LaGrange police: DUI suspect causes wreck

Published 12:00 am Monday, July 20, 2015

Public safety reports

Staff report

http://lagrangenews.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/37/2015/07/web1_LDNpublicsafetyNEW14.jpg

A man faces charges including DUI and leaving the scene of an accident after he allegedly caused a wreck and ran Sunday evening.

Police responded to the wreck at Cypress Street and Murphy Avenue about 9:30 p.m. Sunday where four people in a vehicle were complaining of pain after the collision. The occupants said the driver of a white Honda Civic, which was at the scene, had turned into their lane and struck their vehicle.

The driver of the vehicle, whom police identified as Rodolfo Zaniga Arana, 42, whose address was unavailable, allegedly got out, yelled at the occupants and then ran. While speaking with the injured occupants, a nearby resident came up to the officer and said an apparently intoxicated man was stumbling through her back yard.

Officers detained the suspect, identified as Arana, and said he appeared to be heavily intoxicated and wouldn’t cooperate to take a blood alcohol content breath test. Arana had apparently suffered cuts and bruises from the collision, an officer reported, so he was taken to West Georgia Medical Center for treatment and his blood was taken to be tested for drugs and alcohol.

After he was released from the hospital, Arana was arrested and taken to Troup County Jail on charges of DUI, failing to maintain lane, driving without a license and leaving the scene of an accident with injuries.

LaGrange police seek burglary suspect

LaGrange police are seeking a woman who is accused of entering the home of a person for whom she had been acting as a part-time caregiver and stealing items.

Police said Leslie L. Turner, 32, of LaGrange is wanted in connection to the burglary. Police said the victim called police and accused Turner of coming into his home and taking items before fleeing.

Police are seeking information about the incident and asked anyone with information to contact detective Adam Blane at LaGrange Police Department, 706-883-2623, or submit tips to Troup County Crime Stoppers at 706-812-1000.

Burglaries, thefts

• A Juniper Street resident reported Saturday evening that a burglar pried open a door to enter her home, “destroyed” her bedroom and stole a 40-inch Emerson TV, Nintendo Wii video game system with two games and several bottles of ADHD medication.

• A resident of the 200 block of Davis Street reported that a burglar forced open a door and “ransacked” the home, taking a 42-inch TV valued at $500, laptop valued at $200 and set of watches valued at $80.

• Two juveniles were charged with shoplifting Friday evening at Walmart on New Franklin Road after one allegedly shoved a BB gun down his pants and they also tried to take boxes of BBs. Store security confronted the two juveniles and detained one while the other ran. Police eventually contacted the boy at his parents’ home on Hogansville Road where he was also charged.

• LaGrange police reported Friday afternoon finding opened cardboard boxes near the CSX railroad tracks adjacent to Lafayette Parkway. The responding office wrote in his report that thieves routinely break into stopped box cards in the area and loot contents. The officer noted that the items taken appear to have been clothing. No one was arrested in the incident, but the boxes were recovered as evidence.

• A woman told LaGrange police Sunday that someone fraudulently used her credit card to transfer more than $1,000 from from her account. The woman’s credit card company alerted the victim to the transaction and canceled her card. The woman filed the report in order to get her money back.

All information in this report is gathered from official law enforcement and public safety reports and releases. It is the policy of the Daily News to list the names of people charged with felonies.

Reach the LaGrange Daily News at 706-884-7311.