote a letter saying he would not return to the school.

Just over a year after his arrest, Clark pleaded guilty to enticing a child for indecent purposes and was sentenced to 20 years probation and ordered to register as a sex offender.

The GBI registry shows Clark is still living in Darien.

Six local residents from the Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit moved a step closer to long-term sobriety this week.

On a warm, sunny morning at the Chapel of All Faiths on the main square of Central State Hospital Tuesday, an unusually large crowd congregated to celebrate an important milestone. 

In view of family members, local dignitaries, and a contingent of people not yet finished with the program, Tuesday’s ceremony honored graduates of the Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit’s Adult Treatment Court Collaborative. 

After 18 to 24 months of an intensive recovery program, the six former drug abusers and mental health clients from the OJC’s southern region moved one step closer to long-term sobriety.

“To enter into our program, the first thing you have to do is qualify. We do not take people who have violent or sexual offenses on their records; we’re very selective on who enters this program,” said Judge Amanda Petty, one of three Ocmulgee Circuit Superior Court judges involved in the ATCC program. “The program lasts anywhere from 18 to 24 months — of course, we have some of those that hit bumps in the road and that we have for a little longer — with a six-month voluntary after-care program that participants can be involved in. … There’s a lot of work and effort that these graduates have had to put in to be able to be here today.” 

Since its introduction to the Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit in 2003, the Adult Treatment Court Collaborative has served as an innovative and effective alternative to jail time for nonviolent offenders. When residents of Baldwin, Jones, Hancock and Wilkinson counties (the four counties that comprise the circuit’s southern region) are convicted of drug and mental health-related crimes, judges can offer offenders a chance to complete the program in place of serving time in prison. Upon entrance into the program, participants are assigned a rigorous routine of drug screenings, curfews, life skills and high school equivalency courses, Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous meetings, employment searches, and check-ins with surveillance officers. Essentially a much stricter, two-year-long probation sentence, the program forces participants to adopt constructive habits without distraction from drugs and other diversions.

“When the judge approached me with it, I didn’t really know what she was talking about. I had never heard of [ATCC], I just wanted to do my sentence and go home,” said Wilkinson County resident and new ATCC graduate Anthony Miller. “On the way out, the sheriff asked me if I had understood what she was trying to say, and I said no. He broke it down to me, and I said, ‘OK, let’s do it’ because I wanted to save my job.”

A formerly gifted athlete from what he described as a “good family” in Sandersville, Miller had a long way to fall before he could pick himself up again. After transferring from Albany State to Georgia College his junior year of college, Miller fell into a 20-year battle with alcoholism that would eventually result in multiple DUIs. Now 49, and with a full ATCC program under his belt, Miller works two jobs and recently bought his daughter a car. In addition to providing for himself and his family in ways that he couldn’t during his addiction, the former state corrections officer is also giving back to young men at the Washington County Jail.

“I have found guys that are like me, younger men that are coming in behind me that need somebody to step in and say ‘I see where you’re going, and I’ve been there’,” he said. “I can try and give them hope to get better at everyday living because this is an everyday thing. It’s so amazing when they hear my story because for 10 years, I was the one that turned the key.”

Although Miller represents one of the more unique success stories to come out of the ATCC, his is far from the only inspiring story. Milledgeville native James Lanthrip III, one of Miller’s fellow Tuesday graduates, completed the program after a 17-year battle with drug addiction and plans to join ATCC as a peer counselor, for which he recently earned state certification. James Alford, a formerly homeless local resident currently enrolled in ATCC, draws on his experience as a director at the Serenity Home on Allen Memorial Drive helping people dealing with addiction. Many more graduates overcome issues including homelessness, lack of a driver’s license and transportation, difficulty finding employment due to criminal history, and lack of education. 

Recently, the program expanded from semi-annual graduations to holding one every quarter, and the number of participants who make it through the program has increased steadily in recent years. In giving offenders the tools to remake their lives rather than incarcerate them at a greater cost to taxpayers, the Adult Treatment Court Collaborative has turned situations that traditionally derail lives into an opportunity to turn them around.

“I’m anxious to help somebody else, I really am,” said Lanthrip. “Today I have tools — I don’t have to go back out in the world and use. Those days are behind me, and if that thought process ever does cross my head, I’ve got goals that I can look back at that I’ve achieved through this process. I have people in my support system that I can call that will stop what they’re doing to come and help me, and I’ll stop what I’m doing to help any participant in here, too. It’s a good feeling.”