Woman indicted on arson, aggravated assault charges

♦ Also, a man is indicted on a manufacturing marijuana charge months after an officer found 40 young marijuana plants on his porch, and another who allegedly shot at a man three times with a revolver during a fight is indicted on an aggravated assault charge.

A Floyd County woman was indicted by a grand jury on arson and aggravated assault charges from two separate cases.

According to Floyd County Jail reports:

Dana Marie Smith is accused of setting a jacket on fire and throwing it at a man who was lying in bed at a Wilkerson Road home, which she also threatened to burn down, in a May 4 incident. In the other case, stemming from a May 29 incident, Smith is accused of hitting a 36-year old man in the face with a reading lamp at the same Wilkerson Road residence. Smith also violated a no contact conditional bond by being at the man’s home in the first place.

Also included in the 48 true bills a grand jury found during its latest proceedings Friday was the indictment of a man on a manufacturing marijuana charge. Gregory Lyle Epperson, 51, of 134 Chubb Road, was arrested in April after a Floyd County police officer following up on a domestic dispute on U.S. 27 came across 40 young marijuana plants sitting on the front porch of his home, police say.

An officer was called out to the scene of a fight on U.S. 27 South between Epperson, a truck driver, and his wife on April 6. He ran off before police arrived, so an officer called a tow truck to take the truck to his home and tried to find him. While at the home, the marijuana plants were in plastic cups sitting on the front porch when an officer went to the front door.

Epperson was arrested several weeks after the discovery of the pot plants. He is also charged with simple battery under the Family Violence Act from the fight with his wife.

In another case, a Rome man was indicted on an aggravated assault charge from an incident in which he is accused of firing a Bulldog .44-caliber revolver at a man three

times and fighting with several others.

Justin Lawayne Culberson, 29, of 203 Kingston Ave., was arrested around June 7 and charged with three felony counts of aggravated assault. He is also charged with misdemeanor battery, simple assault, simple battery, disorderly conduct and pointing a gun at another.

The fight happened at an Old Airport Road home in the 100 block. He attacked several people with a screwdriver before picking up the revolver and firing at a man. He then fought with that man’s cousins, striking one of them in the jaw. The man Culberson was shooting at sustained cuts from the attack.

The charge in the indictment does not necessarily show all the charges filed against a person accused of a crime. Others on the list from Friday’s deliberations are:

Clayton W. Grant, aggravated battery;

Paul E. McLemore, aggravated assault;

Jason E. Reed, aggravated assault;

Jennifer F. Tapp, entering an automobile;

Michael S. Lecroy, false imprisonment;

Jessica L. Visage, cruelty to children;

Stephen K. King, aggravated assault;

Joseph O. Johnson, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon;

Gary Reeves, obstruction of EMP;

Titus C. Allen, burglary; Ricky L. Branton, theft by receiving;

Bridgett N. Causey, burglary;

Brittany S. Gibson, burglary;

Michael R. Battle, obstruction of an officer;

Aslin A. Colon, aggravated assault;

Garry Lawson, aggravated stalking;

Aysheh J. Mahmoud, aggravated assault;

Ketori Woods, fleeing or attempting to elude;

Devon J. Booker, Jail M. Henderson, Naderricus S. Reed; possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime;

Jerry C. Childers, aggravated stalking;

Richard T. Pope, aggravated battery;

Laura R. Wilson, false statements and writings;

Tesia M. Adams, false statements and writings;

Jimmy W. Blair, theft by receiving;

Elvis J. Gomez, aggravated stalking;

Delotorius D. Thompson, burglary;

John K. Gazerro, exploitation of an elder person;

Crystal D. Womack, aggravated assault;

Preston Dougherty, criminal damage to property;

Eric Huff, obstruction of an officer;

Harold J. Hunley, aggravated battery;

Shelby S. Phillips, obstruction of an officer;

Tomas Valdez, aggravated stalking;

Devian Chambers, false imprisonment;

Bobby L. Hulsey Jr., aggravated assault;

Joan T. Sadler, cruelty to children;

Michael B. Taylor, aggravated stalking;

Thomas T. Watson, solicitation of sodomy;

Gregory L. Epperson, manufacturing marijuana;

Jeffrey L. Farmer Jr., criminal damage to property;

Andy L. Morgan, Brittany H. Morgan, violation of the Georgia Controlled Substances Act;

Brittney L. Money, cruelty to children;

Latisha Green, Rodney E. Reese, theft by shoplifting;

Willie J. Welch, theft by shoplifting;

Andrew K. Parris, criminal damage to property.