Armed robbery suspects arrested A feather in the cap of LFO High School
Less than a week after two men allegedly robbed a Ringgold gas station with guns in hand, the suspects have been arrested in Tennessee, thanks to a manhunt conducted by multiple law enforcement agencies.
According to the Ringgold Police Department, two men identified as Dewayne Lee Halfacre and Timothy Howell, both of Tennessee, walked into the Mapco Mart convenience store at the corner of U.S. 41 and Ga. 151 just after 2 a.m. Monday morning, Jan. 22, and threatened the clerk with semiautomatic handguns.
Chief Dan Bilbrey says the men pulled out their weapons and demanded cash and cigarettes, but that the haul wasn’t quite what they expected.
“They went in armed, and only got about $26 in cash and the cartons of cigarettes,” Bilbrey said. “Both men have a criminal history.”
Immediately following the incident, the store clerk said the men jumped into a dark-colored passenger vehicle and took off northbound on U.S. 41.
The clerk was unharmed during the incident.
While detectives were investigating the case, the 52-year-old Howell was arrested later in the day on Jan. 22 in Marion County, Tenn., while Halfacre continued to elude authorities.
While Halfacre was on the run, authorities in Rutherford County, Tenn., linked the two men to the armed robbery of the Almaville Market near Smyrna, Tenn., on Friday, Jan. 19.
Authorities say the two are also suspects in multiple other crimes throughout the area over the past week.
On Tuesday, Jan. 23, Halfacre was added to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s (TBI) 10 Most Wanted List.
Schools in the Whitwell area of Marion County, Tenn., were on “soft lockdown” Wednesday and Thursday while the manhunt was ongoing for Halfacre.
Halfacre was finally arrested on Friday morning, Jan. 26 after TBI agents tracked his whereabouts to a location in Whitwell. He is currently being held in the Marion County jail.
This month, the final touches were put on a long-term building and renovation project at LakeviewFort Oglethorpe High School.
It started several years ago when ESPLOST IV funds provided the school with a new performance gymnasium, redesigned media center, expanded cafeteria, updated office area and front entrance, new visitor restrooms and concessions, new flooring, a new roof and doors, and fresh paint.
ESPLOST V has provided funds to finish the project – new bleachers, a press box and a new track in the athletic fields area – and finally, the new sign.
If you’ve passed the school recently, you’ve almost certainly seen the 25-foot-tall sign sporting the school’s logo of an Indian Warrior head. Two giant red feathers, measuring 13½ feet from top to bottom, add
to the dramatic effect of the sign. A digital LED display mounted to the sign allows the school to easily show announcements and provide information,
like the time, for Battlefield Parkway motorists.
The sign, designed by Ray Boaz and Tripp Mullins with Derthick, Henley & Wilkerson Architects, has a concrete masonry unit structural core and is faced with
precast pieces to give the appearance of limestone strata in a mountain. The feathers are painted aluminum.
“The new sign,” says Catoosa Schools Superintendent Denia Reese, “is a reflection of the tradition and spirit of LFO Warriors past
and present. The sign that can be seen from outside is just a small part of the projects that have been completed inside LFO High School and on its athletic fields. As an LFO alumni the sign reminds me that it’s great to be a Lakeview Warrior.”