ELBERT COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE

News Releases and Bulletins

$10,000 REWARD

Elbert County Sheriffs Office is asking for the public help in reference to a suspicious fire that was reported on Monday afternoon on the Pulliam Mill Road. In a news release from Sheriff Barry Haston he advised that emergency services were notified at approx. 4:33 PM that a chicken house was on fire on the Pulliam Mill Road across from the Holly Springs Baptist Church. Numerous fire departments responded to the fire which was isolated to one of the chicken houses belonging to David Hill. The quick action of firemen kept the fire contained to this one house with a moderate amount of damage Sheriff Haston advised. Sheriffs Investigators discovered evidence that the fire was intentionally set. Witnesses also provided information of a suspicious vehicle in the area around the time of the fire which was described as a red in color full size pick up possible a extended cab or 4 door type truck. A reward up to $10,000.00 is being offered through for the arrest and conviction of person(s) responsible through the GA Arson Control Board. Anyone with information is asked to call the Sheriffs Office Criminal Investigation Division at (706) 283-2421, Crime Tippers Hotline at (706) 213-8956, or the Arson tip hot line at 1-800-282-5804.

The Elbert County Sheriff’s Office attended the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) Annual Conference on October 15 –16 in New Orleans.  Sheriff Barry Haston announced that the Sheriff’s Office won 1^st place in Nationals for the Law Enforcement Challenge.  The Law Enforcement Challenge is a competition between similar sizes and types of law enforcement agencies. It recognizes and rewards the best overall traffic safety programs in the United States. The areas of concentration include efforts to enforce laws and educate the public about occupant protection, impaired driving, and speeding. The winning safety programs are those that combine officer training, public information and enforcement to reduce crashes and injuries within its jurisdiction.  Those that attended the conference are (L-R) Corporal Blake Young, Sergeant Brad Graham, Sheriff Barry Haston, Major Shayne Bennett, and Lieutenant Jonathan Burnette.

Elbert County Sheriffs Office has made arrest in what is an apparent ring of copper thieves. In a press release from Sheriff Barry Haston he advised over the past few weeks there have been numerous reports of thefts of power lines primarily in the Northern end of the county specifically in the areas of Seymour Road, Hewell Road, Bellew Drive, and Pulliam Mill Road. These thefts prove to be very costly and dangerous to the public.

10-23-07

A burglary that was reported on Monday has lead to an arrest of an Elbert County man. In a press release from Sheriff Barry Haston he advised that a burglary was reported early Monday at Childs and Childs Granite on Hartwell Highway. It was reported that an unknown suspect entered the premises and busted out a window where they entered a room and removed a saw. Investigators followed a lead on the case Monday where they located Christopher Madden, Age 39 of 2702 Bells Ferry Road. Madden was hiding in a crawl space of a basement underneath a house on Athens Highway where he had been staying. Based on the evidence that was recovered Madden was charged with Commercial Burglary and is awaiting a bond hearing. The stolen items in the case have been returned to the owners.

10-22-07

Elbert County Sheriff Barry Haston has issued a press release to the public in regards to a recent string of thefts in Elbert County. According to the Sheriff, for the past few weeks Elbert County Investigators have been working on cases of thefts of power lines in the Northern part of the county. The lines are being taken because of the copper wire. These lines are primarily being taken off of secondary roads. The Sheriff stated that Investigators have made several arrest in connection with these incidents but there are still more individuals involved. The public is being asked that if they see any suspicious vehicles around the power lines to please contact the Elbert County Sheriffs Office. These thefts are very costly to power companies and are very dangerous to the public as some of these lines are left on the ground.

10-17-07

October 11, 2007

An Elberton man was arrested Thursday on drug related charges. In a press release from Sheriff Barry Haston he advised that Investigators had been conducting an investigation into drug sales at a house on Gordon Street for several months. On Thursday afternoon the search warrant was executed as a vehicle pulled into the yard that Investigators knew to be Quadricus Perrin, Age 24 of 204 Gordon Street. Inside the vehicle, Investigators located a large quantity of suspected cocaine in powder form and in Crack form. Inside the residence, Investigators located a small amount of marijuana along with evidence that alcohol was being illegally sold from the residence. A Marshal form the City of Elberton Marshall's office came to the scene where charges were made for violations of city ordinance in regards to the alcohol. Elbert County Sheriffs Office also arrested Senita Jones, Age 26 of 204 Gordon Street for possession of marijuana. Both were transported to Elbert County Detention Center.

9/20/2007 

Elbert County Sheriff Barry Haston issued a press release this week in regards to several apparent scams that have surfaced in Elbert County over the last couple of weeks.

9/17/2007

Two search warrants executed last week in the Bowman area netted three-drug arrest by Elbert County Sheriff’s Office. In a press release from Sheriff Barry Haston advised that an investigation had been on going for some time in regards to prescription pills being distributed from a house on Bowman Hwy. Elbert County Deputies executed a search warrant on Thursday afternoon at the residence of Carl Prince, Age 53 of 2859 Bowman Hwy. During the search, Deputies located a significant quantity of prescription pills on the person of Mr. Prince as well as pills being concealed in several old junk cars located behind the residence. The pills were namely identified as Lortabs and Zanax. There were also ledgers of the activity located. Carl Prince was charged with Possession of Schedule 3 pills with the intent to distribute and Possession of Schedule 4 pills with the intent to distribute. He is currently awaiting a bond.

9/7/2007

Large quantities of marijuana plants were recovered on Tuesday afternoon. In a press release from Sheriff Barry Haston, he advised that the Governors Task Force was flying on Tuesday afternoon with Elbert County Sheriff’s Office and recovered approximately 40 marijuana plants from a wooded area off of Tobe Wells Road. The plants averaged between 8 to 14 foot in height with an estimated street value of over 100, 000 dollars. The investigation into the plants is ongoing.

A Madison County man was arrested Thursday night by Elbert County Deputies on Bowman Hwy for impersonating a police officer. In a press release from Sheriff Barry Haston, he advised the charges stemmed from an incident on Dream Lane in the Thirteen Forks area. Around 11 :30pm a call was made to the Central Communications Center about suspicious activity on Dream Lane. Through the initial investigation it was determined that a blue Ford Crown Victoria was on Dream Lane and had a blue light activated and the individual was wearing tactical clothing. The car was stopped a short time later by an Elbert County Deputy on Bowman Highway and Officers located an array of law enforcement related gear such as tactical clothing, tactical holsters, blue lights and loaded handguns. The driver of the vehicle was identified as William Bryan Walker, Age 22 of Danielsville Ga. He was arrested on charges of Impersonating a Police Officer and transported to the Detentions Center. This investigation is continuing.

In a press release from Elbert County Sheriff Barry Haston he stated that a drug raid conducted on Monday evening netted the largest seizure of cocaine in Elbert County History. The raid took place outside a residence at the intersection of Mill Street and Second Street by Elbert County Deputies. Sheriff Haston stated that an investigation being conducted led to the raid at the house which netted a large quantity of MDMA tablets, otherwise known as Ecstasy tablets along with suspected crack cocaine and over a half of a"kilo" of suspected powder cocaine which weighed over a pound. As a result of the investigation, Sebastian Carpenter, Age 19 of 1810 Willie White Drive was arrested on charges of Conspiracy to Traffic Cocaine over 200 grams. Angelo Henderson, Age 28 of 664 Pulliam Street was arrested on charges of Trafficking Cocaine over 200 grams, Trafficking Cocaine within 1 000 feet of a housing project and Possession with intent to distribute a Schedule I drug ( MDMA) . A third individual, Darrell Bradwell age 33 of Sandersville Georgia was also arrested. Bradwell has been transferred to a Federal facility while the other two remain in custody at the Elbert County Detention Center. Sheriff Haston stated that several vehicles were seized that were believed to have been involved in the trafficking of Cocaine and this investigation is continuing.

"Is Cheaper Better?"
 

You see a lot in the paper lately either reporters at the paper or Melvin Andrews's letter to the editor about the Sheriff's budget. You've seen where the commissioners are monitoring the budget of the sheriff over the next three weeks you have seen where the sheriff can't manage a budget. But you haven't heard a word about the other offices that are over budget or that the commissioners are monitoring their budget. This doesn't concern me and this is not what this letter is about and it's not about my budget. I took an oath of office in 2001 that I would protect the life and property of the citizens of Elbert County and when I took office crime and drugs were out of control and it seemed like every time you picked up a newspaper the headline read Murder or a violent crime.

I have had to make hard decisions over the past six and a half years some popular and some not so popular but you elected me to make those decisions. I think the majority of the citizens like the law enforcement they have in the county although it cost. As the budget process starts in May it is impossible for me to predict how many search warrants we are going to execute over the next year or what kind of crime we are going to have how much gas is going to increase or how much food and medical the inmates are going to use. I have had the privilege to attend the graduation of the 5th grade SAFE classes at our elementary schools over the past two weeks and last night I was at the Doves Creek School Graduation and it hit me as I looked at the children that were graduating. As I sat there thinking about the budgets before my turn to talk it hit me where do you cut a budget what part of what we do is not important. So at that time I finally come to a conclusion on my budget. I decided at that time I will keep school resource officers in the schools to protect your children and grand children, I will keep fighting drugs in the county to make it safer and keep violent crime down, I will keep patrolling the county to protect you and your property, I will continue highway safety and keep drunk drivers of the highways, I will keep my promise to protect you and keep violent crime down. I hope the citizen of the county understands that I'm the type of sheriff that wants to stop something before it happens. I don't want a tragedy to happen before I do something. Elbert County is one of the safest counties in the state now and the Sheriff's Office is recognized Nation wide. I'm proud of every employee I have and Thank Them for his or her outstanding achievements. I just can't put a price on a life, can you?
Barry Haston
Sheriff Elbert County

News Release   03/15/07               On Thursday Elbert County Sheriff Deputies went to a residence in the Bowman area where a search warrant was executed. One subject is in jail and numerous warrants have been issued for another. Deputies went to 3305 Deep Creek Road in reference to reports of the distribution of methamphetamine. Contact was made with several individuals inside the home. Upon arrival of deputies one individual was observed attempting to stuff an item in his mouth. It was later determined that the item was a large bag of marijuana. He was identified as Scotty Lee Reed, age 30 of Carnesville, Ga. He was charged with possession of marijuana, possession of methamphetamine, possession of tools for the commission of a crime, and tampering with evidence.             While deputies were at the home, information was received that Mark Outz was en-route to the location. The target of this investigation, Outz, a registered sex offender soon arrived at the home. At the sight of deputies, Outz immediately reversed and sped away back onto Deep Creek Road. The vehicle was chased on Deep Creek Road and then Massey Road and was lost in the area of Roberts Road and Brown Brothers Road .        Other deputies responding to the area reacquired the vehicle on King Hall Mill Road where Outz tried to run over a deputy who was attempting to stop him. The vehicle soon was found abandoned where Outz is suspected to have fled into a wooded area. Warrants have been obtained for Mark Outz, age 36, whose last known address was 2153 Rehoboth Road for Aggravated Assault on Law Enforcement Officer, and additional charges are pending.