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
Successful blood drive!
Liberty County Sheriff, Steve Sikes hosted the first annual Liberty County Sheriff’s Office Blood Drive on Friday, February 3, 2012. The American Red Cross is currently 11% off of their normal average for the year. The American Red Cross arrived with the blood mobile and had a goal of twenty pints of blood. Sheriff Sikes and the Liberty County Community more than met the goal, they exceeded it. Sheriff Sikes said, “The community responded in outstanding support and donated a total of thirty-four pints of blood.” “Giving blood is giving life and I am appreciative for all those that gave.” The American Red Cross was very pleased with the turnout for the blood drive. It will help greatly with the donation shortage they are having.
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,
Vandals target two of our local schools
The Liberty County Sheriff’s Office and the Liberty County School System are working together to find the person — or people — responsible for vandalizing two schools and damaging $21,887 worth of technology gear in Midway over the weekend. The vandals also made off with about $2,300 in technology equipment, said Jason Rogers, LCSS assistant superintendent for administrative services. “We do have some missing stuff, but this was more destruction than theft — lots of broken glass, lots of spray paint, graffiti, dumping stuff out, making a mess, basically, at both schools,” Superintendent Judy Scherer said. “I can tell you that it pretty much looked like a wreck. The destruction was pretty extensive.” According to a statement released by Sheriff Steve Sikes, the suspects forced entry into Liberty Elementary School and Midway Middle School sometime between 8 p.m. Sunday and 6 a.m. Monday. They damaged office equipment, numerous doors and windows in several classrooms and one kitchen. At both schools, the vandals gained entry by prying grates off the air-conditioning vents and climbing in, Rogers said. He received a call about the damage at about 6:45 a.m. Monday, and he believes that food service personnel were the ones who discovered the disheveled scene. “Apparently these people had a heyday just breaking stuff,” Scherer added. “We’ve had (a few instances of vandalism before), but nothing anything like this that I remember.” Three iPads, two digital video cameras and one laptop are among the items missing, but other items, such as a Smartboard and Flip camera, also were damaged. “We are currently in the process of testing all of the other equipment to determine if it can be repaired or if it will have to be replaced,” Rogers said, adding that administrators also were in the process Tuesday of procuring estimates for window replacements and compiling information to submit to the insurance company, which is anticipated to cover the costs related to the incident. Twenty-one rooms were affected. At the elementary school, one room reportedly was in complete upheaval. Files had been strewn about and computer monitors were busted. The vandals also targeted a break room, where they busted a soda machine and several light bulbs. When students at Liberty Elementary and Midway Middle reported for class Monday, some were ushered into the cafeterias to be held until the classrooms were cleaned and processed for evidence. But, Rogers added, most classes were back in session by 10 a.m., and breakfast was served on a modi-fied schedule. By lunchtime, school was back on track at both campuses. The Midway Police Department and the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office both responded to the scene around 6 a.m., where papers and files had been tossed around, and a television and a printer were broken. While Scherer and Rogers said both schools have security measures in effect, the topic has been discussed at prior board meetings. During a July meeting, the board approved the installation of a keyless-entry security system at Bradwell Institute with the intention to pilot the system and evaluate its effectiveness. The system is in the process of installation now, Scherer said. “That’s what we’d eventually like to have at all of our schools,” Scherer said. However, the incident is likely to provoke board discussion on security sooner than anticipated. LCSO Chief Keith Moran said detectives are working closely with the board of education to obtain an estimate of the damage and identify stolen property and possible suspects. Anyone with information about the incident should call the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office at 876-4555 or leave an anonymous tip at www.libertyso.com.
Goatees for charity
Citizens of Liberty County may notice that some sheriff’s deputies are sporting a new look. The department recently eased its facial hair policy in the name of charity. For a donation of $120, deputies now are allowed to wear goatees while in uniform. Previously, deputies only were allowed to grow mustaches. The proceeds will go to a charity established by Sheriff Steve Sikes to help residents in need. The charity, dubbed “Goats for the Needy,” so far has raised more than $1,000 to provide meals for hungry families in Liberty County. Sikes said the families who receive the meals are identified by his deputies, who see local people in need at many of the homes they are called to. In addition, Sikes said, the local churches also help pinpoint families who could use a hand. Sikes said his deputies have stepped up to the plate to participate in the charity-based challenge.
“I’m pleased that the deputies have taken an interest in this program to take care of the families in need in Liberty County,” he said. Food purchased with the money is delivered to families in a sheriff’s office patrol car.
“We do this because we want children to know that the police don’t show up just to make arrests, but also to provide a helping hand,” Sikes said.
The sheriff said several local businesses also have signed up to participate in the program. Deputy Cpl. Sascha Krumnow said anyone can donate.
“You don’t have to grow a goatee to contribute,” he said.
Source is Liberty Counties Coastal Courier.
SOUTH CAROLINA MURDER SUSPECT CAPTURED
Savannah, Georgia – A Savannah man wanted for Murder and Aggravated Assault was arrested by the Savannah Office of the United States Marshals Service Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force and Savannah Chatham Police Department Detectives, SWAT, and K-9 on January 2, 2012.
Herman Dessausure, 29, was wanted by the Estill, South Carolina Police Department and the Hampton County Sheriff’s Department for a shooting incident in Estill, South Carolina that occurred in the early morning hours of December 30, 2011 that left one man dead and two other wounded. The incident happened at a bar in Estill, South Carolina.
The Estill Police and Hampton County Sheriff’s investigators identified Herman Dessausure as the suspect in the case. On January 2, 2012, they received information that Dessausure was possibly in a motel in the I-95 and Hwy 204 area of Savannah and contacted the U.S. Marshals Savannah Office of the Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force for assistance in locating and arresting Dessausure. When it was determined that Dessausure was at the motel, additional assistance was requested from Savannah Chatham Metropolitan Police Department Detectives, Patrol, SWAT and K-9.
While the investigators were setting up to make entry into the motel room, a taxi cab pulled into the motel parking lot. Officers stopped the cab and found out that Dessausure had called the cab to come pick him up. Dessausure was seen looking out the room door while waiting for the cab. Officers had the cab driver put in a call to the Dessausure and when Dessausure exited the room, he was immediately subdued by SCMPD Swat officers. Upon a frisk of Dessausure, a 9mm semiautomatic handgun was pulled from his waistband. Dessausure was taken to the Chatham County Jail to await extradition back to Hampton County, South Carolina.
This was an excellent example of inter-agency cooperation not only within Savannah but a neighboring state as well. A dangerous felon has been taken off the street by this arrest.
Annually, investigations carried out by the U.S. Marshals result in the apprehension of over 36, 000 federal fugitives. More federal fugitives are arrested by the Marshals Service than all other federal agencies combined. In 2011, U.S. Marshals led task forces arrested more than 86,000 state and local fugitives, which cleared over 113,000 warrants.
The Marshals Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force has three offices: Atlanta, Macon, and Savannah. The task force covers the whole state of Georgia. The Savannah Office of the Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force is a team comprised of investigators from the Georgia Department of Corrections, the Chatham County Sheriff’s Department, the Savannah Chatham Metropolitan Police Department, the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles, the McIntosh County Sheriff’s Department, the Liberty County Sheriff’s Department, the Bulloch County Sheriff’s Department, the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Department, and the United States Marshals Service. The task force objective is to seek out and arrest fugitives charged with violent crimes, drug crimes, sex offenders, and other felonies.
Additional information about the U.S. Marshals can be found at http://www.usmarshals.gov .
LCSO Reaching out this Christmas
12/06/2011
The Liberty County Sheriff’s Office is reaching out to the less fortunate this Holiday season to help as many as possible to have a great Christmas meal with their families. We are seeking your assistance to make this possible. Together we can make a difference in our community; any donations you can provide will be greatly appreciated. Any donations can be made payable to the Sheriff’s Outreach Account and mailed to 201 South Main Street, Ste. 1300, Hinesville, GA 31313. With Best Wishes, I remain Sincerely, Steve C. Sikes Liberty County Sheriff
We received a very nice Thank you card form one of the families who received a Christmas dinner from us. It reads: “Thank you for the wonderful food we received. Because of your generosity we had a wonderful Christmas dinner”
Family Undisclosed
The featured image is another thank you card from one of the gracious families that received a Christmas dinner from us. One of the children dropped it off at our office to show their appreciation.
