
Effingham County Sheriff's Office reports Oct. 4 edition
Placeholder Image

ept. 15

Driving while License Suspended or Revoked (Misdemeanor); Failure to Obey Police/Peace Officer
A woman failed to stop for an officer who was directing traffic in front of Effingham County Middle School. After nearly running into a school bus, she pulled into the high school and got back on the road a few minutes later. The officer managed to stop her as she was coming back and he instructed her to wait until he was done directing traffic. She later stated that she thought she saw the officer direct her to go. A background check revealed that her license was suspended. She was arrested and her vehicle was towed. The reporting officer was Adam Harmon.

Sept. 18
Domestic Dispute
A woman stated that she had gotten into a fight with her girlfriend over the accusation that she had been cheating. The altercation had become physical and one of the women had blood on her face. At some point during the fight, the front door had been kicked in and the stove hood had been torn down. The two were also yelling profanities at each other. Due to both parties getting physical and their conflicting stories, they were both arrested. The reporting officer was Garett Buckles.

Sept. 19

Disorderly Conduct; Wanted Person-Warrant Service
A man stated that his son was under the influence and he wanted him off his property. He also said that he suspected that his son had an outstanding warrant. A background check revealed that the son did indeed have a warrant and he was swiftly arrested. The reporting officer was Garett Buckles.

Harassing Communications
A couple stated that they had gone to the man’s ex-wife’s house to drop off his child. The ex-wife was not home at the time so they left the child with its grandmother. The ex-wife later texted them and accused them of not properly caring for the child. She also threatened to beat them if they returned to the property. The reporting officer was Danny Harrington.

Sept. 20

Domestic Dispute
A woman stated that she and her husband had gotten into a fight over disciplining their children. As the fight started to escalate, the husband went to leave the residence and broke a door frame on the way out. The woman said that the door frame had been broken previously when they were killing roaches. The husband confirmed this story. Both parties stated that no one was harmed and they agreed to separate for the night. The reporting officer was Dawn Devoss.

Sept. 21

Burglary-First Degree (Felony); Aggravated Assault Aggravated Battery
A man stated that his uncle had broken into his house and beaten him with a large pipe. After beating him around 12 times, the uncle fled the scene in his golden Cadillac. The man had several injuries on his body including blood on his mouth, a missing tooth and a welt on his back. A board had been screwed into the front door to secure it. The two had previously gotten into an argument over the vandalization of the uncle’s house. The man was taken to the hospital for his injuries. The reporting officer was Matt Smith.

Animal Complaint
A woman stated that a local resident was not properly caring for his dogs. It was noticed by police that three dogs at the scene were very thin and malnourished. They had very little food and water that was not suitable for drinking. The dogs were impounded and taken to a local shelter. The homeowner could not be contacted. The reporting officer was Ashby Zydonyk.

Wanted Person-Warrant Service; Simple Assault; Obstruction of Law Enforcement (Misdemeanor)
A man who matched the description of a wanted suspect was spotted on the side of the road. Officers had attempted to serve the warrant earlier that day to no avail. When offficers attempted to serve the warrant the second time, the man started to run across the road. After a few minutes, he got into a fighting stance and went to face an officer but he got tripped on his own feet and fell to the ground. He then attempted to reach for a knife but was subdued before he could do so. He was then arrested. The reporting officer was Max Barber.

Sept. 22

Criminal Trespass; Suspicious Incident
A man stated that a hooded figure broke into his house with a gun. The figure entered through the unlocked front door and quickly fled from the scene when the man saw him. He could not tell if the figure left on foot or in a vehicle. The surrounding area was searched to no avail. The reporting officer was Marcus Hartwell.

Burglary-First Degree (Felony)
A woman stated that a man broke into her place of residence sometime in the afternoon. The man was standing in her bedroom when she entered, and he fled the scene upon seeing her. She assumed that it was a mentally challenged neighbor but later received a message on social media from her roommate’s former friend confirming that it was him. The roommate and the man had recently ended their friendship due to unknown reasons. The roommate later stated that around $175 worth of clothes and cell phone accessories were missing. The reporting officer was Marcus Hartwell.

Burglary-First Degree (Felony)
A woman stated that her house had been broken into within a two-hour timeframe. Nearly every room in the house had been ransacked, and the drawers of her dresser had been pulled out. The son was able to provide a vehicle description and a license plate number. One of the items that was missing was a pistol. The reporting officer was David Cribbs.

Burglary-First Degree (Felony)
A man stated that his house had been broken into sometime in the afternoon. All the lights in the house were on and the back door had been kicked in, which left a shoe print. Most of the rooms in the house had been ransacked. Specific items that were stolen included a shotgun, a wedding ring and legal documents. The reporting officer was Caleb Grovenstein.

Sept. 23

Dogs, Cats or Livestock Running at Large
A man stated that a local dog bit him while he was trying to calm it down. It left a hole in his pants and an open wound on his leg. He said that the dog had always been very aggressive, and he was concerned about the safety of the children in the neighborhood. The owner of the dog advised that he has an underground electric fence in his yard, but the batteries in the dog’s collar were dead. He could not provide proof that the dog was up to date on its rabies vaccinations. He was fined, and animal control was contacted. The reporting officer was Garett Buckles.

Battery-Family Violence (First Offense) Misdemeanor
A man stated that he was assaulted by a woman after he had gone to her house to collect his belongings. He had previously stayed with the woman but later moved to his mother’s house due to constant issues. Earlier that day, the woman called him and said that she was throwing all his items in the front yard. When he went to get them, a fight began between the man, the woman and her son. He had several cuts and scratches on his face and arm. The woman and her son were detained, and the former refused to speak. It was later discovered that she was intoxicated. The son claimed that the man started the fight. He and his mother were both arrested. The reporting officer was Christopher Cary.

Domestic Dispute
A man stated that he had an asthma attack while he was arguing with his girlfriend. They were fighting about the deletion of his personal account when he began to experience shortness of breath. He called emergency services, and his girlfriend left before they arrived. It was later discovered that his car’s rear window had been busted out. After some time, the girlfriend returned to retrieve her dog. She denied knowledge of both the personal account and the broken car window. Both parties agreed to separate for the night. The reporting officer was James Denney.

Disorderly Conduct
A woman advised that her son was drunk and acting up. She stated that she was going to “beat his ass” if he did not calm down. The son claimed that it was his mother who was drunk, and that she woke him up in the middle of the night to ask him for beer. The two were separated to avoid any further conflict. It was noted that the woman appeared to be intoxicated, while the son did not. The reporting officer was Bobby McCloud.

Simple assault
Awoman stated that her ex-husband pushed her off his front porch after she went to his house to collect her son. Her ex-husband had come to the door and pushed her so hard that it caused her to fall into a chair which tipped backwardand fell off the porch. The man claimed that while this was true, she had been banging on the front door and yelling at him when he came out. The son supported this story but did not go into detail. The man was arrested a short time later. The reporting officer was Matthew Petrea.

DUI-Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol
A man advised that he possibly saw an intoxicated man driving on the highway. The driver was found slouched in the driver’s seat with vomit next to his car. He was extremely unsteady and smelled of strong alcohol. When asked for his license, he stated that he did not have one. There were several scratches on the driver’s side door which the driver stated to be the result of a keying incident. He proceeded to fail all the exercises of a field sobriety test. He also refused to provide a breath sample. He was later arrested, and his vehicle was removed from the scene by a wrecker service. The reporting officer was Kathy Dillard.

Sept. 24
Traffic Complaint; Knowingly Driving Motor Vehicle on Suspended or Canceled License; No Insurance
A man was pulled over for failing to maintain his proper lane. A background check was preformed, which revealed that his license was suspended and that he had no insurance. He stated that he had just switched to his sister’s insurance and he did not yet have a card. His vehicle was towed due to these issues. The reporting officer was Christopher Cary.

Disorderly Conduct
A woman stated that her neighbors harass her grandchildren when they go outside to play. It had gotten to the point where the neighbors were using vulgar language at the kids, and they no longer felt safe playing outside. The grandchildren supported this story. The neighbor denied swearing at the children but admitted to yelling profanity at the woman. She was warned about her unpleasant behavior. The reporting officer was Marcus Hartwell.