Howard Sills

Locust Grove Police Chief Derrick Austin, right, talks with LGPD Lt. Brandon Morris outside of the Putnam County Coroner’s Office Sunday afternoon. LYNN HOBBS/ Staff

Locust Grove Police Chief Derrick Austin, right, talks with LGPD Lt. Brandon Morris outside of the Putnam County Coroner’s Office Sunday afternoon. LYNN HOBBS/ Staff

Body found in Cedar Creek; suspect in custody

Traffic on U.S. 129/Gray Highway slowed considerably as drivers crossed the bridge over Cedar Creek Sunday afternoon and noticed many blue lights flashing along the roadside and under the bridge.
Lake Oconee News/File Graphic

Lake Oconee News/File Graphic

Road closure, power outages follow crash on bridge

The bridge over Lake Oconee on Old Phoenix Road was completely closed for a brief time Saturday night and then again on Monday morning. In both instances, surrounding residences were without electricity because a pickup truck had crashed into a utility pole, Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills said.
Malik K. White

Malik K. White

Authorities called for gun in backpack

A student took a handgun to Putnam County Middle School, but upon arrival, she immediately reported it to her teacher, and authorities were called. The girl discovered the small .22 Derringer in her backpack on her way to school Wednesday, Jan.
Photo provided by LawAndCrime.com. CONTRIBUTED

Photo provided by LawAndCrime.com. CONTRIBUTED

Putnam County case airs Saturday on 48 Hours

Scenes Saturday night on television network CBS will look familiar to local residents as the show 48 Hours will feature a case from Eatonton and Putnam County. Promos that appeared on TV this week have included shots of Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit District Attorney T.
Sheriff Howard Sills/File Photo

Sheriff Howard Sills/File Photo

Sills invited back into Georgia Sheriffs’ Association

Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills is back in the Georgia Sheriffs’ Association. Almost five years since he tendered his resignation to the association, the members of the GSA Board of Directors sent Putnam’s longest-recorded serving sheriff a letter inviting him back into their membership.
Romario Garcia Mauricio/GoFundMe

Romario Garcia Mauricio/GoFundMe

Greensboro man killed in Putnam County crash

A Greensboro man lost his life on Dec. 12, in a single-vehicle crash in Putnam County. Romario Garcia Mauricio, 25, of Greensboro, was traveling alone in his 2006 Chevrolet Malibu, heading southbound on Pea Ridge Road near the Sparta Highway at about 2:20 p.m.
Putnam County Sheriff's Photo/File Photo

Putnam County Sheriff's Photo/File Photo

Hunter dies after fall from tree stand near Buckhead

A Stockbridge man was killed Saturday morning, apparently from falling from his tree stand while deer hunting, Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills said. Glenn Lamar Coker, 45, was hunting off Hickory Lane in northeast Putnam County.
Jimmy Franklin Willis, 72, of Ato Road, Milledgeville, was arrested on Oct. 21 on multiple charges of negotiating or executing fictitious checks, felony theft by conversion, felony theft by taking, and felony racketeering, according to Sills. FILE PHOTO

Jimmy Franklin Willis, 72, of Ato Road, Milledgeville, was arrested on Oct. 21 on multiple charges of negotiating or executing fictitious checks, felony theft by conversion, felony theft by taking, and felony racketeering, according to Sills. FILE PHOTO

Local businessman charged with stealing from VFW, veterans wall

A prominent Eatonton businessman and veterans advocate was arrested last week on various racketeering and fraud charges, with theft amounts totaling more than $48,000, according to Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills.
McIver and his wife, Diane. (File Photo)

McIver and his wife, Diane. (File Photo)

Tex McIver to be released Sept. 1, facing new trial

Two months after the Supreme Court of Georgia reversed his conviction in the shooting death of his wife, Claud “Tex” McIver will be back in Fulton County jail awaiting a new trial. McIver received notice from the Fulton County District Attorney’s office that D.A.