DVD player taken during burglary at Clock Tower
Rome’s Historic Clock Tower was broken into sometime between late Wednesday morning and Thursday afternoon, but a DVD player was the only item taken.
According to Rome police reports:
Police were called out to the landmark just before 1 p.m. Thursday. A work crew had found the door’s hasp and lock broken by prying them apart. A locked cabinet on the first floor had been pried open and a DVD player valued at $50 taken from it. A second locked door upstairs that leads to inside the clock area was also forced open.
An estimated $100 in damages resulted from the burglary.
Woman injured in wreck on Ga. 20
A Rome woman was treated and released Wednesday night after being injured in a two-vehicle wreck on Ga. 20 at its intersection with North Avery Road on Wednesday morning.
According to Floyd County police reports:
A 2005 Toyota Tacoma being driven by Hunter Sheffield, 21, of 23 E. Kenora Drive, was heading east on Ga. 20 around 11 a.m. Wednesday. A 2017 Honda Civic being driven by Tina Johnson, 47, of 72 S. Avery Road, was slowing down in the right-hand eastbound lane, to make a right turn onto South Avery Road.
The Tacoma slammed into the back of the Civic, which was then sent off the road and into a parked vehicle in the lot of Median Roofing at 3945 Ga. 20. The Tacoma went off the road and struck a tree in the front yard of 3925 Ga. 20.
The Civic traveled 112 feet before hitting the parked vehicle, and the Tacoma went 232 feet before hitting the tree.
Sheffield said he didn’t see Johnson’s turn signal, but admitted to briefly looking down at his radio before hitting her car. A witness who was on a prison work detail told police Sheffield was driving at a high rate of speed and hit the Civic without breaking. Police found no skid marks in the area of the collision.
Sheffield was not taken for treatment, while Johnson was taken by ambulance to Floyd Medical Center. Both vehicles sustained significant damage.
Sheffield was cited for following too close, exceeding the speed limit and distracted driving.
.38-caliber pistol among stolen items
A woman’s Ford Ranger was broken into and her purse taken from it while
it was parked in the lot of the Rome-Floyd County YMCA at 801 E. Second Ave. Thursday afternoon.
According to Rome police reports:
Police believe a screwdriver was used to break the lock on the driver’sside door. The woman had left her vehicle to go work out around 1:35 p.m. She got back to it just before 2 p.m. and discovered her purse was missing.
A Taurus .38-caliber pistol valued at $200 was in the purse, as were multiple credit cards, a driver’s license, insurance cards, a gun permit and a Social Security card.
Spencer Lahr, staff writer
Rome man facing drug charges
A Rome man has been jailed on several felony drug charges following an investigation by the RomeFloyd Metro Task Force.
According to Floyd County Jail reports:
Rex Fitzgerald Nation, 51, of 10 Burnett Ferry Road, was arrested Wednesday on nine different drug charges and is being held in the Floyd County Jail without bond Thursday night. He is accused of selling Schedule I or II drugs, three counts of possession with the intent to distribute Schedule I or II drugs and three counts of possession of Schedule I or II drugs.
He reportedly sold oxycodone to a cooperating witness at locations on Shorter Avenue and Burnett Ferry Road Sept. 20, Sept. 28, and Oct. 12.
New charges filed after fight in jail
Two inmates at the Floyd County Jail face a new felony charge following a fight in the jail.
According to Floyd County Jail reports:
William Shannon Aultman, 36, of Cordele, and Tyler Jon Bailey, 24, of 339 Flora Ave., were both charged with felonies for riot in a penal institution and a misdemeanor for affray.
Bailey was actually charged with three counts of affray after the brawl with three other inmates in the A Block at the jail Wednesday afternoon.
Aultman remained in jail without bond Thursday night while Bailey was taken into the custody of the Georgia Department of Corrections.
Doug Walker, associate editor