The last year has brought some wild crimes to the Augusta-Aiken area. I’ve flipped through the jail logs and online posts to select the crimes that shocked everyone.
Here are my picks for the top 10 crime stories of the year, with five bonus stories that were important. Federal crimes were not included. Did I miss one? Let me know in the comments section below.
Mom defends her assault on preschool teacher in Grovetown
Kasey Brooks was arrested Aug. 31 for violently assaulting a teacher at St. Teresa of Avila Catholic Church’s preschool program in Grovetown. But the 28-year-old mother defended her actions, releasing a statement that went viral and sparked a GoFundMe page that raised over $40,000 for her legal fees.
Brooks claimed that she was shown video of teacher June Barrow assaulting her nonverbal 2-year-old son: “For three hours, I watched (his teacher) spank him several times, hit him in the head, slap him with a book, shove him to the ground, snatch him up by one arm and carry him across the room multiple times.”
Brooks’ assault left Barrow with a swollen face and teeth marks on her thumb. The teacher was treated at Doctors Hospital.
Still, many residents read the mother’s account and supported her. In addition, they attacked the teacher and went after her husband’s business online. The teacher’s attorney, Jack Long, said the community’s rush to defend Brooks was “a bit reckless” and he released church video showing Brooks’ violent assault on his 61-year-old client.
Long described it as “an enraged attack by a woman who is swinging to the point where she has her shirt ripped off in the process.”
The attorney also threatened to sue some residents for their comments online.
When the sheriff’s office released video of the teacher’s interactions with the child, many residents said it wasn’t as bad as Brooks had described.
Brooks tried to file criminal abuse allegations against the teacher, who was allowed to return to work. But no criminal charges were filed against Barrow after a review by the District Attorney’s Office and a second hearing before a judge.
Georgia Avenue gunfight was almost deadly in North Augusta
The North Augusta suspect in the Dec. 9 dramatic gunfight on Georgia Avenue would have been dead if he had not surrendered when he did. According to reports, Thomas Airington ran out of bullets and put his hands up, just as a marksman was positioning himself to take out the gunman.
Airington, 42, allegedly fired at officers while kneeling beside his wrecked truck, striking veteran North Augusta Lt. Aaron Fittery in the leg. The heroic officer is recovering. The chaotic scene was captured on video by several witnesses and forced rush-hour traffic to be diverted around Georgia Avenue.
Airington is the same drug-trafficking suspect wanted by Georgia-Carolina Bail Bonds on a warrant for failing to appear. The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division became involved in the officer-involved shooting, and it is the agency that filed the attempted murder charge against Airington. Hit and run charges were also filed.
Woman facing felony charges in viral assault at Little Caesar’s
After a weeklong search by police in May, a woman seen on video attacking another woman at an Augusta Little Caesar’s restaurant was taken into custody May 25. Brittany Kennedy was charged with kidnapping in the incident at 3221 Wrightsboro Road in Augusta. The warrants said that Kennedy technically abducted victim Emily Broadwater without lawful authority and holding her against her will.
She “went inside the restaurant and physically drug the victim outside the establishment by her hair,” the warrant says. The victim went to the Doctors Hospital and was treated for her injuries and released.
The cell phone video went viral and attracted news attention from around the world. Broadwater retained an attorney is suing both Kennedy and Little Caesar’s.
Augusta woman charged with involuntary manslaughter in Clarks Hill drownings
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation and Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office made an arrest in September in the tragic drowning deaths of Augusta fathers Eynn Wilson and Edward Kirk Jr. that occurred on April 25, 2021, on Clarks Hill Lake in Lincoln County.
Shontover Kirkland, 32, of Augusta, was charged with one count of reckless conduct and two counts of involuntary manslaughter. The warrants accuse Kirkland of causing Kirk’s death by “shoving him off a boat into deep, cold water” without knowing whether he could swim.
She is also charged with causing Wilson to jump into the lake to try and rescue Kirk, who was “struggling to stay above water” after he had been shoved into the water by Kirkland. Her actions “consciously disregard a substantial and unjustifiable risk of endangering the safety” of Kirk, the warrants says.
The arrest brought relief to the grieving families.
Elderly couple cheered for deadly fight with home invader
An Aiken County couple was cheered in February for fighting back against a knife-wielding invader.
Herbert Parrish Jr., 82, and Lois Parrish, 79, refused to be victims when suspect Harold Runnels Jr. burst into their Dicks Street home in Jackson on Feb. 15 with a large knife and attacked them. Mr. Parrish beat the suspect on the head with a pistol, unable to shoot the gun because he didn’t have time to load it.
The intruder died after suffering traumatic injuries from the pistol whipping.
“Glad y’all wasn’t injured,” Martha Connor said on Facebook. “And proud you fought back. Too many people think they are entitled to anything.”
Jeannine Spradley agreed: “People are refusing to be victims of crime and are standing their ground!”
Shooting spree in three counties left teen dead and others with serious injuries
Authorities said Larry Bernard Mackie Jr. likely started his Saturday morning on Aug. 14 by randomly shooting motorist Nancy Forbes twice while driving on U.S. Highway 1 in Richmond County in a black Hyundai Sonata. An hour later, he allegedly showed up at the Family Dollar in Wrens, Ga., where he stood in line without saying a word and then shot clerk Cindy Whiting multiple times as she stood at the register. Both victims survived.
After the first two shootings, he showed up at the Graniteville home before noon where he was living and “repeatedly” shot 14-year-old Nathanial Johnson as the teen was sleeping in a bed, killing him, authorities said. Mackie is related to the teen through marriage. Johnson was a rising freshman at Midland Valley High School. The suspect also shot his father, Larry Mackie Sr. in the arm and leg, and tried to shoot his stepmother, Patricia Mackie, according to arrest warrants.
When deputies arrived at Mackie’s home on Saddlebrook Trail in Graniteville at lunchtime that day, they found his family members holding the 250-pound suspect. But while trying to take him into custody, Mackie fought three officers and tried to take Sgt. Roberts’ service weapon, police say.
Authorities have found no motive or connection between Mackie and the first two victims. Authorities say Mackie may have been off his medication for schizophrenia.
Mackie is charged with murder, five counts of attempted murder and two counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime. Jamey Kitchens, who was Wrens Police Chief at the time, said his agency has obtained warrants against Mackie for criminal attempted murder, aggravated assault, aggravated battery, burglary and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime for the Family Dollar shooting.
Aiken teen kills three family members and himself
There are few answers after an Aiken teen shot his parents and his sister to death Sept. 24 before turning the gun on himself at The Boundary at Silver Bluff Apartments on Silver Bluff Road. The victims were identified as 55-year-old John Fitzgerald Seward Sr., 50-year-old Mary Ann Powlas and 27-year-old Erica Nicole Seward. Johnathan Andrew Seward, 19, was identified as the killer.
A fifth victim, 18-year-old Theresa Seward, the shooter’s sister, survived. Another brother escaped but required treatment at the mental health wing after reportedly seeing what happened.
Richmond County Sheriff’s Office announces arrest in transgender slaying
An arrest was announced in November in the 2020 murder of Felycya Harris, a transgender woman whose death shocked the Augusta community when her body was found laying in Meadowbrook Park.
Jerrome Miller, 30, was charged with her murder. When authorities announced the murder arrest, Richmond County Sheriff’s Office stuck with its policy of not releasing the motive. Reporting by Scott Hudson with The Augusta Press shows that neighbors who live near Meadowbrook Park reported two men fleeing the scene, but only one man was charged.
At the time of his arrest, Miller had pending charges for domestic violence against his live-in girlfriend as well as theft of lost or mislaid property.
Richmond County comes after white-supremacist gang with major bust
In July, a three-year investigation into the Ghostface Gangsters climaxed in Richmond County with an announcement of indictments against 77 gang members and associates for violence, drug dealing and sex trafficking. Gov. Brian Kemp joined Sheriff Richard Roundtree, District Attorney Jared Williams and Augusta Mayor Hardie Davis Jr. in making the announcement at the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office South Precinct on Mike Padgett Highway.
The Ghostface Gangsters are primarily comprised of white supremacists and Gangster Disciple Affiliates, an operation extending throughout three states (Georgia, South Carolina, and Tennessee) and deep into Georgia prisons.
Augusta man dies after stun gun incident
An Augusta man died from severe brain injuries suffered during his encounter with Richmond County deputies in October, sparking a GBI investigation that has made its way to the District Attorney’s Office.
According to the GBI, 24-year-old Jermaine Jones Jr. was tased after running from officers during a traffic stop on Oct. 11 on Highland Avenue. Jones then struggled with multiple officers as they tried to detain him.
“While on the way to the Richmond County Jail, Jones experienced symptoms requiring medical treatment,” the GBI said.
FIVE OTHER STORIES THAT WERE IMPORTANT
Augusta employee claims she was kidnapped, raped and drugged
An Augusta hotel employee was charged in May with fabricating a kidnapping and rape story after she was found in a bathtub at the Country Inn & Suites. Keyanna Franklin is the hotel employee who allegedly made up a story for being drugged and raped in a guest’s room. Ultimately, authorities charged Franklin with false report of a crime.
Franklin stated that at around 11:15 p.m. May 25, a suspect had her come to his room in reference to television problems because she works at the front desk. Once inside, she said the suspect grabbed her from behind and forced her on the bed, where the suspect forced three unknown tablets into her mouth and forced her to drink an unknown liquid, possibly alcohol. She stated she became dizzy and passed out. When she woke up she was bleeding, she said, and she said the suspect had raped her.
The woman was taken to the hospital for treatment. By May 27, the sheriff’s office could find no evidence to support the employee’s story.
Hephzibah man accused of raping victim 635 times
A Hephzibah man was captured in July on charges that he raped his daughter 635 times, according to a sheriff’s report. Nicholas Alexander Mims, 46, was captured almost immediately July 14 after news spread that he was wanted for sexually abusing his daughter from the age of 16.
According to a report, she is now 22 and stepped forward Wednesday to report the rape and incest. A report released by the sheriff’s office says, “She was sexually assaulted against her will by her father, Nicholas Mims between September 8, 2014 and March 2018, approximately 635 times.”
Evans teacher who plays Santa accused of slapping butts of students
An Evans High teacher was arrested Nov. 10 on accusations of slapping two female students on the buttocks. Gregory Brooks, 63, was charged with two felony counts of improper sexual contact by a person of trust. The girls are ages 14 and 15.
The investigation began when a female student stepped forward and made written allegations that Brooks had touched her inappropriately in school on Oct. 26. The school district confirmed his resignation, saying he taught fire and emergency services at the school. Brooks is well known for playing Santa Claus and has worked for a number of charitable organizations.
Hephzibah stepdad ailed after boy is critically hurt
A Hephzibah man was charged in May with child cruelty after his 4-year-old stepson was critically injured while the boy’s mother was away. John Jesse Kuhn, 28, was charged with cruelty to children to his 4-year-old stepson who went through months of care.
His recovery was chronicled in a Facebook page that generated over 1,500 followers.
Kuhn claimed he was disciplining the child for misbehaving and “popped” the boy at their home on the 5000 block of Deer Trail Run. But the suspect’s actions caused brain swelling, bleeding and excessive bruising to the child’s buttocks, forehead and chest.
Animal shelter burglar may have been having sex with dogs in Aiken
An Aiken County man was arrested April 1 for repeatedly breaking into the animal shelter over the last two years and only stealing female dogs. One of the dogs was found in the parking lot with a swollen vaginal area, according to a sheriff’s report.
Donald James, 64, of Monetta, S.C., was charged with five counts of burglary. Sheriff’s Capt. Eric Abdullah confirmed that authorities are investigating the possibility that the burglar was having sex with the dogs.
