A man who knows the victim had seen an SUV backed into the victim’s driveway in the 900 block of Whitfield Road about 10:50 a.m. Tuesday and knew something was wrong, sheriff’s investigator Mike Caldwell said.
He said the man called 911, followed the suspects and got a tag number. He saw the vehicle turn onto Mallory Drive off Lafayette Parkway, but lost sight of it. Sheriff’s Lt. Mike Newsome spotted the SUV at 217 Poplar Circle where the suspects had allegedly tried to pull the vehicle into the back yard to unload it.
Newsome held the suspects until backup units arrived.
Caldwell said the vehicle was filled with guns, computers, TVs and clothing that were taken in the burglary. The items were valued at $4,000 to $5,000.
Kardarious Marquez Todd, 18, of Newton Road and Antoine Daniel, 18, of the Poplar Street address were charged with burglary.
“They were in custody within 20 minutes of the burglary thanks to a good citizen,” Caldwell said.
Beating victim still in critical condition
Paul Wheatley, 53, a construction worker at the Kia Motors site, remained in critical condition this morning at Columbus Medical Center.
A cleaning person found Wheatley about 8 a.m. Monday in his room at West Point Motel on U.S. 29, where he had been beaten and robbed. Deputy Chad Traylor said he saw a large amount of blood on the bed and the floor around the bed, along with spots of blood on the night stand, microwave and dresser. A knife on the night stand appeared to have a small amount of blood.
The cleaning person said he had knocked on Wheatley’s door several times, but got no answer, then opened the door to see if the room needed cleaning. He found Wheatley lying on the bed, incoherent and bleeding, mostly from the head.
Wheatley, a resident of Newell, W.Va., was flown by helicopter to Columbus Regional Medical Center.
Sheriff’s investigators said they don’t have any leads on a suspect.
Escapee arrested
An inmate who escaped from the state Transitional Center on Jim Hester Road was apprehended Tuesday afternoon near a creek on Callaway Church Road.
Willie Knight, 31, was charged with escape.
Man says DUI charge is ‘silly’
A man charged with driving under the influence earlier this week told police their sobriety tests were “silly.”
Police said the man was at a disturbance call near Hamilton Road and Webster Street, stumbling and unable to keep his balance. Officers watched him walk to a Ford F-150, knock on the door, get out a set of keys and start the vehicle, make a U-turn and nearly hit a parked car before being stopped.
Police attempted to conduct sobriety tests, which the man said were “silly.” When they asked him to recite the alphabet from E to X, he refused, saying no one knows the alphabet that way. He then told the officers that, if he was under arrest, they needed to do what they had to do.
The man was charged with driving under the influence, obstruction, disorderly conduct and failure to maintain lane.
Arrest
Debrozzo Johnson, 37, of Johnson Street was charged with two counts selling cocaine; three counts use of communication facilities to violate the controlled substance act and purchase; and possession, manufacture, distribution or sale of a controlled substance.
Damage
A door at Pat’s Roadhouse at 425 New Franklin Road was shattered during an attempted burglary, causing an unknown amount of damage.
Thefts, burglaries
— A thief stole a Ford Focus from the 800 block of Truitt St., as well as a purse, cell phone and MP3 player inside, for a total value of $10,285.
— A Toshiba laptop valued at $1,559 was taken from a room in the Stay Lodge at 1610 Whitesville St.
— A tiller valued at $700 was taken from a storage shed in the 100 block of North Page Street.
- It is the policy of LaGrange Daily News to print the names of people charged with felonies.
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