22 indicted
Jury indicts woman who shot brother
By Elizabeth Billips Associate Editor

The Superior Court grand jury returned indictments against all 22 defendants they heard cases against last Thursday.

Among them was Geneva Ellison - a Waynesboro woman who shot her big brother, Jimmie Ellison, during an argument over towels.

According to the incident report filed in July, the argument began when Mr. Ellison attempted to dry his vehicle with "their mother's good towels."

Ms. Ellison told deputies she aimed the gun and fired but was only trying to "back him off."

According to a report, the bullet punched through Mr. Ellison's shoulder, traveled down his arm and shattered the head of his humerus.

Ms. Ellison was indicted on both of her original charges - aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime.

The grand jury also indicted a former Waynesboro resident accused of molesting a 3-year-old.

Brandon Zanders was arrested two months ago for allegedly forcing his girlfriend's toddler to perform a sex act on him last October while another child watched.

Local investigators said that prior to Zanders' arrest, they received a tip from Pooler police officers who launched an investigation into sex crimes there of the same nature.

According to an incident report filed here, the allegations were brought to surface by a Department of Family and Children Services worker in Savannah, where Zanders was living at the time.

The grand jury returned indictments on him for aggravated sodomy and two counts of aggravated child molestation.

Three Waynesboro men were indicted on charges stemming from an April 2006 fight that prompted an unexpected drug bust.

According to the original incident report, officers were called to Tucker Avenue where they found Kacee "JC" Smith holding a shotgun over a 24-year-old man who had blood coming from his mouth.

Smith's teenage son Keith Smith had allegedly chased down the victim and was holding him down for his father to beat with the shotgun, which contained five live rounds.

After taking the father and son into custody, officers seized two large bags of marijuana that had been thrown into a nearby yard. They arrested Timothy Woods, 26, was identified by witnesses at the scene.

Inside Woods' vehicle, officers found more marijuana, several bags of crack cocaine and a pistol with a scratched off serial number.

The grand jury returned "true bills" on all three men. The elder Smith was indicted for aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. His son was indicted for aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime.

Woods was indicted for possession of cocaine with the intent to distribute, possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute, criminal use of an article with an altered identification mark and driving with a suspended license.

Other defendants who were indicted include:

• Brandon Joshua Bailey: kidnapping, battery (Family Violence Act) and criminal trespass;

• Otha Leon Carswell: theft by receiving stolen property;

• Sammy Cobb Jr.: criminal damage to property in the second degree;

• Willie Lee Coleman: manufacturing marijuana and posses- sion of a firearm by a convicted felon;

• Willie Bernard Dukes: cruelty to children in the first degree and aggravated stalking;

• Consorria A Gillette: theft by taking;

• Decarmathea Jones: forgery in the first degree (four counts);

• Michael Donnell McKinnie: forgery in the first degree (three counts), obstruction of a law enforcement officer and giving a false name;

• William Lawson Oglesby: possession of cocaine and possession of marijuana;

• Patricia Elentra Patterson: negotiating fictitious checks (two counts);

• Arthur Lee Griffin Jr.: sale of cocaine and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon;

• Kinyatto Mandrell Rhaney: sale of cocaine;

• Trevor Lamont Sams: forgery in the first degree;

• Dereck Mack Skinner: theft by taking and criminal attempt to commit theft by taking;

• Deale Rontule Wallace: criminal attempt to commit theft by taking;

• Lindsey Ward: theft by receiving stolen property; and

• Percy Maurice Williams: theft by taking