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SHEILA A. MATHEWS ::: After years of denying The GRIP Publisher Sheila Mathews’ assertions that she has been subjected to unequal, detrimental treatment by Griffin Police Department Chief Mike Yates, former City Manager Kenny Smith acknowledged a “difference” in her professional relationship with the Griffin Police Department. The November 2020 meeting during which these statements […]
STAFF REPORT ::: A 2017 Spalding County missing person case has been resolved with the identification of human remains located in a wooded area in 2018. On June 4, 2018, then-Spalding County Coroner Sonny Foster Spalding County Sheriff’s Office investigators and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation responded to the area of 5745 Jackson Road where […]
SHEILA A. MATHEWS ::: In an organized effort, the city of Griffin and Griffin Police Department have engaged in the selective release of public records to manipulate the responses of Black residents to law enforcement uses of force and other GPD activities. At the same time, Griffin officials have refused to release those same records […]
STAFF REPORT ::: Wildarious Draggs, of D.F. Fuller Drive, was conscious and responsive just before 6 p.m. Tuesday when Griffin Police officers arrived at 1001 Lake Avenue in response to a shooting. Draggs reported that he had been outside when he was struck by a stray bullet from the southbound direction of 16th Street. He […]
SHEILA A. MATHEWS ::: A 17-year-old Griffin High School student, Lucinda Karina Bailey, has been arrested and charged with the production and distribution of child pornography under the Georgia Computer Pornography and Child Exploitation Prevention Act. The Griffin Police Department alleges Bailey on Monday used the iPhone AirDrop feature to disseminate a video recording of […]
SHEILA A. MATHEWS ::: A Spalding County jury on Wednesday deliberated only 25 minutes before returning a guilty verdict in the murder trial of 18-year-old Malik Yarbrough. Yarbrough was convicted of the July 14, 2020, murder of 46-year-old Robert Donnel Brown. Yarbrough was only 16-years-old when he shot Brown in the back three times in […]
SHEILA A. MATHEWS ::: Rehoboth Road Middle School has been placed on lockdown while the Spalding County Sheriff’s Office and school administrators investigate a threatening not located today on school grounds. Griffin-Spalding County School System Executive Director of Communications and Partnerships Adam Pugh said school officials immediately notified law enforcement of the threat. “Basically, my […]
SHEILA A. MATHEWS ::: The city of Griffin is inquiring into the removal of a press release from the official City of Griffin Police Department Facebook page. Officials say they will be looking into the possibility of fraudulent use of the GPD social media account. The press release, posted Thursday, Feb. 24, was related to […]
STAFF REPORT ::: A single vehicle wreck in Pike County has resulted in the closure of Reidsboro Road. The Pike County Sheriff’s Office reported an overturned truck will require extensive clean up before the road will reopen. Reidsboro Road is closed between Drew Allen and Hollonville roads. The driver was uninjured in this incident. Please […]
STAFF REPORT ::: Police say a Griffin man is in custody on charges related to the horrifically brutal killing and decapitation of his sister’s pit bull. Griffin Police Department Office Matthew Kerlin on Feb. 6 responded to a call reporting animal cruelty. Kerlin spoke with Courtney Smith, who said she had left her pit bull […]
STAFF REPORT ::: The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is investigating an allegation of missing deposits from the Griffin Golf Course. An “internal source” reported the missing deposits to the office of City Manager Jessica O’Connor on Feb. 11, 2022. Authorities say O’Connor immediately opened an internal investigation. The GBI was subsequently asked to assume that […]
PUBLISHER’S NOTE: On Thursday morning, the Griffin Police Department (GPD) issued a press release regarding the security breach that is the subject of this investigative report.The GRIP has been investigating this incident for nearly two weeks and has obtained information you will not find in the GPD press release. This article will also disclose additional […]
STAFF REPORT ::: A 19-year-old Griffin man, Brandon Hawkins, has been charged with murder and aggravated assault following a Sunday afternoon shooting. Deputies of the Spalding County Sheriff’s Office Uniform Patrol Division, the Spalding County Fire Department, Griffin Fire-Rescue and WellStar Spalding Regional EMS responded at approximately 1:18 p.m. to 615 Northside Drive Apartment 28A […]
STAFF REPORT ::: Cassandra Clarice Barlow, a teacher in the Griffin-Spalding County School System, has been arrested after allegedly striking two students with a computer charger. Spalding County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to Kennedy Road Middle School Wednesday, Feb. 16, following a report that a teacher had struck a student. Criminal investigators responded to the […]
STAFF REPORT ::: An Atlanta man has been arrested in connection with an alleged check cashing scheme involving a Pike County business. According to the Pike County Sheriff’s Office, checks totaling $45,860 in fraudulent checks was written and deposited into various bank accounts, and the money would then be withdrawn before the banks became aware […]
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