Cedartown firefighter arrested in connection with fight at Meadow Lakes golf course
A Cedartown firefighter is on administrative leave after he was arrested following a fight that occurred at an area golf course late last month.
Steven Jeremy Manning, who is a lieutenant in the Cedartown Fire Department, is accused of starting a fight against a man and his adult son at Meadow Lakes Golf Course in Cedartown the evening of Jan. 30, according to Polk County Police
Chief Kenny Dodd.
Dodd said Manning began punching the man in the back of the head as they were in the food service area of the clubhouse. The victim’s adult son then got involved before Manning eventually left the location before police arrived.
Manning is charged with two counts of misdemeanor battery and turned himself in to authorities on Feb. 11. Dodd said he was cooperative and spoke with investigators and bonded out by the following morning.
Cedartown City Manager Edward Guzman said all he could confirm is that Manning was on administrative leave. He declined to say anything else as it is a personnel matter.
Manning, 44, was hired to the Cedartown Fire Department in 2005. No one else has been charged in the incident.
The Rome Police Department Selective Enforcement Unit is looking for a car involved in a fatal hit and run incident on Jan. 13 South Mclin Street.
The wreck occurred early in the morning and the suspected vehicle should have front end/undercarriage damage. Paint transfer from the vehicle to the victim indicates that it is one of the following vehicles.
1999 — 2007 Honda Accord
1999 — 2007 Acura TL
2000 — 2003 Acura CL
2004 Acura MDX
2004 Honda Odysey
2004 — 2007 Honda Civic
2004 Honda Pilot
2005 — 2007 Acura CSX
2005 Acura EL
2006 — 2007 Acura RDX
The driver of the vehicle is expected to be involved with the death of the pedestrian from the wreck.
Anonymous tips are welcome on the Rome-floyd website or the Rome Police Crime Line at 706-236-5000.
Rome teen charged with false
statements
A Rome teen reportedly gave officers a different story about a shooting that occurred in December 2020.
According to Floyd County Jail reports:
John Daniel Whatley III, 18, told officers that someone was shot by an unknown person and led investigators astray, giving a few suspects’ names as well.
He eventually told officers that it took place in a vehicle with multiple other people and that it was an accident. Whatley is charged with felony false writings and statements and he remained in jail with a $5,700 bond Monday morning.
Man broke into Berry
Food Mart
An Aragon man is charged with second-degree burglary after he entered the Berry Food Mart on Martha Berry Highway and took a glass bottle of Sprite, reports stated.
According to Floyd County Jail reports:
Jeffrey James Lovingood Jr., 29, was arrested at the business early Sunday morning. He was held on a $7,900 bond Monday.
Rome man charged with terroristic threats, obstruction
A Rome man reportedly threatened police during an arrest Sunday after they found less than an ounce of marijuana in his possession, reports stated.
According to Floyd County Jail reports:
Alex Shundre Martin, 38, is charged with three counts of terroristic threats after he threatened to hire “a bunch of kids” to hurt the three officers.
He is also charged with less than an ounce of marijuana and two counts of obstruction. He was released on bond Monday.
Report: Calhoun man ran
multiple stop signs evading police
A Calhoun man remained in jail with no bond Monday after he was arrested at the intersection of North Broad Street and Calhoun Road Sunday
afternoon, reports stated.
According to Floyd County Jail reports:
Tarik Dajuan Holmes, 22, refused to pull over for police officers, who had their sirens and lights on, and ran several stop signs while traveling southbound on Broad Street. He failed to stop at multiple traffic signals and used the turning lane to pass vehicles.
During the incident, he was driving 45 miles per hour in a 25 mile per hour zone.
He is charged with felony fleeing from officers, misdemeanor speeding, passing in a no passing zone and three counts of failing to obey stop signs.
Rome man charged with Schedule I substance
possession
A 27-year-old man reportedly had THC oil and less than an ounce of marijuana when Floyd County police officers pulled him over for passing in a no passing area, reports stated.
According to Floyd County Jail reports:
Spencer John Wills, 27, is charged with felony Schedule I controlled substance possession as well as misdemeanor marijuana possession and improper passing.
He remained in jail with no bond Monday.
Olivia Morley, staff writer
Rome man charged with
possession of methamphetamine
A Rome man who had previous warrants for drug charges was arrested at a restaurant on Shorter Avenue in West Rome on Friday, reports stated.
According to Floyd County Jail reports:
Hoyt Cole Roberson, 32, is charged with felony possession of methamphetamine for an incident that occurred on Jan. 20. He is also charged with felony probation violation as well as a misdemeanor for possession of marijuana.
Report: Woman arrested at East Rome store with meth in purse
A woman faces felony drug charges after an incident at a store on Dean Avenue late Friday, reports stated.
According to Floyd County Jail reports:
Lannie Michelle Boatner, 43, was arrested at a Dollar general on Dean Avenue Friday around 8:30 p.m. following a search that revealed a glass smoking pipe with methamphetamine in it, along with a syringe that contained methamphetamine in her purse.
She is charged with felony possession of methamphetamine and a misdemeanor for possession of drug-related objects.
Rome man arrested on felony
marijuana charge
A Rome man pulled over on Alabama Highway late Friday night faces felony charges for possession of more than an ounce of marijuana, digital scales and packaging materials, reports stated.
According to Floyd County Jail reports:
Michael Darryl Brown Jr., 31, was arrested Friday night following a search that turned up more than an ounce of marijuana.
Brown is charged with felony possession of marijuana, possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and misdemeanor obstruction and possession of drug-related objects.
DUI stop leads to felony drug charge
A Rome man pulled over Friday night on suspicion of driving under the influence also faces a felony drug charge after a quantity of hydrocodone was found in his vehicle, reports stated.
According to Floyd County Jail reports:
Kevin Allen Singleton, 32, was arrested on North Broad Street Friday night and charged with felony for possession of a Schedule II controlled substance along with misdemeanor possession of drugs not in an original container, driving under the influence, driving without insurance, failure to maintain a lane and failure to obey a traffic control device.
Rome man arrested with stolen handgun
A Rome man faces several felony charges after being found in possession of a stolen handgun at a location on Huffaker Road Saturday morning.
According to Floyd County Jail reports:
James Alvin Cotton, 26 was arrested at an apartment around 11:00 a.m. after police discovered him in possession of a stolen Ruger 9mm pistol.
Cotton is charged with felony possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and theft by receiving stolen property as well as a felony probation violation.
Two Metro Atlanta men
arrested for in Rome
Police found multiple containers of marijuana inside a vehicle on Legacy Drive in Rome Saturday night and took a pair of Atlanta area men into custody on several felony drug charges, reports stated.
According to Floyd County Jail reports;
William Joshua Paige III, 23, of Riverdale and Bryson Denard Banks, 23, Atlanta, were inside the vehicle when approached by police around 9:00 Saturday night.
Multiple containers of marijuana were found throughout the vehicle along with at least one firearm.
Both men are charged with felony possession of marijuana, possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime and possession of a firearm with an altered identification number.
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden announced changes Monday to target more federal pandemic assistance to the nation’s smallest businesses and ventures owned by women and people of color.
Biden says a lot of these mom and pop businesses “got muscled out of the way” by larger businesses seeking federal money in the early days of the pandemic. He said changes taking effect Wednesday will provide long overdue aid to these smaller enterprises that he says are being “crushed” by the pandemic-driven economic downturn.
“America’s small businesses are hurting, hurting badly and they need help now,” Biden said.
Under the pandemic-era Paycheck Protection Program, the administration is establishing a two-week window, starting Wednesday, in which only businesses with fewer than 20 employees — the overwhelming majority of small businesses — can apply for the forgivable loans.
Biden’s team is also carving out $1 billion to direct toward sole proprietors, such as home contractors and beauticians, the majority of which are owned by women and people of color.
Other efforts will remove a prohibition on lending to a company with at least 20% ownership by a person arrested or convicted for a nonfraud felony in the prior year, as well as allowing those behind on their federal student loans to seek relief through the program. The administration is also clarifying that noncitizen legal residents can apply to the program.
First rolled out in the earliest days of the coronavirus pandemic and renewed in December, the program was meant to help keep Americans employed during the economic downturn. It allows small and mid-size businesses suffering loss of revenue to access federal loans, which are forgivable if 60% of the loan is spent on payroll and the balance on other qualified expenses.
The Biden effort is aimed at correcting disparities in how the program was administered by the Trump administration.
Data from the Paycheck Protection Program released Dec. 1 and analyzed by The Associated Press show that many minority owners desperate for a relief loan didn’t receive one until the PPP’S last few weeks while many more white business owners were able to get loans earlier in the program.
The program, which began April 3 and ended Aug. 8 and handed out 5.2 million loans worth $525 billion, helped many businesses stay afloat when government measures to control the coronavirus forced many to shut down or operate at a diminished capacity.
The latest PPP, which began Jan. 11 and runs through the end of March, has already paid out $133.5 billion in loans — about half of the $284 billion allocated by Congress — with an average loan under $74,000.