A convicted sex offender accused of cutting his ankle monitor and fleeing Chatham County in November was captured Tuesday in San Francisco.
Police there stopped 30-year-old Christopher Aaron Walter riding a bicycle near an elementary school where he acted nervous and provided an officer with a false name, said Michelle Gavin, Chatham County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman. Walter eventually admitted he was wanted in Georgia and investigators arrested him.
Walter who was convicted in 2002 for enticing a child for indecent purposes and had been labeled a sexual predator by the state. Gavin said Walter had last registered as homeless with the sheriff’s office’s Sexual Offender Registry Team — or S.O.R.T. — and had been living under the Talmadge Bridge. He cut his required electronic monitoring device on Nov. 13 and fled the area.
Walter will be extradited back to Chatham County and faces charges including probation violation and failing to register as a sex offender.
He was the only registered sex offender listed as absconded by S.O.R.T.
Man’s body found near I-95 in Richmond Hill
The body of a white male approximately 60 years old was discovered near Interstate 95 at exit 90 in Richmond Hill, police say.
Richmond Hill police Lt. Dana Strickland said a maintenance worker preparing to mow next to the interstate discovered the body.
“We don’t suspect foul play, but to be sure, he has been taken to the crime lab in Atlanta for an autopsy,” Strickland said.
Police have a tentative ID on the man, but have not released a name.
The body found lying in a ditch had been there for some time, Strickland said.
“The last time anyone remembers seeing him was around Jan. 27,” Strickland said.
State takes over investigation into illegal child care center
State authorities on Wednesday took over the investigation into a day care center in Chatham County that was shut down Tuesday by Savannah-Chatham police and Chatham County fire marshals.
The unlicensed business — named at different times George Town Child Care Center and George Town Fitness Center and located at 1190 King George Blvd. — was closed after investigators from the Georgia Department of Family and Children Services through the Department of Early Childcare and Learning advised the Savannah-Chatham Special Victims Unit they had opened an investigation, said Julian Miller, police spokesman.
Police officers on Tuesday accompanied county authorities as they delivered a cease and desist order issued by the Chatham County Recorder’s Court, said Miller. At the business they discovered one adult and a 14-year-old caring for 11 children younger than 5 years old.
The adult locked the front door and fled the center as officers arrived, leaving all the children under the teenager’s watch, Miller said.
Two of the day care center’s operators, 47-year-old Kimberly Denise Emerson and 36-year-old Erica Denise McKinney, who is also known as Erica Hayward, were sentenced Tuesday in Recorder’s Court to 10 days in the Chatham County jail for violating a court order.
Miller said both women had substantial arrest records in Savannah. Emerson has been arrested for charges including prostitution, fraud and multiple drug offenses.
Records show the child care center had been closed in Richmond Hill, Miller said. Most of the children at the center were from that area.
On Wednesday, a Savannah-Chatham police officer was stationed at the center to assure that no parents dropped children off there.
Second man charged in January Turtle Creek shooting
Savannah-Chatham police on Tuesday arrested and charged a second man in connection to a Jan. 23 shooting at a southside apartment complex.
Detectives charged 23-year-old Harold Edward Hodges IV, with a felony count of criminal attempt at armed robbery.
Investigators determined Hodges and 21-year-old Ernest Patterson were involved in a drug-related confrontation at Turtle Creek Apartments in the 11900 block of White Bluff Road, said Julian Miller, police spokesman.
During the incident a 25-year-old man was struck by a bullet fired through his apartment door, Miller said.
Earlier this month police arrested Patterson, the alleged shooter, and charged him with aggravated assault, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, attempted armed robbery, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in the commission of a crime.
The 25-year-old was treated for the gunshot wound at a local hospital and has since been released.
Miller said violent crimes detectives are continuing to investigate the shooting and additional charges could be added.
Anyone with information on the case is asked to call Crimestoppers at 912-234-2020 or text CRIMES (274637). In the body type, include “CStop2020” plus the tip. Tipsters remain anonymous and may qualify for a cash reward.
Man dies in morning car crash
A 52-year-old man died Wednesday after a medical problem led to a morning crash on Johnny Mercer Boulevard.
Sam Clarence Arnold, of Savannah, died at Memorial University Medical Center from injuries received when his Toyota Corolla crashed into a utility poll about 10 a.m., said Julian Miller, police spokesman.
Savannah-Chatham’s Major Accident Investigation Team determined a medical problem caused the crash, they are continuing to investigate the incident, Miller said.
Wide load to cause delays Friday in Effingham
A wide load moving from Plant McIntosh in Rincon to Plant Vogtle in Waynesboro will cause delays in traffic in Effingham County on Friday.
Big reader boards are warning motorists to expect delays when the huge piece of equipment, a deaerator, is moved, starting at 8:30 a.m. Friday and continuing through 2:30 p.m. Friday.
The piece of equipment, which is two lanes wide, will travel on Ebenezer Road and on Ga. 21 northbound on Friday.
Motorists are being advised to use extreme caution in its vicinity and to follow instructions from the law enforcement escort.
Traffic will be slowed or even stopped at some points because of the load.
The mega load will continue from Screven County into Burke County on Saturday, from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
The route the load will take: in Effingham County, Ebenezer Road to Ga. 21 northbound. In Screven County, it will travel on Ga. 21 to U.S. 301, then Ga. 24.
In Burke County, the load will travel on Ga. 24, Murray Hill Road, Millhaven Road, Ga. 23 and Ebenezer Church Road.
Man indicted in December shooting death
A Savannah man on Wednesday was indicted on an involuntary manslaughter charge in the December death of 19-year-old Rashamel Howard.
Antoine Drummond caused Howard’s death on Dec. 7 “while in the commission of reckless conduct” by the accidental discharge of a gun, the Chatham County grand jury determined.
Savannah-Chatham police said the victim was critically injured when a gun being handled by several men discharged in the carport of a residence in the first block of West 53rd Street.
Roadwork scheduled for Abercorn on southside Saturday
Georgia Department of Transportation contractors will close two eastbound lanes of Abercorn Street on Savannah’s southside for most of Saturday.
The temporary lane closures to construct a median in the area will begin at 7 a.m. and continue through 7 p.m.; they will stretch from Holland Drive to Wilshire Boulevard.
Motorists’ access to businesses, schools and residences in the are should not be hindered.
Drivers are asked to drive carefully in the work zone and to use alternate routes if possible.
Compiled by Corey Dickstein, Jamie Parker, Jan Skutch, and G.G. Rigsby.