Crime & Safety

UPDATE: Parent Accused of Taking Her Child Had Recent Troubles with the Law

Oconee County Sheriff's deputies detained Shannon Fluri on Jan. 24, and she was booked into the Athens-Clarke County Jail on charges related to a hit and run/leaving the scene of an accident.

An Oconee County woman authorities believe took her 5-year-old daughter from a day care without permission Wednesday afternoon was recently behind bars in Athens-Clarke County.

According to jail records, 48-year-old Shannon F. Fluri of Mars Hill Road was booked on charges related to a hit and run traffic accident on Jan. 24.

Patch has contacted Athens-Clarke Police for more information about the accident.

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Fluri was detained around 5 p.m. that Thursday by an Oconee County Sheriff's deputy on US 78 near Garrett Road.  The deputy had been alerted that a red Nissan Quest had been "involved in numerous hit and run accidents," according to an incident report.

When the deputy first spotted the minivan near Ruth Jackson Road, he says its bumper was dragging on the ground.  He activated his blue lights and sirens but the minivan continued traveling 45-50 mph for about two miles before coming to a stop, the deputy says.  A second deputy assisted in the stop.

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A male passenger immediately stepped out of the vehicle and was ordered to the ground.

The 43-year-old Athens man told deputies he believed the driver, identified in the report as Fluri, was "having mental problems and left all of the accidents because she thought somebody was trying to kill him," a deputy wrote.

When Athens-Clarke County Police arrived to take Fluri into custody, one of the Oconee deputies says Fluri exited his patrol car and he realized she'd stripped off her pants.  A female medic put Fluri's pants back on her and Fluri was taken to the jail, according to the report.

Fluri was charged in Athens-Clarke County with misdemeanor hit and run/leaving the scene of an accident, improper driving and improper turning.  After posting a $2,000 bond, she was released the same day. An arrest doesn't mean a conviction.

Update: On Jan. 30, Fluri was booked into the Oconee County Jail on the following misdemeanor charges stemming from the Jan. 24 incident: leaving the scene of an accident, reckless driving and fleeing/attempting to elude. She was released upon posting bond.

Later that same day, she was charged with interference with custody, another misdemeanor.  She was still in jail as of Friday morning.

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