Watkinsville Police Blotter

Small Fire Set Outside Watkinsville Convenience Store, Two Charged

Police have charged a Watkinsville man and another from Winder with reckless conduct. Charges aren't convictions.

Watkinsville police on Thursday charged two men in connection with the setting of a small fire outside of a local convenience store at the end of March. According to a news release from Police Chief Lee O'Dillon, at 2:30 a.m. on Wednesday, March 27, the clerk on duty at Golden Pantry on Greensboro Highway said he saw two men standing in front of the store and noticed what he thought was cigarette smoke. But, after the men left, the clerk told officers he could still see the smoke so he went outside to investigate. Someone had poured a flammable liquid onto some articles of clothing and set it on fire, O'Dillon said. The fire burned itself out but it had been set near stacked firewood, propane fuel tanks, and gasoline pumps, he explained. …

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Oconee County Sheriff's Office Crime Report

No One Harmed by Bullets Shot into Yard

Oconee County Sheriff's deputies were called to a Jefferson Avenue residence on Jan. 12 to investigate.

Oconee County Sheriff's deputies Saturday were called to a residence on Jefferson Avenue around 4:30 p.m. to investigate a report of reckless conduct. A man told them that someone was shooting into the woods behind his residence, according to an incident report, and that the bullets were striking the ground in his backyard within a few feet of people. In a nearby neighborhood, deputies located the persons responsible for shooting the guns.  Their parents were notified and advised about the reckless nature in which the guns were being fired, the deputy noted in the report. The complainant told deputies he did not wish to press charges against the suspects and that he was satisfied that the parents would handle discipline.

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Oconee Sheriff's Office Takes Tuberculosis Patient Into Custody

Acting on a tip, authorities report they arrested Reba Rene Hicks in Jackson County Wednesday morning, authorities report.

Oconee County deputies have located and arrested a 53-year-old woman on a charge of reckless conduct related to noncompliance with tests and treatment for tuberculosis. Chief Deputy Lee Weems says Reba Rene Hicks was taken into custody by Sheriff Scott Berry and deputies Wednesday morning at a location in Jackson County. Details about the arrest weren't immediately available, but Hicks did try to elude capture, Weems explained. She is being held in a medical isolation cell at the Oconee County Jail, he said. The Athens Banner Herald reported Tuesday that Hicks had tested positive for the infectious disease at the beginning of April and was cooperating with Georgia Department of Public Health officials until she skipped tests on July 27 …

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