Prosecution of a case against a Rincon couple accused of receiving more than three pounds of marijuana via FedEX has been put on hold.
The district attorney’s office on Wednesday asked that the case against Crystal Marie Clifton and Zachary Justin Smith, both 30, be moved to the “dead docket.”
Effingham County Superior Court Judge William E. Woodrum Jr. agreed to the request from Assistant District Attorney Brian Deal.
Deal asked that the prosecution be postponed indefinitely, “pending receipt of further evidence necessary for the successful prosecution of this case.”
The case can be reopened if new evidence is submitted.
Clifton and Smith were arrested on Feb. 27, 2013, after a package was delivered to their house on Warren Street.
Authorities in California notified the Effingham County Sheriff’s Office when a narcotics K-9 officer alerted on a package prior to it being shipped, according to sheriff’s spokesman David Ehsanipoor.
The street value of the marijuana was more than $15,000, Ehsanipoor said.
The pair were indicted for possession of marijuana and intent to distribute.
Effingham County man admits child molestation
A 29-year-old Meldrim man pleaded guilty to aggravated child molestation in Effingham and Bulloch counties and was sentenced to 25 years in jail and probation for life.
Robert Jonathan Hart pleaded guilty to two counts in Effingham County Superior Court on Wednesday for incidents with two different victims, according to Assistant District Attorney Ben Edwards.
In the Effingham case, Hart was accused of molesting a 4-year-old child in March and May 2013.
Hart was a registered sex offender who was convicted of child molestation in 2006, according to the sheriff’s office. He was on probation from those charges when he was arrested on the new charges a year ago.
He was sentenced by Judge William E. Woodrum Jr.
Police arrest woman in Garden City hit-and-run case
A Savannah woman has been arrested and charged with a felony in connection with a Tuesday night hit-and-run wreck in Garden City that hospitalized a pedestrian.
Officers arrested Shannon White about 6 p.m. Friday on charges of driving with a suspended license, failure to report an accident with damage and leaving the scene of an accident with serious injury, said Garden City police Capt. Gil Ballard. The last charge is a felony.
“Based on information from the public, we were able to identify and locate the vehicle ... and that led to the subsequent investigation and arrest,” Ballard said.
White had been driving a 2001 Toyota Avalon that she did not own at the time of the wreck, Ballard said.
A woman who was walking was struck about 10:45 p.m. Tuesday in the 5000 block of Ogeechee Road. She suffered head trauma, and was transported to Memorial University Medical Center, where she was listed in stable condition.
The driver, who police now say was White, initially stopped after hitting the woman but then fled the scene traveling southbound toward Dean Forest Road.
Ballard thanked the public for calling police with information that assisted in the investigation.
Man pleads guilty to Springfield burglary
A 44-year-old man who admitted burglarizing a convenience store in Springfield was sentenced to five years in prison and 15 years of probation.
Terry Danell Moore of Springfield pleaded guilty to the April 29 burglary of the Shyamagi store at 407 S. Laurel St., according to Assistant District Attorney Brian Deal.
Deal said Moore stole money and lottery tickets from the store.
Moore pleaded guilty on Wednesday and was sentenced by Effingham County Superior Court Judge William E. Woodrum Jr.
Construction to affect Abercorn Street traffic on southside
Lanes in both directions of Abercorn Street between Largo Drive and Wilshire Boulevard are scheduled from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. today and Sunday, weather permitting.
Grange Road at Ga. 21 closed most of today
Grange Road at Ga. 21 will be closed from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. for gas-main repairs.
Motorists will still be able to access Grange, but must enter and exit the road from Ga. 25 during the closure, police said.
Motorists traveling on Ga. 21 will not be affected by the closure.
Compiled by G.G. Rigsby and Dash Coleman
CHATHAM COUNTY BOOKED
To see pictures and details for individuals serving their initial incarceration in Chatham County, as reported by the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office, go to booked.savannahnow.com.