STAFF REPORT ::: Personnel of the Griffin Police Department Special Investigations Unit with assistance from the Spalding County Sheriff’s Office Special Operations Unit and the Fayette County Tactical Narcotics Team on Oct. 28 concluded Operation Wheelin’ and Dealin,’ a sale case operation targeting street level drug dealers throughout the city of Griffin and Spalding County. […]
GPD Operation Wheelin’ and Dealin’ targets street level drug dealers
Filed Under: Top Stories Tagged With: arrests, crime, drugs, Fayette County Tactical Narcotics Team, Griffin, Griffin Police Department, narcotics, spalding county, Spalding County Sheriff's Office
GPD: Children removed from home in “deplorable” condition
SHEILA A. MATHEWS ::: Three children were removed from their home Wednesday when the Griffin Police Department and the Spalding County Department of Family and Children Services (DFCS) discovered they were living in conditions authorities describe as “deplorable.” Sgt. Kelly McKinney, of the GPD Criminal Investigation Division, said she and other law enforcement personnel responded […]
Filed Under: Top Stories Tagged With: child cruelty, crime, Department of Family and Children Services, DFCS, Griffin, Griffin Police Department, spalding county
Sunday morning drive-by shooting wounds one
SHEILA A. MATHEWS ::: The Griffin Police Department is investigating a drive-by shooting that occurred early Sunday morning, leaving one man wounded. According to Investigator Todd Howard, of the GPD Criminal Investigation Division, the shooting took place at 1701 Park Circle and was reported at approximately 3:40 a.m. Howard said the incident was precipitated by […]
Filed Under: Top Stories Tagged With: aggravated assault, drive-by shooting crime, Griffin, Griffin Police Department, shooting, spalding county
Sheriff: 13-year-old arrested in connection to three commercial burglaries
STAFF REPORTS ::: According to Spalding County Sheriff Wendell Beam, a 13-year-old suspect has been arrested in connection to three recent commercial burglaries. Deputies on Sunday, Oct. 18, arrested the juvenile as he was allegedly in the act of burglarizing a local business, Pings and Dings, located at 2930 North Expressway. As a result of […]
Filed Under: Top Stories Tagged With: Burglary, crime, Griffin, juvenile, Sheriff Wendell Beam, spalding county, Spalding County Sheriff's Office
County BoC to request Attorney General’s Office investigate Sheriff’s Office’s Open Records actions
SHEILA A. MATHEWS ::: The Spalding County Board of Commissioners on Monday approved by a 4-0 vote a motion to request an investigation by the Georgia Attorney General’s Office to determine whether the Spalding County Sheriff’s Office violated Georgia’s Open Records Act following its administrative Internal Affairs investigation of David Gibson, the former captain of […]
Filed Under: Top Stories Tagged With: Attorney General's Office, David Gibson, Griffin, investigation, Open Records Act, Sheriff Wendell Beam, spalding county, Spalding County Sheriff's Office
Fifth SCSO employee announces intent to sue in Gibson case
SHEILA A. MATHEWS ::: A fifth employee of the Spalding County Sheriff’s Office has served anti-litem notice she intends to sue Sheriff Wendell Beam and David Gibson, formerly the captain of the SCSO Uniform Patrol Division. Melanie Bowen joins four additional female SCSO employees – Jessica Kelley, Kimberley Barnett, Karen Law and Misty Piper in […]
Filed Under: Top Stories Tagged With: David Gibson, Griffin, lawsuit, Melanie Bowen, Sheriff Wendell Beam, spalding county, Spalding County Sheriff's Office
GBI: Sheriff Wendell Beam did not request criminal investigation of David Gibson
SHEILA A. MATHEWS ::: The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) has confirmed it is conducting a second investigation involving the Spalding County Sheriff’s Office. According to Special Agent in Charge Fred Wimberly, of the GBI Region 2 office in Columbus, Sheriff Wendell Beam requested the investigation Aug. 6. “We have been requested to take a […]
Filed Under: Top Stories Tagged With: David Gibson, GBI, Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Griffin, Sheriff Wendell Beam, spalding county, Spalding County Sheriff's Office
Griffin PD chief responds to criticism of recruit’s “insensitive” tweet
SHEILA A. MATHEWS ::: A.J. Hammond, a recruit in training with the Griffin Police Department, has drawn harsh criticism following a tweet he posted during Saturday’s University of Georgia-University of Tennessee football game. After Nick Chubb, UGA’s star running back, sustained a significant and season-ending knee injury, Hammond tweeted, “I hope that ended his career! […]
Filed Under: Top Stories Tagged With: A.J. Hammond, Chief Steve Heaton, Griffin, Griffin Police Department, Nick Chubb, spalding county, tweet
Griffin residents arrested, charged in eight residential burglaries
STAFF REPORT ::: Christopher Robert Parnell, age 39, of 121 South Honey Bear Drive, and Ronda Swartz, age 45, of 2175 Old Atlanta Road, have each been charged with eight counts of residential burglary. Parnell was also charged with three counts of theft by deception and Parnell faces one count of that charge. According to […]
Filed Under: Top Stories Tagged With: Christopher Robert Parnell, crime, Griffin, Ronda Swart, Sheriff Wendell Beam, spalding county, Spalding County Sheriff's Office
Chief Steve Heaton resigning from Griffin Police Department
SHEILA A. MATHEWS ::: The Grip has learned that Griffin Police Department Chief Steve Heaton has submitted to City Manager Kenny Smith his letter of resignation. Heaton took over the chief of police position April 14, 2014, following the December 2013 restructuring of the GPD that resulted in former chief Frank Strickland’s designation as the […]
Filed Under: Top Stories Tagged With: Chief Steve Heaton, Griffin, Griffin Police Department, resignation, spalding county
Sheriff’s Office withheld records at will prior to issuance of court order
SHEILA A. MATHEWS ::: “The General Assembly finds and declares that the strong public policy of this state is in favor of open government; that open government is essential to a free, open and democratic society; and that public access to public records should be encouraged to foster confidence in government and so that the […]
Griffin PD officer resigns following DUI arrest
SHEILA A. MATHEWS ::: Cpl. Chad Moxon, of the Griffin Police Department Uniform Patrol Division, was on Monday, Sept. 21 arrested by the Pike County Sheriff’s Office on charges of DUI and failure to maintain a lane. According to Chief Steve Heaton, Moxon has since voluntarily resigned from the GPD. “I was notified Tuesday morning […]
Filed Under: Top Stories Tagged With: Cpl. Chad Moxon, DUI, Griffin, Griffin Police Department, Pike County Sheriff's Office, spalding county
Flint River Astronomy Club hosts lunar eclipse viewing
Dr. William Warren ::: Special Contributor to The Grip On Sunday evening, Sept. 27, weather permitting, you can see one of nature’s most stunning and beautiful displays – a total lunar eclipse. It will last from 8:40 p.m. until 12:55 a.m., but the best time to watch it will be from 9:07 p.m. until 12:27 […]
Filed Under: Top Stories Tagged With: Flint River Astronomy Association, lunar eclipse, Research and Education Garden, UGA Griffin, University of Georgia
Commissioner: Believes “the evidence is there” that Sheriff’s Office violated the law
SHEILA A. MATHEWS ::: Spalding County Commissioner Gwen Flowers-Taylor on Thursday addressed her fellow commissioners and other county officials, expressing her concerns about the Spalding County Sheriff’s Office’s responses to Open Records requests in the David Gibson investigation. Flowers-Taylor acknowledged that as a constitutional officer, Sheriff Wendell Beam has the authority to hire and fire […]
Filed Under: Top Stories Tagged With: David Gibson, Georgia Open Records Act, Griffin, Gwen Flowers-Taylor, Sheriff Wendell Beam, spalding county, Spalding County Sheriff's Office
GPD: Girl struck by vehicle at bus stop expected to make full recovery
SHEILA A. MATHEWS ::: The six-year-old little girl who was stuck by a Ford Escape early Thursday morning remains in the Intensive Care Unit at Egleston Children’s Hospital, but she is expected to survive her injuries. According to Lt. Curtis Keys, of the Griffin Police Department Uniform Patrol Division, the girl’s father reports her injuries […]
Filed Under: Top Stories Tagged With: bus stop, child struck, collision, Griffin, Griffin Police Department, spalding county, wreck
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