Oconee Blotter: Hit and run driver blames wreck on brake checking

The Oconee County Sheriff’s Office reported the following incidents:

DUI CHARGED: On Sept. 12, Deputy Boris Argueta was traveling east on Experiment Station Road about 4:20 p.m. when he observed a Toyota Corolla failing to maintain its lane. The car also moved into the opposite lane. The deputy turned on his blue lights as they passed the sheriff’s office. The car pulled over and became stuck in a ditch. The deputy could see the tires spinning as the driver attempted to leave. He walked up to the door and the woman, with her arm resting on the door window, held her driver’s license out. The 34-year-old Oconee woman explained she had brought her husband, who was in jail, some “whites.” Although she smelled of alcohol, she said her drinking was done the previous night. She became argumentative during the encounter and refused a sobriety test. She was charged with DUI.

GATOR RIDER: On Sept. 13, Deputy Lex Ogan was working a traffic stop on Epps Bridge Parkway about 1:30 a.m. when a Jiangsu Gator moped passed. He observed the taillights and brake lights were not working. The deputy stopped the moped and determined the 30-year-old Athens man, who also was not wearing a helmet, had a suspended learner’s permit. The man said he was on break from his restaurant job and forgot to wear his helmet. He was charged with the traffic violations.

HIT AND RUN: On Sept. 19, Deputies Dustin Mines and Dylan Pulliam were parked off Highway 316 at Jimmy Daniel Road, when a woman drove up and said she had been rear-ended by a hit and run driver. The deputies spotted the Ram 1500 and saw it run a red light in a heavily congested area. Pulliam attempted a PIT maneuver, but the driver hit his brakes, which caused a collision between the two vehicles. The deputy and suspect stopped near Meriweather Drive. The 39-year-old Athens man blamed the earlier wreck on the woman saying she had brake checked him. The man, who smelled of alcohol, had blood shot eyes, and slurred speech, admitted he had consumed five or six Miller beers. A Georgia State Patrol trooper was called to work the wrecks. Oconee deputies charged him with attempting to flee and running a red light.

SHOPLIFTER CAUGHT: On Sept. 13, Deputy Robert Perrin was at Walmart when he was notified by an employee that a shoplifting was currently in progress. The suspect had collected numerous items from donuts, waffles, a candle, salad bowl, tea and orange juice before he attempted to leave. After he was confronted by the deputy, the 33-year-old Taylor County man responded, “You got me man. I’m dead broke.”

CAROLINIAN NABBED: On Sept. 16, Deputy Chris Haag was dispatched to Walmart, where a 20-year-old student from Columbia, S.C., attempted to leave with merchandise. The man, listed as a student, took a box of condoms and some hair clippers to the self-checkout station. He paid for the condoms, but he attempted to steal the clippers. He was taken to jail.

MAN ARRESTED: On Sept. 15, Deputy Lex Ogan was traveling on North Macon Highway about 8:45 p.m. when he saw a Nissan Versa with a damaged headlight. He conducted a traffic stop and the 24-year-old driver from Eatonton explained he had hit a deer. A license check showed the man was wanted on a warrant from the U.S. Marshal’s Office, so he was arrested.

SLEEPING MAN: On Sept. 16, Cpl. Kenji Dorsey was dispatched to Wilson Road in Watkinsville where he observed a Ford Mustang parked near Third Street. He found a man sleeping in the back seat with a vape pen near him. The 18-year-old man from Homer, said he arrived at the location with a friend, who went to see a girl, so he stayed in the car and fell asleep. An investigation showed the man was underage and had a vape that contained THC oil. The teen was placed in custody.

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MAN ARRESTED: On Sept. 17, Deputy Lex Ogan made a traffic stop on a Cadillac Escalade that he later determined had been involved in a dispute in Athens. In that case, Athens-Clarke police had responded to a call at a gas station about a man, who appeared passed out. When police arrived, they found a 23-year-old man named Anthony with bloody wounds. The man's brother, Roberto, had put his intoxicated brother out of the vehicle during an argument. Police didn’t want to arrest Anthony, as they wanted his brother to take him home. It was after they left that Ogan made his traffic stop for a suspended registration and he observed Anthony passed out in a rear seat. However, when the man awoke he began screaming and said he urgently needed to use the bathroom. Roberto escorted him into the nearby woods, but after he finished, Anthony began screaming at his brother. Then Anthony turned his attention to Ogan and began cussing the deputy. Anthony was arrested and charged with public intoxication. Before he was taken to jail, Anthony had a fit and began kicking the patrol unit’s interior.

DUMPING SUSPECT: On Sept. 20, Deputy Dustin Mines was patrolling along Highway 316 when he ran the tag on a 2017 Dodge Charger traveling in front of him. The information he received showed the driver was wanted in Oconee County for illegal dumping. The car was stopped, and the 20-year-old Alpharetta man was taken to jail. The car was turned over to his passenger, a 23-year-old man from West Deptford, N.J.

SPEEDER JAILED: On Sept. 20, Sgt. Samuel Masters was patrolling along Monroe Highway, Bogart, when the unit’s radar picked up a Nissan Pathfinder traveling 69 mph in a 55-mph zone. The 42-year-old Good Hope man driving the vehicle was taken to jail because his license had already been suspended for DUI.

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Oconee Blotter: Cop attempts PIT maneuver on hit and run driver