SHEILA A. MATHEWS ::: The Griffin Police Department is now offering a $1,500 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the Thursday morning murder of 36-year-old Quentin D. Poole. Poole sustained multiple gunshot wounds in what authorities are describing as a “likely” home invasion that occurred at approximately 1 […]
Reward being offered for information in Thursday home invasion, murder
Filed Under: Top Stories Tagged With: Chief Mike Yates, crime, drugs, Griffin, Griffin Police Department, home invasion, homicide, murder, Quentin D. Poole, spalding county
Murder victim identified
SHEILA A. MATHEWS ::: The Griffin Police Department has identified the victim in an early Thursday murder as 36-year-old Quentin D. Poole. According to GPD Chief Mike Yates, Poole sustained multiple gunshot wounds during what appears to be a home invasion at 815 Slaton Avenue. The incident was reported to authorities at approximately 1 a.m. […]
Filed Under: Top Stories Tagged With: Chief Mike Yates, crime, drugs, Griffin, Griffin Police Department, home invasion, murder, Quentin D. Poole, shooting, spalding county
Police: Home invasion, murder appear to be drug-related
SHEILA A. MATHEWS ::: The Griffin Police Department is reporting an apparent home invasion has resulted in the death of a Griffin man. Authorities are not yet releasing the victim’s identity pending notification of his next of kin. “We’re having some difficulty with that,” Yates said. According to GPD Chief Mike Yates, the incident occurred […]
Filed Under: Top Stories Tagged With: Chief Mike Yates, crime, Griffin, Griffin Police Department, home invasion, investigation, murder, spalding county
BREAKING NEWS: GPD investigating homicide, “likely” home invasion
SHEILA A. MATHEWS ::: The GRIP has confirmed the Griffin Police Department is actively investigating a murder. GPD Chief Mike Yates was contacted after The GRIP received information that the murder had occurred during the commission of a home invasion. Yates confirmed the homicide and said “home invasion likely.” The GRIP is actively following this case […]
Filed Under: Top Stories Tagged With: Chief Mike Yates, crime, Griffin, Griffin Police Department, home invasion, investigation, murder, spalding county
BREAKING NEWS: Local karate instructor charged with child molestation
SHEILA A. MATHEWS ::: A local karate instructor has been arrested by the Griffin Police Department and charged with child molestation and enticing a child for indecent purposes. According to Griffin Police Department Chief Mike Yates, Daniel George has been arrested and charged in connection to a complaint filed by a parent. Filed by former […]
Filed Under: Top Stories Tagged With: arrest, Championship Martial Arts, Chief Mike Yates, child molestation, crime, Daniel George, Griffin, Griffin Police Department, spalding county
Griffin PD officers scheduled hours reduced by change to 10-hour shifts
SHEILA A. MATHEWS ::: After being contacted by concerned individuals and upon receipt of a letter from a “concerned citizen,” all of which pertained to a schedule change for officers of the Griffin Police Department’s Uniform Patrol Division, The GRIP reached out to Chief Mike Yates seeking information on the issue. Of concern to some […]
Filed Under: Top Stories Tagged With: Chief Mike Yates, Griffin, Griffin Police Department, schedule, shift, spalding county, Uniform Patrol Division
Second agency had concerns about officer later hired by GPD
SHEILA A. MATHEWS ::: Prior to his employment with the Griffin Police Department, Tyler Cooper worked for three other agencies – the Georgia Department of Corrections, the Henry County Sheriff’s Office and the Butt’s County Sheriff’s Office. The GRIP previously reported multiple incidents allegedly involving Cooper at the Butt’s County Sheriff’s Office that culminated with […]
Filed Under: Top Stories Tagged With: Chief Mike Yates, Griffin, Griffin Police Department, Henry County Sheriff's Office, law enforcement, spalding county, Tyler Cooper
GPD Lt. Curtis Keys subject of Internal Affairs investigation
SHEILA A. MATHEWS ::: The GRIP has confirmed that Lt. Curtis Keys, of the Griffin Police Department, is the subject of an Internal Affairs investigation. Upon receiving information pertaining to this investigation from two separate sources, an Open Records request was submitted to the city of Griffin. In response, city officials stated that the investigation […]
Filed Under: Top Stories Tagged With: Chief Mike Yates, Griffin, Griffin Police Department, Internal Affairs, Lt. Curtis Keys, spalding county
City manager responds to Open Records stand off
Publisher’s note: In response to an article that appeared in the June 8, 2017, print edition of The GRIP – City of Griffin, GPD Chief Yates refuse release of records; Records denied on officer who resigned in lieu of termination – Griffin City Manager Kenny Smith wrote the following letter to the editor, which was […]
Filed Under: Top Stories Tagged With: Chief Mike Yates, City Manger Kenny Smith, Griffin, Griffin Police Department, Open Records Act, Sheila Mathews, spalding county, The GRIP, transparency in government
Man’s body located in field will be sent to crime lab for autopsy
SHEILA A. MATHEWS ::: Authorities are investigating a death reported when a body was located Friday night in a grassy area near the Griffin Crossroads shopping center. According to Spalding County Coroner Sonny Foster, the man has not been identified. “He was found over there behind Brian’s, between Brian’s and the theater, we found a gentleman […]
Filed Under: Top Stories Tagged With: autopsy, Chief Mike Yates, Coroner Sonny Foster, Crime Lab, death, Griffin, Griffin Police Department, investigation, spalding county
City of Griffin, GPD Chief Yates refuse to release records on officer allowed to resign in lieu of termination
SHEILA A. MATHEWS ::: The city of Griffin and Griffin Police Department Chief Mike Yates are refusing to release for review certain records pertaining to Tyler Cooper, formerly of the GPD, that were requested by The GRIP under the Georgia Open Records Act. The original request was made Feb. 3, and repeated efforts to obtain […]
Filed Under: Top Stories Tagged With: Chief Mike Yates, Freedom of information, GBI, Griffin, Griffin Police Department, Joshua Howell, Open Records Act, spalding county, Spalding County Sheriff Darrell Dix, Teresa Watson, Tyler Cooper
GPD officer injured in Saturday night wreck
STAFF REPORTS ::: Officer Duon Dorsett, of the Griffin Police Department, was injured Saturday night in a multi-vehicle wreck. According to a statement released by GPD Chief Mike Yates, the incident occurred in the line of duty at approximately 9 p.m. “While in route (sic) to assist the Georgia State Patrol, operating in emergency mode, […]
Filed Under: Top Stories Tagged With: Atlanta Medical Center, Chief Mike Yates, Griffin, Griffin Police Department, line of duty, Officer Duon Dorsett, spalding county, wreck
Operation Jail Storm nets contraband in Spalding County Detention Facility
STAFF REPORT ::: According to a press release issued by Spalding County Sheriff Darrell Dix, personnel from his office, the Griffin Police Department and the Clayton County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday, Jan. 4, conducted a search of the Spalding County Detention Facility. This joint exercise – named Operation Jail Storm – was conducted to locate […]
Responses to questions in Boynton investigation become heated
SHEILA A. MATHEWS ::: The September release of the GBI case file on its Jessica Boynton investigation raised questions as multiple inconsistencies were revealed. Efforts to obtain answers to those questions have been stymied by the refusal to respond to questions about those inconsistencies. The GRIP first interviewed Griffin Police Department Chief Mike Yates in […]
GBI completes Boynton investigation requested by GPD
SHEILA A. MATHEWS ::: The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) has completed its investigation into the April 15 incident in which Jessica Boynton, the wife of Griffin Police Department (GPD) Officer Matthew Boynton, allegedly attempted to commit suicide using her husband’s duty weapon. GPD Chief Mike Yates immediately requested the GBI investigation, and agents arrived […]
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