Two wanted suspects captured in Liberty county
Liberty County and US Marshall’s Task force captured the following subjects May 3, 2012:
Steven Lamont Carter out of Chatham County for: 4 counts of Possession of a firearm/knife in committing crime- F; 3 Counts of Aggravated Assault- F; Armed Robbery-F; 4 Counts of Theft by Extortion-F; Carrying weapon on or near school property/function-F; False statements and writings-F
Anthony Green out of Camden County for: Theft by deception- M; Burglary-F
Update on Christopher Chance
Christopher Chance, the subject apprehended on April 20th in Liberty County after escaping from Chatham County’s State Prison Transition Center is now being charged by the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office on 6 counts of Entering Automobile or other motor vehicle with intent to commit a theft or felony. Chance is currently being held at the Coastal Correctional institute in Savannah.
Escaped prisoner apprehended in Liberty County
Christopher Chance escaped from the State Prison Transition Center in Chatham County last Friday, April 20, 2012. Deputy Sheriff’s and US Marshall’s apprehended Chance at approximately 12:00pm this afternoon at the Jones Creek Recreation Park on Isle of Wight in Liberty County. Chance was held at the Liberty County Regional Jail and is being transported to Coastal Correctional Institute in Savannah, GA. Chance is also suspected to be responsible for various offenses here in Liberty County. This is an ongoing investigation and we will update you when we have more information.
Jason Howard accepts guilty plea
Jason Howard accepted a guilty plea Tuesday March 20, 2012. Howard is the murder suspect in the shooting deaths of his mother Mildred Cleveland and stepfather Jewel Cleveland on April 1, 2004.
Howard, age 42, pleaded guilty to two counts of voluntary manslaughter and was immediately sentenced to 20 years for each count, to run concurrent, with credit for time served.
Howard was originally charged with six counts of murder; two counts of aggravated assault; two counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of or attempt to commit certain felonies; one count of receipt; possession or transfer of a firearm by convicted felon or felony first offender; and two counts of concealing death of another.
COMING SOON……..Citizen’s Police Academy
In the very near future, Liberty County Sheriff’s Office will be starting it’s first ever Citizens Police Academy. The Citizen’s Police Academy is established especially for citizens who are 21 years of age and older, and who are interested in establishing a productive partnership with members of local law enforcement and public safety.
The 10 week academy will meet one evening per week for approximately 2 hours per session. The class sessions will cover virtually every aspect of law enforcement. The curriculum will inform the students of operational dynamics of the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office, and the critical role citizens play in crime control efforts.
In addition to classroom training, the Academy students will be required to participate in action-oriented activities, riding with deputies on patrol, a tour of the detention center, mock crime scene processing, and mock traffic stops.
SEATING IS LIMITED, so in order to insure outstanding citizens of the community are participating in the academy, the applications will be reviewed and references will be checked as well as a criminal history of the applicant.
The Liberty County Sheriff’s Office employee’s and I thank you for your interest in this program.
Sheriff Steve C. Sikes
Citizen awarded
Fighting fires as Midway Volunteer Fire Department’s fire chief for the past 31 years is just one aspect of Terrell Chipp’s service to the community.
He knows most everyone in the community after working within the city of Midway for so many years. Given his knowledge of the area, Chipp knew something was wrong Jan. 2 — and his swift response earned him a meritorious award from Liberty County Sheriff Steve Sikes and the department.
Sikes said Chipp saw a pickup truck coming out of the Midway industrial park with a substantial amount of metal that day and became suspicious.
“Mr. Chipp recognized that the property belonged to a nearby business,” Sikes said. “Suspecting a theft, he called 911 and provided a detailed description of the vehicle.”
Sikes said the truck later was spotted by his patrolmen, who stopped the vehicle. The suspects subsequently were arrested. Sikes said the metal was worth several thousand dollars.
“Thanks to Mr. Chipp’s detection, dedication to his community and his keen observation skills, valuable property was recovered and a large loss to the business was avoided,” Sikes said. “When someone does something special that really makes a difference to the citizens of Liberty County, our department wants to give recognition for doing that.”
“I’ve worked for the city of Midway … and I know my area,” Chipp said. “I can ride through an area and know which car belongs at which house, and I saw this truck and something didn’t look right … and they had a truckload,” Chipp said.
Sikes said Chipp’s quick action saved the department and taxpayers the man hours it would have cost the county to go out and investigate the case.
“But one phone call got it taken care of,” he said. “It is a pleasure to commend Mr. Chipp for his assistance and concerns for the citizens of Liberty County. On behalf of the citizens of Liberty County, I just wanted to say thank you.”
Anyone who wants to report suspicious activities or provide information on ongoing investigations can do so on our website www.libertyso.com.
Text messaging scams!
Please beware of any kind of bank alerts or random text messages you may receive. A good amount of Alltel customers received a text message yesterday with the words “Banking Alert” and a phone number for you to call.This is a scam to make you believe your bank accounts have been compromised. If you make contact with this scam artist, they will try to obtain information such as a checking account number and bank routing number in order to make “universal” credit cards to steal your money. Don’t be a victim, always check with your bank to before following through with anything like this.
Reference this link to more familiarize you with these scams
LCSO uncovers suspected weapon
The Liberty County Sheriff’s Office recovered a weapon Wednesday afternoon that officials suspect was used in a Jan. 26 stabbing in Fleming.
According to Sheriff Steve C. Sikes, detectives have searched for the weapon since the morning after the stabbing, which resulted in the death of 19-year-old Terry “TJ” Floyd.
“It was the last missing piece that we needed for this case,” Sikes said, adding that the weapon was undergoing tests and analysis before it could be linked to the crime conclusively.
The weapon was found in Peacock Creek near a bridge on Lewis Frazier Road with the help of the Liberty County Public Works department, Sikes said.
“We’ve had a good idea where the murder weapon was that was used in the stabbing,” he said. “We had divers out there for two days, searching that creek on and on to no avail.”
After searching for days without result, Sikes said he was inspired by a case his father, former Sheriff Robert V. “Bobby” Sikes, worked decades ago.
“I remembered a case that my dad had back in the late ’60s where there was a murder on Highway 17, where a metal cash register was taken out of a gas station that was down there,” he said.
Robert “Bobby” Sikes and his investigators decided to search all the creeks in the area for the cash register.
“So he came up with the idea of using a magnet to find it, so we were discussing that, and I said, ‘I sure wish we had a magnet to find this murder weapon,’” the sheriff said.
The lead detective on the case suggested they enlist help from the Liberty County Roads Department and Public Works Director Clenton Wells, who provided a crane and magnet to comb the creek.
The knife, which Sikes estimates has a 6-inch blade, was attracted to the magnet “within a matter of minutes” of the magnet being submerged in the area, he said.
Last week, three suspects were taken into custody in connection with the case.
Travon Walthour, 17, was taken into custody Jan. 22 and charged with murder and aggravated assault. Jonathan Mathew Robertson, 18, was taken into custody Jan. 25 and charged with murder and robbery. Damien Walthour, whose age was not specified, faces a charge of tampering with evidence.
Authorities believe the stabbing occurred shortly after a drug transaction on Cook Road and, Sikes said, information provided by the suspects led authorities to the canal.
Source: Coastal Courier
Murder suspects in custody!
Liberty County Sheriff’s Office now has the two suspects responsible for the death of 19 year old Terry Floyd Jr. The incident occurred January 21, 2012 where deputies say, Floyd and a friend were supposed to meet someone on Cook Road to buy marijuana. The friend told deputies that after they made the transaction, the seller and two other men jumped them, robbed them and stabbed Floyd in the middle of the road, where he died. Floyd was found dead on hardtop part of the road in the 300 block of Cook Road in the Fleming Community.
17 year old Travon Walthour (top) is charged with Murder and Aggravated assault and 18 year old Jonathan Robertson (center) is being charged with Murder and Robbery. Both Walthour and Robinson have been denied bond. A third offender Damien Walthour (bottom) who was the alleged driver of the vehicle leaving the scene and accomplice in the concealment of the murder weapon, is being charged with tampering with evidence.
School vandals identified!
The Liberty County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday identified two juveniles who were determined to be responsible for the break ins at the Midway Middle School and Midway Elementary School on 9 January 2012.
On Monday morning, employees arrived at work to find the schools in disarray with extensive damage to the property and the theft of a variety of computers and other property.
Two Juveniles ages 14 and 15 were identified as suspects and were detained by the Sheriff’s Office on 17 January 2012. Neither of the two juveniles are students at the schools. They were charged on juvenile complaints with multiple counts of burglary, interference with Government Property, and theft by taking.
The two were also charged with Entering an Auto for breaking into two cars parked at the school at the time and for the attempted theft of one of the vehicles.
During the investigation, the same two juveniles were identified as having been responsible for the theft of two motorcycles during December 2011. The juveniles had been identified as suspects on that matter when the break ins occurred at the schools.
The two juveniles were released to the Department of Juvenile Justice pending appropriate hearings to determine further disposition of the two,
