West Point police are investigating the death of an 18-year-old Lanett, Ala., man.

Police said Terry Leonardo Thomas entered the Sunlit gas station at 101 W. Eighth St. next to West Point City Hall about 6:20 p.m. Monday with a gunshot wound. Police and emergency personnel were notified.

Thomas was taken to George H. Lanier Memorial Hospital in neighboring Valley, Ala., where he was pronounced dead.

Some West Point residents have said the incident may have been an accident.

Troup County sheriff’s deputies assisted in the investigation.

West Point police are investigating the incident, and anyone with information was asked to call the police department at (706) 645-3525.

Worker wants customer banned because of race

An employee of a local laundromat told police she wanted them to remove a customer because he was white.

Police said the man told the employee the washer didn’t work and had taken his money. The woman told him and police that the man didn’t shut the door right and refused to refund his money because the owner told her not to.

The woman then told officers, “I want that man thrown out of here because he is a white man.”

She said a crime was committed against her by a white man in 1971, and she didn’t want the man doing laundry at the laundromat anymore.

Police said they couldn’t ban the man based on either gender or race.

The manager was called and said he’d refund the man’s money and would speak with the employee about the situation.

Man charged after striking pole

A man was arrested after striking a utility pole with his vehicle at Mooty Bridge Road and Malibu Drive.

The man and his girlfriend told police the vehicle struck a deer in the road that caused him to lose control, strike the pole and come to rest in the grass.

No one was injured.

Police said the man wasn’t speaking clearly and his eyes weren’t dilated. Four bottles of prescription pills were found in the glove compartment, one of them belonging to the girlfriend and the others belonging to the driver.

He was charged with driving under the influence of drugs and cited for failure to maintain lane.

Employee faces knife threat

An Aaron’s Rental employee out collecting the store’s merchandise from a residence in the 100 block of Laurel Ridge was threatened with a knife after a woman told him she was getting a gun.

Police said a woman came to the door. The man told her he saw the rented merchandise inside the house and needed to collect it. She then allegedly became angry, pushed him into the door and threatened to come back with a gun.

When the woman came back, she had a long knife and told him to leave.

Fearing that the resident would stab him, the man called 911. The woman got in a vehicle and left.

Arrests

— Derrick Mitchell, 42, of Whitesville Street was charged with possession of cocaine.

— Bryan Prater, 20, of North Cary Street was charged with a turn signal violation, a violation of the Georgia Controlled Substances Act and violating a limited driver’s license.

— Megan Lallo, 19, of Wood Valley Drive was charged with burglary.

— Elizabeth Johns, 23, of West Point Road was charged with three counts of first-degree forgery, giving false information to officers and loitering.

— Charles Eckstein, 40, of East Fifth Street in West Point was charged with possession of cocaine, possession of drug-related objects, loitering, not having a tag and driving on a suspended or revoked license.

— Jonathan Tucker, 22, of Brown Street was charged with possession of cocaine.

— Jasmine Porter, 22, of Lafayette Court was charged with two counts selling cocaine.

— Jonathan Davis, 24, of Teaver Road was arrested Monday night after he allegedly threw a bag of marijuana out of his car before a traffic stop at Lafayette Parkway and Patillo Road. He was charged with possession of methamphetamine, possession of less than an ounce of marijuana, abandonment of a controlled substance, having no tag light and failure to maintain lane.

Fire

A fire reported at 2:53 p.m. Monday caused an estimated $10,000 damage to the home of Heath Reeves at 10 Whiting St.

Reeves and two small children escaped unharmed.

The fire, attributed to faulty wiring, was confined to a wall and a portion of the attic.

Guilty pleas

Sentenced after pleading guilty Monday in Troup Superior Court were:

— Gundeep Singh Dutt, 21, of LaGrange; two years in the Troup County Correctional Institute, eight years’ probation and a $1,500 fine for possession with intent to distribute marijuana and thee counts of selling marijuana.

— Joseph Lewis Abner, 45, of LaGrange; two years in prison, three years’ probation and $200 restitution for theft by taking and theft by deception. Police said he stole a riding lawnmower and got money for it at Pawn Express. A burglary and theft charge were dismissed in exchange for the plea.

- Otis Cameron, 47, of LaGrange; two years in prison and three years’ probation for two counts of fleeing officers, suspended license and reckless driving. His criminal record includes six DUI convictions, as well as convictions for aggravated assault and other charges.

Thefts, burglaries

— A 32-inch flat-screen TV was taken in a burglary in the 1300 block of Lower Big Springs Road.

— A microwave oven valued at $4,200 was stolen in a burglary in the 5000 block of Old West Point Road.

— A water heater was stolen from the back porch of a home in the 200 block of Reeds Road near West Point.

- It is the policy of LaGrange Daily News to print the names of people charged with felonies.