Georgia News Briefly

Human remains found in suitcase

MACON (TNS) — The GBI has confirmed that bones found in a suitcase along Interstate 75 are human remains.

The bones were found Thursday by a man searching for a tire he had lost earlier on a section of the interstate in Butts County, near the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison.

GBI spokeswoman Nelly Miles confirmed in an email that the bones have been determined to be human. A forensic anthropologist will conduct further tests to confirm other identifying characteristics, she said, including whether the bones are that of a male or female. That process will take a few weeks, she said.

Butts County Coroner Ralph Wilson said he believed the bones had been there for at least a month.

Teen wanted in murder case arrested

TIFTON (TNS) — A teen wanted for murder in the death of another teen in Tifton has been caught.

James Robert Pritchett, 17, was arrested in Berrien County on Friday, the Tifton Gazette reported. He is charged with murder in the death of Jamiles Taylor, 15, on Dec. 23. Taylor was shot multiple times. Authorities said there may have been an argument but they aren’t sure about the motive, the Gazette reported.

Authorities identified Pritchett as a suspect shortly after the slaying. His girlfriend was also located and is safe.

Man man wounded in shooting

MACON (TNS) — A Macon man was in critical but stable condition after a shooting at Rodeo Bar and Grill in Macon early Sunday.

The incident happened about 4 a.m. when a fight broke out inside the club at 4053 Pio Nono Ave., near Rocky Creek Road, according to a Bibb County Sheriff’s Office release. Kevin Lashawn Wilson, 43, was struck in the head. It was not known whether he was involved in the fight, the release stated.

There was no information on a suspect.

Middle Georgia escapee recaptured

ATLANTA (TNS) — An inmate who escaped from a jail in Middle Georgia this week was captured Saturday, officials said.

Christopher Nicholas Carroll was taken into custody in North Augusta, S.C., and is at the Aiken County Detention Center, public safety officers announced.

Carroll escaped Tuesday from the Lamar County jail, Sheriff Brad White said.

Investigators think Carroll escaped after he used a metal rod from the shower to knock out part of a wall, which he then shimmied through to escape the jail. Once outside, he escaped through a hole in a chain fence.

Officer’s arrest could imperil cases

AUGUSTA (TNS) — The arrest of a narcotics investigator accused of stealing confiscated drugs could impact drug prosecutions, according to defense attorneys.

District Attorney Natalie Paine said they are trying to determine whether any pending cases are affected. She declined further comment because she is prosecuting former sheriff investigator Patrick Kaney and cannot comment on evidence in a pending case.

Kaney was arrested and fired this month after he was accused of stealing oxycodone pills that another Richmond County Sheriff”s investigator had placed in an evidence locker. According to a search warrant affidavit, opened evidence bags were found in Kaney’s sheriff and personal vehicles.

Kaney, 33, is charged with possession of a controlled substance, tampering with evidence, and violation of the oath of office. He is free on $45,000 bond. Drug rehabilitation is a condition of his bond.

Prosecuting cases in which Kaney was involved will be difficult, defense attorney Pete Theodocion said. What Kaney is accused of doing is not as bad as an officer being accused of planting drugs, but it’s an embarrassment for the prosecution, Theodocion said.

In his experience, Theodocion said, attorneys representing clients in drug cases can anticipate cases being dismissed — or more lenient plea deals being extended — because prosecutors will not want to call Kaney as a witness.