Shortly after 3 p.m. Wednesday, E-911 received a call about a burglary in progress.

Two farm workers witnessed a car pull behind a home on Cooler Road in Bainbridge and then park the car nearby, according to Decatur County Sheriff’s Office Major Wendell Cofer.

The workers called the owner of the home to inform him of the suspicious activity. The owner of the home called his sister, who lives nearby, and asked her to check on the home. When she arrived she approached the car and asked the driver what he was doing there. The driver said he was waiting for someone and then drove away.

Already responding, DCSO Cpl. Michael Logue pulled the vehicle over and placed the driver, James Earl Keaton, 31, of 918 West St. in Bainbridge, under arrest.

Before police arrived, the two suspects inside the home fled into the heavily wooded area surrounding the residence.

DCSO deputies and investigators quickly set up a perimeter and began searching for the suspects.

The Apalachee Correctional Institute tracking dogs out of Sneads, Fla., and the Georgia State Patrol helicopter were brought in to help track the burglars.

Local pilot and friend to the Sheriff’s Office, Jimmy Rentz, took DCSO Capt. Gale Bowyer up in his plane to help with the search until the helicopter arrived.

The female suspect, 20-year-old Barbara Ann Nicole Howard, was apprehended around 4:30 p.m. near Jim Heard Road about a mile from where the burglary occurred. Howard, of 1606 Plantation Road in Bainbridge, was taken into custody by DCSO Investigator Redell Walton.

Police checked nearby abandoned houses and other dwellings for the third suspect, 34-year-old Mario Derico Jackson, as the dogs tracked his scent.

Jackson, of 918 West St. in Bainbridge, was seen by a female driving her car down Hanover Road. He asked her for a ride and she refused. Not far down the road she found DCSO Sgt. Greg McMillan and told him about her encounter with the man.

“She knew he wasn’t supposed to be there and she made a very wise decision,” said Major Cofer.

Police tracked Jackson late into the night without success.

At 5 a.m. Thursday morning, Jackson turned himself in to deputies at the Sheriff’s Office.

Items recovered and believed to have been taken from the home include coins and firearms, according to Cofer.

All three suspects were arrested and charged with burglary.

Drug arrests

Two women were arrested Wednesday on drug charges.

Shortly after midnight, Bainbridge Public Safety officers Collin Hastey and Rusty Day conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle they witnessed cross over the center line several times on Shotwell Street.

According to incident reports, the driver, 28-year-old Jennifer Lynn Hicks, of 905 Paradise Drive in Donalsonville, appeared very nervous and was having trouble focusing on the officer’s questions.

She tested negative for alcohol, but a possible impairment of drugs was detected when she performed a field sobriety test.

When officers searched the vehicle they found a pipe commonly used for crack cocaine and a pill bottle containing six pieces of crack cocaine inside a camouflage purse. Neither Hicks nor the other passenger in the vehicle, 19-year-old Chasity Leigh Sanders, of 530 W. Green St. in Bainbridge, claimed ownership of the purse.

Hicks was charge with possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, possession of drug related items, DUI (drugs), failure to maintain lane and no license on person.

Sanders was charged with possession of cocaine with intent to distribute and possession of drug related items.

Assault with vehicle

A Bainbridge man reported being pulled by a vehicle on Oct. 17.

The man said around 11 p.m. he was at a residence on Japonica Drive drinking with some friends, according to incident reports.

He told police a tan Ford pickup truck pulled up to the house. He said he stuck his head in the driver’s side window to talk to the driver—who he owed some money.

He told the driver he didn’t have any money at which time he drove away. He tried to hang onto the vehicle, but fell out of the window and landed on the pavement.

Snake found in mailbox

On Oct. 13, an Attapulgus woman made a startling discovery when she went to get her mail.

When she opened her mailbox she found a dead snake inside. The woman told police she suspected a group of juveniles had placed the snake there.

According to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, mailboxes are considered federal property.

Arrests & Citations

The following arrests and citations, occurring between Oct. 20-22, have been reported by Bainbridge Public Safety and the Decatur County Jail:

• Tina Diane Morris, 31, 244 Pine Forest Road, Bainbridge, deposit account fraud, SO:

• Billy Ray Samuel, 47, 723 Bartow St., Bainbridge, theft by taking, public drunkenness, BPS;

• Johnny Carl Starks, 62, Quincy, Fla., DUI, SO;

• Brandie Jean Williams, 23, Donalsonville, Ga., deposit account fraud (two counts), SO;

• Nikki Gail Lusk, 20, 199 Riverchase Drive, Bainbridge, no insurance/suspended/registration, driving while license suspended/revoked, expired tag, SO;

• Marquita Shunta Washington, 25, 1206 E. Water St., Bainbridge, simple battery, SO;

• Tracey Stacey Williams, 42, 1110 Cooper St., Bainbridge, probation violation—original charge theft by taking, SO.

• Jonathan Thomas Barton, 22, 723 Rose Circle, Bainbridge, forgery in the first degree (four counts), SO;

• Truman Vincent Butler, 32, 411 Campbell St., Bainbridge, probation violation—original charge possession of cocaine, BPS;

• Tony Lamar Byrd, 37, 403 4th St., Bainbridge, theft by receiving stolen property, BPS;

• Amanda Gail Ingram, 30, 3082 Vada Road, Bainbridge, DUI (first offense), BPS;

• Tina Diane Morris, 31, 244 Pine Forrest Road, Bainbridge, DUI, open container, child restraint law, improper turn or U-turn, BPS;

• Ronald James Starling, 50, 1808 Bethel Road, Bainbridge, contempt of court—original charge child support, SO;

• William Daniel Wingate, 44, 285 Sloughloop Road, Bainbridge, contempt of court—original charge child support, SO.

• Saulo Velazquez Perez, 24, 816 Water St., Bainbridge, failure to appear, BPS;