Two people cited following incident outside courthouse

ALBANY — Two people have been charged with disorderly conduct following a verbal altercation Monday outside the Dougherty County Courthouse, officials say.

Melissa Monique Manning, 25, and Devonta Colvin, 17, were each cited by the Albany Police Department for disorderly conduct, APD spokesperson Phyllis Banks said.

The charges stem from a series of verbal confrontations between two factions associated with a criminal assault case that happened last year at a South Slappey Boulevard bar, Dougherty County Sheriff’s Capt. Craig Dodd said.

A hearing was set to be heard Monday, but was delayed to another day. When the two groups started leaving the courtroom, Dodd said, they started getting argumentative.

“They had words as they were leaving the courtroom and it looks as though that continued and got worse until when they got outside and were on the side of the building it got a little tense,” Dodd said.

A Dougherty County police officer who was leaving the courthouse found himself in the middle of the confrontation and called for backup, which prompted a strong response from the Albany Police Department and the Dougherty County Sheriff’s Office.

After separating the two groups — some of whom are believed to be former gang members — Manning and Colvin were cited.

The incident is not believed to have disrupted operations at the courthouse and no one was injured.