Metro and campus police are working together to investigate a Monday morning attack on a 13-year-old who was on her way to school in Savannah.
Officers have alerted students in the area to be cautious when traveling to and from school and to report any suspicious activity they see in the community, said Julian Miller, Savannah-Chatham police spokesman.
The teenager reported she was walking to the school bus stop at West 42nd and Burroughs streets in the 42nd Street Lane behind the 700 block of West Victory Drive about 8:28 a.m. when she was grabbed.
A male attempted to drag her toward a vacant house before she escaped, Miller said. The suspect was described as a slender black male standing about 6 feet tall, wearing blue jeans, a black T-shirt and a cloth around his face.
Police are investigating similarities between this attack and two others near West 44th and Florence streets in September, Miller said. On Sept. 8, a 16-year-old reported she was grabbed in a lane at about 8:29 a.m. On Sept. 29, a 14-year-old girl reported a similar attack at 7:30 a.m.
Both metro police and Savannah-Chatham campus police have increased patrols in the area and are asking the public to help provide information.
Anyone with information is asked to call CrimeStoppers at 912-234-2020 or text CRIMES (274637) using the keyword CSTOP2020. Tipsters remain anonymous and may qualify for a cash reward.
A tip line also is open directly to investigators at 912-525-3124 and most area clergy have agreed to serve as liaisons for anyone who would like to share information with police anonymously.
Police look for man who grabbed running girl on trail
Detectives are searching for a man who is reported to have grabbed a teenage girl running on a wood-covered walking trail on Wilmington Island last Thursday evening.
Investigators are still resolving some inconsistencies in reports they have received but are continuing to search the area, said Julian Miller, Savannah-Chatham police spokesman. The teen reported that she had separated from her jogging mates after becoming winded about 5 p.m. in the woods on Johnny Mercer Boulevard when a man grabbed her arms and attempted to pull her away from the trail. The teen said she broke away and sought help next door at the YMCA.
Police are seeking a white male in his 30s or 40s, standing 6 feet tall with a muscular build and deep voice. He wore a black hoodie pulled tightly around his unshaven face.
Metro police are also investigating a similar encounter Feb. 25 on the same trail, when members of a family reported that a man hidden behind the trees called to them from the wooded area, Miller said. They said they never saw the man.
Detective Eugene Solomon, the lead investigator on the case, can be reached at 912-525-3100 Ext. 1296. Anyone with information also can call CrimeStoppers at 912-234-2020 or text CRIMES (274637) using the keyword CSTOP2020. Tipsters remain anonymous and may qualify for a cash reward.
Teenager charged in Effingham wreck that killed three
A 17-year-old Rincon girl has been charged with three counts of second-degree homicide by vehicle in a wreck on Old Augusta Road on Sept. 7 that claimed three lives.
Rachel Pauline Conley turned herself in on Friday on those charges plus charges of improper passing on the left and failure to use due care, according to the Georgia State Patrol.
She was released the same day on $38,700 bond, according to Sgt. Don White of the Effingham County Sheriff’s Office.
The charges were filed after an investigation by the State Patrol’s Specialized Collision Reconstruction Team.
On a sunny Sunday afternoon, Conley was driving a car southbound on the two-lane road when she tried to pass a pickup. Several witnesses said it appeared the pickup sped up as the car tried to pass it.
She saw an oncoming vehicle and tried to return to the southbound lane, but sideswiped the pickup. The pickup spun and struck an oncoming SUV, which was carrying a teacher and her mother — Megan Kessler, 30, of Rincon and Marlys A. Strempke, 54, of Allenhurst.
Kessler, a special education teacher at Effingham County High and mother of three children, and Strempke died at the scene.
The driver of the pickup — Theresa C. Miles, 19, of Springfield — died three days later from injuries.
A 15-year-old passenger in the pickup truck, Ivey Castenada, suffered serious injuries.
Conley was not injured.
When the wreck occurred, Effingham County Commissioner Steve Mason had been trying for nearly a year to get the striping and signage changed to prevent passing at that site. He maintained that the passing and no-passing zones were marked incorrectly when work was done to improve the road.
The county hired a contractor to change the striping and signage “as a safety measure above that which is required by design standards,” according to County Administrator Toss Allen.
Man busted with $40,000 of pot
One person is in custody after the seizure of a large amount of marijuana by the Chatham-Savannah Counter Narcotics Team.
Early Tuesday morning, undercover CNT agents received information regarding a large amount of marijuana in Savannah. Agents determined the marijuana was stored at a residence in the 1200 block of East 40th Street, said Gene Harley, CNT spokesman. CNT, with the assistance of the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office K-9 unit, searched the house. Agents seized more than 8 pounds of high-grade marijuana, several ounces of marijuana hash oil, and nearly $900 in cash.
Enrique Perez, 30, of Savannah was arrested. Perez was charged with various felony charges including possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and possession of a controlled substance (hash oil) with intent to distribute. Perez is being held at the Chatham County jail and was expected to be arraigned in Recorder’s Court on Wednesday.
The investigation is ongoing and additional arrests are expected, Harley said.
The marijuana and hash oil have an estimated street value of up to $40,000, Harley said.
The term “hash oil” is used by illicit drug users and dealers, but it is misnomer in suggesting any resemblance to hashish, Harley said. Hash oil is produced by extracting the cannabinoids from plant material with a solvent. The color and odor of the resulting extract will vary, depending on the type of solvent used. Current samples of hash oil, a viscous liquid ranging from amber to dark brown in color, average about 15 percent tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), although it is frequently as high as 50 percent and can even get as high as 70 percent. A drop or two of this liquid on a cigarette is equal to a single “joint” of marijuana, Harley said.