The Oconee County Sheriff’s Office reported the following incidents:
CHANCE ENCOUNTER: On March 16, Deputy Devan Blair was on routine patrol when she stopped behind a Hyundai Elantra at a red light at Cliff Dawson Road. She routinely ran the license plate, and it showed the driver had a suspended license. When the light turned green, she made a traffic stop. The 19-year-old man from Madison was taken to jail, and his vehicle was towed.
ROBBERY SUSPECT: On March 16, Cpl. Doug Mattocks responded to a robbery report at a location on Epps Bridge Parkway. A 50-year-old Bishop man explained he met a 34-year-old man from Lone Grove, Oklahoma, at the location to sell him two preloaded bitcoins. The buyer became upset at the price, so he grabbed the coins and ran in the direction of a McDonald’s restaurant. The Bishop man pursued, stopped the man, and retrieved the coins. The suspect then ran again. The officer rode through the area and spotted the suspect leaning against a Chop House restaurant. The man told the officer he got into an argument about the bitcoins, then he left. Asked why he was bleeding, he replied that he had fallen. A video showed that after the suspect ran, he sought a ride from an Uber driver, who refused. The victim wanted to prosecute. The Oklahoman was charged with robbery by snatch.
HIT AND RUN: On March 13, a deputy was dispatched to the Walmart parking lot, where a 50-year-old Athens man reported that after shopping, he returned to his GMC Yukon to find someone had hit and damaged the rear side. Headlight glass was found on the ground. The officer obtained video footage that showed the crash, and he identified a 2025 Volvo registered to a pharmaceutical company in Tampa, Florida. He was able to obtain the location of the driver, who lived just south of the Watkinsville city limits. After showing up at the house, the 69-year-old man said he didn’t remember going to Walmart. He was shown a video of the wreck, and the man had no memory of the wreck. He presented the officer with a medical report, stating that he had recently been treated at a hospital for a health condition. The man was not arrested due to his medical situation, but he was charged with the crash.
SURPRISE PREGNANCY: On March 30, Sgt. Lex Ogan was patrolling about 11 p.m. on Highway 316 when he made a traffic stop on a Chevrolet Equinox with a headlight out. He observed the driver screaming and slamming his hands on the steering wheel in a furious fit. The man exited, and the deputy pulled his firearm out of caution due to the behavior. He put the 31-year-old Stockbridge resident in handcuffs. The man then explained he wasn’t angry at the officer. He explained he had moved to Georgia to be near his two children and their mother. But a woman he had been seeing in Athens called to say that he had gotten her pregnant. He said he wanted to convince her to end the pregnancy as he wanted no more children. The man had a Mississippi driver’s license, which was suspended. He was taken to jail on the headlight violation and driving with a suspended license.
CHRYSLER 300 DAYS: On March 16, Sgt. Dylan Pulliam was patrolling on U.S. Highway 78 when he spotted a white Chrysler 300 with a driver whom he knew was wanted on a probation violation warrant from Clarke County. After a traffic stop, he observed that the 52-year-old Statham man had been viewing porn on his phone and the zipper on his pants was open. The pending warrant warned that the man had violent tendencies, so once he became uncooperative, the suspect was placed in handcuffs. A search revealed some meth, a 9mm pistol, baggies, digital scales, a spoon, and a smoking device. The man was taken to jail. Then the next day, Pulliam was on the lookout for a black Chrysler 300 that the previous night had eluded deputies during a pursuit. The officer spotted such a car and stopped it on Mars Hill Road. The driver, a 25-year-old Monroe resident, had a jar of marijuana and a Glock pistol that was reported stolen in Monroe. He was taken to jail.
SHOPLIFTING PROBE: On March 17, Sgt. Lex Ogan responded to a call for assistance at Alumni Hall at the Oconee Connector. A store employee called the sheriff’s office after a woman entered the business, and she wanted the woman barred from the store. The deputy spoke to the woman, and she denied stealing anything, but she became nervous. A sergeant and investigator also responded. A store video from March 10 showed the woman concealing a jacket and sweatpants in a purse. Another video from Sept. 23, 2025, showed the woman concealing a bomber jacket and Nike shoes. She was charged with two counts of shoplifting.
CRASH INVESTIGATED: On March 18, Cpl. Boris Argueta responded to a crash at Rays Church Road and Hog Mountain Road. A 24-year-old Monroe man reported he was passing through the intersection when he was hit on the driver’s side. The impact spun his Ford F-150 into a ditch. The other driver approached and offered to pay for the damage and asked him not to call law enforcement, as she had no insurance. The deputy spoke to the 22-year-old Bishop woman, and she smelled of marijuana. She explained she didn’t see the truck. She agreed to sobriety tests, then she refused. She admitted to smoking marijuana earlier, but not while she was driving. She was charged with DUI and possession of marijuana. The deputy learned that the woman’s car was insured.
