Father, son arrested for kidnapping and beating
By Elizabeth Billips lizbillips@yahoo.com

Mims Morris Sr. has been charged with aggravated assault, armed robbery and kidnapping in connection with the brutal beating of a Milledgeville man.

A Burke County father and his teenage son have been arrested for beating a motel employee to neardeath, then leaving him in the ditch of a Putnam County back road.

According to Burke County Sheriff Greg Coursey, Mims Morris Sr., 45, and Mims Morris Jr., 17, were apprehended after deputies found blood splattered clothing in their Doyle Road home last Wednesday.

The victim, Earl Eugene Gill, remains in critical condition with severe head injuries that could prove fatal.

"It's really just a matter of time," Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills said, noting the victim, who was beaten beyond recognition, shows no signs of brain activity.

Gill has been unconscious since March 15 when he stumbled, barefooted, onto a Putnam County doorstep and told the residents he'd been beaten and needed help.

When Putnam County authorities learned Gill worked at the Econo Lodge in Milledgeville, they interviewed witnesses there who'd last seen him leaving in a van with four people, including the Burke County father and son and Roy and Teresa Bradshaw of East Dublin.

Mims Morris Jr., 17, was also arrested and charged for his role in the kidnapping and beating, as were Roy and Teresa Bradshaw of East Dublin.

Officers say Gill had been given $25 and sent to buy marijuana but was forced into the van after he returned empty-handed, claiming the money had been stolen.

"He actually did get ripped off," Sheriff Sills said, explaining that an 18-year-old has since been arrested in the theft.

The three men allegedly beat Gill inside the van while Mrs. Bradshaw drove down a back road over the Putnam County line.

She told the sheriff that Gill was pulled out of the van and beaten again, then left on the side of the road.

The next day, Morris Sr. was reportedly seen wearing the victim's tennis shoes and bragging about his son's ferocity during the attack.

Sheriff Sills said both of the Morrises, as well as the Bradshaws, are charged with aggravated assault, armed robbery and kidnapping.

"And if he dies, they'll all be charged with his murder," the sheriff said.