Sunday, February 11, 2018
The Savannah Police Department responded to the 200 block of West St. Julian Street around Ellis Square in reference to a shooting at around 8 p.m. February 10.
"Upon arrival, officers located an adult male with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was transported to an area hospital with life-threatening injuries. The individual later succumbed to those injuries the morning of Feb. 11," police report.
Parts of City Market were closed off. This incident is still under investigation.
"Upon arrival, officers located an adult male with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was transported to an area hospital with life-threatening injuries. The individual later succumbed to those injuries the morning of Feb. 11," police report.
Parts of City Market were closed off. This incident is still under investigation.
Thursday, February 8, 2018
Downtown traffic will be affected for several hours Feb. 9 as Savannah Police close roads for the annual Georgia Day Parade, scheduled to begin at 10:45 a.m.
As part of the annual commemoration of the founding of the Georgia colony of February 12, 1733 by James Edward Oglethorpe, students, musicians, local dignitaries, and costumed historical figures will march through Savannah’s squares from Forsyth Park to City Hall along Bull Street.
As is also part of the annual event, there will be a brief ceremony in front of City Hall once all of those participating in the parade have arrived.
Bay Street will be closed between Whitaker Street and Price Street from 10:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. Students will disperse from the intersection of Bay Street and Bull Street once the ceremony concludes.
Police say traffic flow should be returned to normal by 1 p.m. tomorrow.
As part of the annual commemoration of the founding of the Georgia colony of February 12, 1733 by James Edward Oglethorpe, students, musicians, local dignitaries, and costumed historical figures will march through Savannah’s squares from Forsyth Park to City Hall along Bull Street.
As is also part of the annual event, there will be a brief ceremony in front of City Hall once all of those participating in the parade have arrived.
Bay Street will be closed between Whitaker Street and Price Street from 10:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. Students will disperse from the intersection of Bay Street and Bull Street once the ceremony concludes.
Police say traffic flow should be returned to normal by 1 p.m. tomorrow.
Frontier Airlines and Visit Savannah announced today that Frontier will begin non-stop service from Savannah to Denver and Philadelphia beginning in May.
The flights are part of Frontier's expansion of 35 new routes into four new cities.
Read more and book flights here.
The flights are part of Frontier's expansion of 35 new routes into four new cities.
Read more and book flights here.
Tuesday, February 6, 2018
Today Savannah Police issued Deion Micah Pinckney, 15, an arrest warrant for the murder of John Cooksey Jr., who was shot at Bonaventure Funeral Home on Feb. 3 and has since succumbed to his injuries.
"Cooksey, 12, was attending the funeral of Ricky Jerome Boyd at Bonaventure Funeral Home, 2520 Bonaventure Road, about 3:15 p.m. Feb. 3 when he was struck by gunfire. He was transported to a hospital for treatment of life-threatening injuries," police report.
In the early hours of Feb. 4, "Savannah Police Violent Crimes detectives, SWAT and the Hostage Negotiation Team executed arrest warrants on Pinckney. He was transported to Regional Youth Detention Center on two counts of aggravated assault and single counts of aggravated battery and possession of a firearm by a minor."
On the evening of Feb. 5, "Cooksey passed away, resulting in an upgraded charge of murder for Pinckney. The warrant was served today" at the detention center, police say.
The case remains under investigation.
Anyone with information should contact the SCMPD tip line by calling (912) 525-3124. Information can also be forwarded to CrimeStoppers at (912) 234-2020. Tipsters remain anonymous and may qualify for a cash reward.
"Cooksey, 12, was attending the funeral of Ricky Jerome Boyd at Bonaventure Funeral Home, 2520 Bonaventure Road, about 3:15 p.m. Feb. 3 when he was struck by gunfire. He was transported to a hospital for treatment of life-threatening injuries," police report.
In the early hours of Feb. 4, "Savannah Police Violent Crimes detectives, SWAT and the Hostage Negotiation Team executed arrest warrants on Pinckney. He was transported to Regional Youth Detention Center on two counts of aggravated assault and single counts of aggravated battery and possession of a firearm by a minor."
On the evening of Feb. 5, "Cooksey passed away, resulting in an upgraded charge of murder for Pinckney. The warrant was served today" at the detention center, police say.
The case remains under investigation.
Anyone with information should contact the SCMPD tip line by calling (912) 525-3124. Information can also be forwarded to CrimeStoppers at (912) 234-2020. Tipsters remain anonymous and may qualify for a cash reward.
Saturday, February 3, 2018
Savannah Police detectives are investigating the shooting of a 12-year-old boy at the Bonaventure Funeral Home today.
"Officers responded to the funeral home at 2520 Bonaventure Road about 3:15 p.m. today and discovered the boy suffering from life threatening injuries. He was transported to a hospital for treatment," police report.
Reports indicate the funeral service where the shooting took place was for Ricky Jerome Boyd, 20, who was himself shot and killed in a confrontation with police on Jan. 23 while a warrant was being served for his murder arrest.
Detectives are actively working this case and are speaking with witnesses to identify a person of interest.
"Officers responded to the funeral home at 2520 Bonaventure Road about 3:15 p.m. today and discovered the boy suffering from life threatening injuries. He was transported to a hospital for treatment," police report.
Reports indicate the funeral service where the shooting took place was for Ricky Jerome Boyd, 20, who was himself shot and killed in a confrontation with police on Jan. 23 while a warrant was being served for his murder arrest.
Detectives are actively working this case and are speaking with witnesses to identify a person of interest.
Thursday, February 1, 2018
In its regular pre-meeting workshop today, Savannah City Council discussed the possibility of “taking ownership” of the larger St. Patrick’s Day Festival in Savannah – potentially including hiring an outside, professional manager – in an effort to balance quality of life issues and to enhance revenue.
Stating that the City doesn’t break even on the festival after all extra expenses are added up, City staff informed Council that the use of so-called “party buses” and attendees carrying backpacks full of alcoholic beverages are “undercutting local businesses to the extent that some are considering closing for St. Patrick’s Day” this year.
During a discussion of what is seen as the increased rowdiness of the festival, Alderman Van Johnson said the crowd on River Street in particular is “increasingly younger, and increasingly unsupervised."
Alderman John Hall suggested "sending someone to New Orleans to see how they run Mardi Gras."
Interestingly, there was little mention of the St. Patrick's Day Parade itself, which is run by an independent committee unaffiliated with City government.
The official celebration in Savannah this year will take place over two days, March 16 and March 17.
The Confederate Memorial Task Force presented its findings to Council at the workshop.
Its survey late last year found that “slightly less than two-thirds of the Savannah residents who responded to the call for public comment desired no changes to the memorial, while slightly more than one-third of the Savannah residents who responded felt that there needed to be some form of change to the memorial.”
Their recommendations include:
* To rename it the Civil War Memorial so as to be “more inclusive to all of Savannah’s Civil War fallen.”
* Preserve all historical material on the memorial. It was decided that the statue of a Confederate soldier on top of the statue represented the “everyman” soldier rather than a specific individual. “In keeping with Savannah’s long tradition of preservation, the Task Force does not recommend removing historical material,” they report.
* Install a new bronze plaque on the blank horizontal panel on the south side of the memorial. “The former memorial was dedicated to the Confederate dead in 1875. It will be rededicated to all the dead of the American Civil War in 2018.”
* Relocate the McLaws and Bartow monuments to Laurel Grove North Cemetery. “These monuments were added to the Forsyth Park site 35 years after the erection of the memorial and are distractions from the original memorial.”
The recommendations will be on the February 14 City Council agenda for Council approval.
In the workshop Council also discussed the long-awaited Tourism Management Plan.
One of the more controversial elements of it will be allowing tourist trolleys to now bear advertising from third parties.
During a somewhat heated debate, Alderman Bill Durrence disagreed with Mayor DeLoach and Alderman Julian Miller about who should get the most credit for Savannah’s tourism success.
Durrence maintains that residents bear the burden through property tax and by investing in their own community, while Miller aggressively countered that the success also has a lot to do with city government and the tourism industry itself.
Durrence said the public doesn't necessarily see it that way, and credited most of the success of tourism to residents and the private sector for improving the neighborhoods that tourists pay to come see.
In the City Council meeting following, Council approved a new hotel overlay district downtown which would limit new hotel development to the following streets: MLK Jr. Blvd., Montgomery, Whitaker, Drayton, Abercorn (Bay to Oglethorpe), Fahm, Ann, River Street, Indian Street, Bay Street, Bryan (west of Lincoln), Broughton, Oglethorpe, Liberty, Zubly, Turner Blvd, Louisville Rd., and Jones west of MLK.
Alderman Van Johnson’s controversial marijuana ordinance – which would limit punishment for a first offense of holding under an ounce to a $150 ticket and no arrest record – got its required first reading.
Saying "We're on the right side of history," Johnson stated that "this is an opportunity not only for criminal justice, but for social justice."
The ordinance gets its second reading, and likely a vote, at the next meeting in two weeks.
The most drama came near the end of the meeting, during what was supposed to be a show-cause hearing for the Over Time Bar & Grill near Tiger Stadium, the site of a series of violent crimes.
Rather than appear for the hearing and have his liquor license revoked, Over Time owner Gregory Webb voluntarily surrendered his liquor license back to the City.
However, Deputy City Attorney Jen Herman and Savannah Police Sergeant Shinita Young with the department’s Alcohol Beverage and Compliance Unit still insisted on showing City Council four clips of surveillance video from inside Over Time the evening of New Year’s Day, 2018.
Herman told Council the video allegedly shows illegally activity linked to nine City ordinance violations and three state law violations.
The first clip shows a fight that started in and near the restroom. The second clip showed the flight spilling over into the main room near the pool tables. Then, gunshots are fired and a man is shot. The third clip shows employees walking though the bar picking up shell casings, with Webb putting the evidence in his pocket.
See the videos here.
Herman called this tampering with a crime scene and altering evidence, and said no one associated with the bar called 911 to report the shooting.
Savannah Police Chief Mark Revenew said officers had to knock down the door to gain entry.
The fourth clip is from the kitchen of Over Time and clearly showed a drug transaction taking place.
The mother of the 24-year-old man shot in the video viewed the graphic footage for the first time today.
She told Council emotionally, "I've come to plead and beg that this place be shut down." She said “the owner allowed him to get beaten and shot several times in this club."
Alderman Tony Thomas said he wanted to make sure that Webb surrendering his license, instead of having it revoked, wouldn’t make it easier for him to get another license in the future. He was assured that it wouldn’t.
Stating that the City doesn’t break even on the festival after all extra expenses are added up, City staff informed Council that the use of so-called “party buses” and attendees carrying backpacks full of alcoholic beverages are “undercutting local businesses to the extent that some are considering closing for St. Patrick’s Day” this year.
During a discussion of what is seen as the increased rowdiness of the festival, Alderman Van Johnson said the crowd on River Street in particular is “increasingly younger, and increasingly unsupervised."
Alderman John Hall suggested "sending someone to New Orleans to see how they run Mardi Gras."
Interestingly, there was little mention of the St. Patrick's Day Parade itself, which is run by an independent committee unaffiliated with City government.
The official celebration in Savannah this year will take place over two days, March 16 and March 17.
The Confederate Memorial Task Force presented its findings to Council at the workshop.
Its survey late last year found that “slightly less than two-thirds of the Savannah residents who responded to the call for public comment desired no changes to the memorial, while slightly more than one-third of the Savannah residents who responded felt that there needed to be some form of change to the memorial.”
Their recommendations include:
* To rename it the Civil War Memorial so as to be “more inclusive to all of Savannah’s Civil War fallen.”
* Preserve all historical material on the memorial. It was decided that the statue of a Confederate soldier on top of the statue represented the “everyman” soldier rather than a specific individual. “In keeping with Savannah’s long tradition of preservation, the Task Force does not recommend removing historical material,” they report.
* Install a new bronze plaque on the blank horizontal panel on the south side of the memorial. “The former memorial was dedicated to the Confederate dead in 1875. It will be rededicated to all the dead of the American Civil War in 2018.”
* Relocate the McLaws and Bartow monuments to Laurel Grove North Cemetery. “These monuments were added to the Forsyth Park site 35 years after the erection of the memorial and are distractions from the original memorial.”
The recommendations will be on the February 14 City Council agenda for Council approval.
In the workshop Council also discussed the long-awaited Tourism Management Plan.
One of the more controversial elements of it will be allowing tourist trolleys to now bear advertising from third parties.
During a somewhat heated debate, Alderman Bill Durrence disagreed with Mayor DeLoach and Alderman Julian Miller about who should get the most credit for Savannah’s tourism success.
Durrence maintains that residents bear the burden through property tax and by investing in their own community, while Miller aggressively countered that the success also has a lot to do with city government and the tourism industry itself.
Durrence said the public doesn't necessarily see it that way, and credited most of the success of tourism to residents and the private sector for improving the neighborhoods that tourists pay to come see.
In the City Council meeting following, Council approved a new hotel overlay district downtown which would limit new hotel development to the following streets: MLK Jr. Blvd., Montgomery, Whitaker, Drayton, Abercorn (Bay to Oglethorpe), Fahm, Ann, River Street, Indian Street, Bay Street, Bryan (west of Lincoln), Broughton, Oglethorpe, Liberty, Zubly, Turner Blvd, Louisville Rd., and Jones west of MLK.
Alderman Van Johnson’s controversial marijuana ordinance – which would limit punishment for a first offense of holding under an ounce to a $150 ticket and no arrest record – got its required first reading.
Saying "We're on the right side of history," Johnson stated that "this is an opportunity not only for criminal justice, but for social justice."
The ordinance gets its second reading, and likely a vote, at the next meeting in two weeks.
The most drama came near the end of the meeting, during what was supposed to be a show-cause hearing for the Over Time Bar & Grill near Tiger Stadium, the site of a series of violent crimes.
Rather than appear for the hearing and have his liquor license revoked, Over Time owner Gregory Webb voluntarily surrendered his liquor license back to the City.
However, Deputy City Attorney Jen Herman and Savannah Police Sergeant Shinita Young with the department’s Alcohol Beverage and Compliance Unit still insisted on showing City Council four clips of surveillance video from inside Over Time the evening of New Year’s Day, 2018.
Herman told Council the video allegedly shows illegally activity linked to nine City ordinance violations and three state law violations.
The first clip shows a fight that started in and near the restroom. The second clip showed the flight spilling over into the main room near the pool tables. Then, gunshots are fired and a man is shot. The third clip shows employees walking though the bar picking up shell casings, with Webb putting the evidence in his pocket.
See the videos here.
Herman called this tampering with a crime scene and altering evidence, and said no one associated with the bar called 911 to report the shooting.
Savannah Police Chief Mark Revenew said officers had to knock down the door to gain entry.
The fourth clip is from the kitchen of Over Time and clearly showed a drug transaction taking place.
The mother of the 24-year-old man shot in the video viewed the graphic footage for the first time today.
She told Council emotionally, "I've come to plead and beg that this place be shut down." She said “the owner allowed him to get beaten and shot several times in this club."
Alderman Tony Thomas said he wanted to make sure that Webb surrendering his license, instead of having it revoked, wouldn’t make it easier for him to get another license in the future. He was assured that it wouldn’t.
