Oconee Blotter: Shoplifting suspect's partner angered he couldn't 'stop doing that same exact thing'

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

TWO ARRESTED: on Aug. 8, Deputy Doug Mattocks was dispatched to a shopping center on Epps Bridge Parkway, where a 34-year-old Gainesville man was begging people for money. The man left in the direction of Lowe’s and when the deputy located the man, he was placed under arrest for trespassing as he had previously been banned from the location. The man’s girlfriend was in an encampment in the nearby woods and deputies located her in a tent. The 37-year-old woman was wanted on a warrant from Hall County, but she identified herself using her twin sister’s name. Deputies learned she had used that false identification three other times during encounters with law enforcement. She was also taken to jail.

SHOPLIFTER CAUGHT: On Aug. 5, Cpl. Kenji Dorsey was dispatched to Walmart, where loss prevention had detained a 40-year-old Jesup man because he switched the price tags on two shirts and did not scan some razors. The man pleaded that he simply forgot to scan the razors. The man called his husband and the deputy could hear them talk over speaker phone. The husband became upset telling the man that he had warned him several times to stop doing that same exact thing.

HIT AND RUN: On Aug. 6, Deputy Devan Blair and three other deputies responded to a hit and run on Highway 316, where a car was rammed in the rear by a red Chevrolet Silverado. The pickup kept going west on the highway. Deputy Joshua Warren stopped the truck in Barrow County and noticed heavy frontend damage and deployed air bags. The 20-year-old Winder man explained he was scared to stop at the wreck. He opened his door and a shot glass fell out and shattered. The man smelled of alcohol, but said he only drank one Corona beer. Then he admitted to drinking more, however, he said he was not intoxicated. After he was informed he wasn’t old enough to drink, the man told the officer to go ahead and take him to jail. The deputy complied.

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ILA MAN: On Aug. 8, Deputy Baer Schiffer was dispatched to Walmart, where a loss prevention officer had detained a 31-year-old Ila man, who tried to leave with $283 in merchandise. The man had placed the merchandise inside a tote bag, then paid for the bag but not the items inside. His female companion said she didn’t know he didn’t pay for the items and a video shows she was not near the checkout when he committed the theft.

BARRED FROM WALMART: On Aug. 10 Deputy Lex Ogan was dispatched to Walmart, where store security watched a man cutting open boxes and concealing watches. Security would not approach the man because he had a knife, but Ogan confronted him at an electric mobility cart he had driving in the store. The 40-year-old Morgan County man denied that he was stealing and denied cutting open any boxes. The deputy observed the store surveillance footage and confirmed what he was told about the man's behavior. The deputy removed several watches from the man along with a bottle of aspirin which actually contained 16 pills of Xanax. The man had also been barred from entering any Walmarts as a condition of his probation from a previous case. He was taken to jail.

EMPLOYEE ARRESTED: On Aug. 11, Deputy Annessa Glenn was dispatched to Kohl's where one of the employees was caught making a fraudulent return on a mixer, then using the cash from a credit card he purchased clothing. The 20-year-old Athens man, who refused to make a statement, was charged with theft by deception.

JOB ON LINE: On Aug. 11, Deputy Steven Heckler and Deputy Dustin Mines were monitoring traffic on Georgia Highway 316 when Mines' laser picked up a Chevrolet pickup traveling at 85 mph in the 55 mph zone. A traffic stop was made and the deputies could smell alcohol inside the cab. The 22-year-old woman in a company work truck had blood shot eyes and was unsteady on her feet. She confessed to drinking one beer, then changed it to two. During a sobriety test, she almost fell. She refused to take a breath test explaining, "I can't risk my job." She later took a test and it read 0.17. She was charged with DUI.

PHONE USE: On Aug. 13, Deputy Annessa Glenn was working traffic on Highway 316, when she observed a female driver using her cell phone. She made a stop and asked the 34-year-old if she was aware of the state's hands-free law. The woman said she didn't and she provided a Tennessee license that the deputy discovered was suspended. The woman was given a warning on the phone infraction and her vehicle was towed.

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Oconee Blotter: Cops arrest shoplifting, panhandling suspects