Recent reports filed with the Liberty County Sheriff's Office include:

April 13
Littering — A man complained to an officer about lawn-maintenance contractors littering on his property. He said maintenance for the rental property behind his home have been dumping leaves, branches and other debris. The complainant said that it was an ongoing issue and that he would contact the rental company to stop the contractor from dumping.

Domestic dispute — A deputy responded to a domestic dispute on Curtis Road. A man reported that his daughter was heavily intoxicated and kept yelling at his wife (her stepmother) because she thought his wife was talking bad about her mother. The daughter requested to be taken to the hospital because she felt she was going to harm herself. She was then transported to Liberty Regional Medical Center. There were no signs of violence, but it was determined that it was a just a verbal dispute between family members.

Recovery of stolen vehicle — A tractor-trailer, reported as being parked improperly on Dunwoody Court, turned out to be stolen from Richmond Hill. The trailer and reefer unit, which contained six rolls of film, was stolen at the end of March. A detective with the Richmond Hill Police Department was contacted and met with local officers. The owner of the stolen trailer arrived to pick up the vehicle and realized that he needed new batteries to start and move the tractor-trailer.

April 14
School bus in ditch — A school bus was stuck in a ditch off Luke Road. The driver said that while backing up to turn around, she felt the bus sink down and noticed the bus was in a ditch. Another bus arrived from Liberty County School bus transportation, and students were able to get onto the new one. There were no reports or complaints of injuries. Before students got on the second bus, emergency management services arrived and checked all 52 occupants. The fire department also was on scene. The bus was removed from the ditch with no damages.    

Matter of record — A woman said that her son, who had not been taking his prescribed medication properly, argued with her and broke a watermelon. The watermelon was cracked but intact on the kitchen counter. She said her son sometimes mixes his medication with alcohol. The son said he wanted to go home in South Carolina, but his mother said that he would become homeless if he left. She said the people he was staying with are going to prison. The family was referred to professional counseling.

April 15
Marijuana possession less than 1 ounce — A traffic stop was initiated at Parker’s gas station on Highway 196 after a vehicle was observed traveling without a visible license plate. While a deputy ran the license and tag, an officer from the Hinesville Police Department showed up for assistance. The license and tag were valid, but the second officer’s K-9 alerted the officers to the presence of narcotics after conducting a free air sniff of the vehicle. The driver admitted to having the end of a joint in the ashtray. Officers asked if there was anything else illegal; the driver responded “no.” The driver and other passengers were then detained. A search of the vehicle found a small amount of a green, leafy substance in a Mason jar and in a pill bottle. The driver was then advised that he was under arrest for possession of marijuana, after which he admitted to all of the illegal contraband in his vehicle. The narcotics were retrieved, and the other passengers were free to go. The vehicle was released to one of the passengers, and the driver was taken to jail for possession of marijuana less than an ounce and given an warning for improper display of a tag.

Simple battery — After a woman returned home from the hospital, her ex-boyfriend called and said that she needed to come to his home and pick up her clothes or else he would burn them. The woman went to her ex’s home, where he told her that he didn’t want to break up. He then “… ‘snatched’ her phone from her and punched her in the left eye,” a report says. The officer on the scene observed minor swelling to her eye. Three hours later, the officer was dispatched back to the home on Trophy Lane. The woman said her ex kept calling her saying, “I’m watching you.” Contact was made with the ex-boyfriend via the woman’s phone, and he refused to meet with the officer. He denied arguing and was advised by the officer to no longer contact his ex-girlfriend. She deleted his number from her cellphone.

April 16
Respiratory distress — Officers responded to a baby not breathing on Live Oak Church Road. The woman on the scene stated that she had an infant in a back bedroom who was unresponsive. CPR was performed while waiting for EMS to arrive. The baby was taken Liberty Regional Medical Center by EMS.

Matter of record — An officer went to Liberty County High School in reference to a student getting bullied. The student’s aunt said that her niece was having trouble with another girl at the school. She said the other girl wanted to start fights with her niece. Her niece was told to walk away from the situation. The aunt informed the school but felt it wasn’t being handled quickly enough. The aunt did not want to file a juvenile complaint form but just wanted it on record.

April 17
Discharge of firearms on or near public highway or street — A man observed someone step out of a vehicle to fire shots at a wood line or down the canal area along Joseph Martin Road. The man was letting his dogs out for a walk along Joseph Martin Road when he saw a steel-gray Mazda two-door sedan pass by occupied by two black males. They stopped near the canal area, where the male passenger stepped out, raised a handgun and fired six rounds. The shooter was described as a slender black male wearing a white short-sleeve shirt and dark-colored pants. The two males then drove toward Old Sunbury Road after shots were fired. The responding officer was unable to find any shell casings or brass from the scene, and the intended target was undetermined.

April 18
Shoplifting — A clerk at El Cheapo on Coastal Highway called 911 to report a female shoplifter. The clerk reported that the woman entered the store and was rambling about politics. She was seen removing two items and told the clerk that she wasn’t going to pay for them, then walked out. The woman was described as wearing a red top and driving a dark-gray Ford Focus. An officer found the vehicle, which actually was a dark-gray Chevrolet Sonic with body damage, parked in front of McDonald’s at exit 67. The driver fit the description. During questions, she gave the officer the two items she stole from the store: a package of Ritz crackers and a sausage dog. She appeared to be unaware of her surroundings and talked about multiple people following her. “She stated that the ‘pimps’ had taken all of her clothes,” a report says. After running her information, it came back that she was wanted in Nevada and was placed under arrest for shoplifting.

Animal complaint — A woman reported that loose dogs attacked and killed three ducks and four chickens on her property on Miness Road. She claimed that they also knocked down and damaged a chicken-wire fence. The dogs were described as one being a Husky with a red collar and the other a brown Labrador mix. Value of the ducks was place at $25 per animal and $20 per chicken, by the owner. Animal Control arrived to look for the dogs.

Matter of record — A woman was being followed around Hinesville by a mysterious black truck. Her husband contacted officers to report that his wife was being followed from place to place and provided the truck’s tag number. The husband located his wife and spotted the truck, and then passed along the information to officers. An officer found the mysterious driver and told him the reason he was being stopped. The man said that he was a private investigator assigned to follow the woman in reference to an insurance case. After confirming that he was a licensed investigator and his assignment, the man was advised to stay away from the woman. She expressed to officers that she and her 9-year-old daughter were fearful as to why they were followed.