A Rincon man accused of brutally beating his girlfriend’s 2-year-old daughter pleaded guilty Tuesday and was sentenced to 40 years in prison.
The girlfriend pleaded guilty to making false statements and was sentenced to five years of probation.
Robert Christopher Edwards, 25, pleaded guilty to aggravated battery and two counts of aggravated assault in the Aug. 13, 2013, beating of the child at a house on Holly Lane.
Effingham County Superior Court Judge F. Gates Peed sentenced Edwards on the charges. Additional charges, including cruelty to children and obstruction of an officer, were dropped.
Edwards had faced as much as 115 years in jail, court records indicate.
“I am happy to see someone who inflicted bodily harm to an innocent child get sentenced to jail for a majority of his life,” said David Ehsanipoor, a sheriff’s spokesman who investigated the case.
Edwards’ girlfriend, Sabrina Dawn Saunders, 22, pleaded guilty under the first offender act to making false statements. Charges of cruelty to children and obstruction of an officer were dropped.
She was accused of intentionally delaying medical attention for her daughter after the child suffered a head injury in an accident on an all-terrain vehicle.
In addition to the five years of probation, Saunders was sentenced to 60 days in jail, a $1,000 fine, 240 hours community service and parenting classes.
She had faced as much as five years in prison for the charges.
Local Red Cross ready to respond across southeast in wake of tornadoes
The southeast Georgia chapter of the American Red Cross is poised to respond and help out across the affected states in the southeast. The chapter has conducted a call down of its volunteer leadership teams, prepared its vehicles and has placed volunteers on response stand-by, said local Red Cross spokeswoman Esther Sheppard.
Nationally, the American Red Cross is responding across the South and Midwest to help people affected by the massive storm system that has destroyed neighborhoods and left thousands without power.
Red Cross workers opened or supported community shelters in seven states Monday night, including Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Mississippi and Virginia. More than 100 people sought refuge in the shelters and many more visited them for meals and information about what help is available. If someone needs to find a shelter, they can contact their local Red Cross chapter or access the Red Cross shelter map on redcross.org, which is updated every 30 minutes with shelter locations by address, city, state and/or ZIP code.
Red Cross workers are providing health and mental health services and Red Cross emergency vehicles are distributing food and relief supplies throughout the affected states as weather conditions permit. The Red Cross is mobilizing additional disaster workers and emergency vehicles to move into the affected states to provide additional help when it is safe to do so.
TORNADO SAFETY: People should know how their community will warn them about the storm. Other steps include the following:
• Pick a place where family members can gather — the basement, a center hallway, bathroom or closet on the lowest floor. Keep this place uncluttered.
• Move or secure lawn furniture, trash cans, hanging plants or anything else that can be picked up by the wind and become a projectile.
• Watch for tornado danger signs — dark, greenish clouds, a cloud of debris, large hail, a funnel cloud or roaring noise.
• Mobile homes are not safe during tornadoes or severe winds. If there is access to a sturdy shelter or vehicle, abandon the mobile home immediately and go to that facility. Do not wait until the tornado is in view.
• If someone is caught outdoors, they should seek shelter in a basement or sturdy building. If they can’t do that, they should get into a vehicle, buckle their seat belt and drive to the closest sturdy shelter. If flying debris occurs, they should pull over and park, stay in the vehicle with their head down below the windows, covering their head.
HOW TO HELP: Those who would like to help people affected by disasters like tornadoes, floods and other crises can make a donation to American Red Cross Disaster Relief. People can donate by visiting their local chapters in Savannah, Brunswick or Statesboro, go to www.redcross.org, by calling 1-800-RED CROSS or texting the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation. These donations enable the Red Cross to prepare for, respond to and help people recover from disasters big and small.
Sheriff’s Office reports collecting 200-plus pounds of drugs
The Chatham County Sheriff’s Office and the DEA, along with some other agencies, participated in a prescription drug take-back event Saturday.
About 265 pounds of unused, expired and unwanted prescription drugs were collected during the multiagency operation, said Wayne Wermuth, sheriff’s office spokesman.
Residents were able to drop those drugs off at several locations around town Saturday.
The sheriff’s office has a prescription drug drop-off box located on the first floor of the Chatham County Courthouse on Montgomery Street.
Work to affect Gulfstream Road traffic this week
Some single lanes of Gulfstream Road starting near Robert B. Miller Road and continuing to Ga. 21 will be temporarily closed from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. today through Friday, weather permitting.
The lane closures will be used for construction, according to the state Department of Transportation. A person with a flag will direct traffic through the work zone. Motorists in the area should expect delays.
Compiled by G.G. Rigsby and Dash Coleman