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Home burglaries reported in rural areas
Liberty County Sheriff's blotter for Jan. 7
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Reports recently filed with the Liberty County Sheriff's Department include:

Dec. 6
Marijuana possession, less than 1 ounce; DUI, refusal; failure to dim bright lights — A 40-year-old Midway man was arrested when his vehicle was stopped at 10:22 p.m. on Bill Carter Road for failing to dim his headlights. When the deputy approached the driver, he smelled alcohol on the man’s breath. The driver admitted drinking three beers. He failed two sobriety tests and was arrested for DUI. While being searched, a cigarette package was found containing a rolled cigarette with a green, leafy substance.

Public drunkenness — A 40-year-old Hinesville man was arrested for public drunkenness by an LCSO deputy on Azalea Street in an area known for illegal drug use. The man was having trouble standing up straight and was using a mailbox to support himself. As he approached the man, the deputy said he could smell alcohol from 5-10 feet away. The man had to be asked several times to state his name and date of birth. When he did, the deputy recognized his name from two previous arrests, including DUI and possession of a crack pipe. When he was taken to the jail, the man passed out in the holding cell before he could be processed.

Dec. 17
Burglary — A Midway couple called LCSO when they arrived at their home on Frasier Road around noon to find their door open. While clearing the house, they deputy noted the front door appeared to have been kicked open, and there was glass on the living-room floor. The woman told the officer a flat-screen TV and Xbox were missing, as well as a laptop and camera. The man’s handgun, which was in a gun safe was stolen, as was his credit card and ID with other paperwork. The man called the credit-card company and learned his card had been used at the Friendly Express in Walthourville at 11:31 a.m. The detective, who had just arrived, left the scene to see if he could locate the suspects.

Burglary — A 48-year-old Midway man called LCSO when he arrived home on Frasier Road around 5 a.m. After unlocking the chain on the gate to the 6-foot, barbed-wire-topped chain-link fence surrounding his home, he parked behind it and entered the home through the back porch. He found a piggy bank smashed in the floor of his bedroom. Also taken were jewelry pieces, loose change in a jug and a handgun. The man told the deputy he thought someone had been entering his house for about two weeks while he was at work. Although his TV/satellite was left on, nothing had been missing before. The deputy noted the front door had been pried open and left ajar, and there was a tire tool on the porch.

Dec. 19
Animal problem — A Riceboro woman filed a complaint about chickens and guinea hens roaming loose in her neighborhood on Cotton Drive. She told a deputy that the animals were coming into her yard and doing damage. The deputy twice attempted to contact the property owner after discovering a pig in a small pen without food or water. Animal control was contacted, and the pig was taken until the owner could be found.

Dec. 20
Marijuana possession, less than 1 ounce; Obstructing law enforcement officer  — An 18-year-old Midway man was arrested following a manhunt involving LCSO, Midway police and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. A deputy was traveling on Cay Creek Road around 9 a.m. when he spotted a black male dressed in black who matched the description of a wanted suspect. When he asked to speak to him, the young man began to run.
Using his Taser, he got the young man to the ground, but he fled again. The deputy got close enough to use his pepper spray, but that failed to stop him. With the aid of the other law-enforcement officers and a K-9, they tracked down and captured the young man as he bobbed up and down in deep marsh water. The young man refused to give his name but admitted to possession of marijuana in his shirt pocket. At jail, he was identified as the suspect in an armed robbery and burglary.

Dog bite — A Liberty County veterinarian assistant was taken by EMS to Memorial Hospital in Savannah after being bitten in both forearms by a dog as she was trying to check its temperature.
The woman who brought the dog to the clinic said it was not her dog but that she was keeping it for her mother-in-law.
The dog was kept in quarantine by Animal Control.

Robbery — A 58-year-old Vidalia man reported being robbed at gunpoint by four men driving a silver car while he unloaded his fuel truck around 5:30 a.m. at the Chevron station on 36 Montague St. in Riceboro.
He said a young man, who was about 5-foot-9 and wearing a hooded sweatshirt, pointed the gun at him, took his wallet with his Georgia driver’s license and $65 cash, two pocket knives and a key ring containing 20 keys. The men then left heading toward Highway 405.
A short time later, another deputy spotted four men in a silver car driving around the Huddle House and McDonald’s. When he attempted to make contact with them, one young man wearing a hooded jacket fled into the woods. The other three men told the deputy they were driving around because they were lost.
The Chevron station manager said he would contact LCSO when the surveillance video was ready to be picked up.

Dec. 21
Burglaries — Residents of three homes on 375 Davis Road in Hinesville called LCSO after returning home from church to find their homes had been burglarized.
In each case, the investigating deputy found a door pried open. Only one resident reported anything stolen, though all said their homes had been rummaged through. Items that were stolen included a camera and some cash.

Dec. 22
Theft by taking, felony — A 66-year-old Midway woman reported the theft of her husband’s 2014 Honda four-wheeler from their residence on Luke Road.
The ATV is valued at $4,000. She said the ATV was last seen locked up behind their home around
1 a.m.  It was discovered stolen at 4 p.m. The vehicle was locked up with a chain attached to a Georgia Power pole, she said.
She showed the deputy the four sets of keys to the vehicle.

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