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Detectives from the Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police Department are investigating a shooting of a Savannah man this morning.

Marvin Hills, 24, of the 1700 block of East 31st Street was found with a gunshot wound in a car that had stopped on the 2700 block of MLK Boulevard about 3:11 a.m. when off-duty officers investigated shots they had heard.

Hills was transported to Memorial University Medical.

Anyone with information on the case is asked to call Crimestoppers at (912) 234-2020 or text CRIMES (274637) using the keyword CSTOP2020. Tipsters remain anonymous and may qualify for a cash reward.

A confidential Tip Line also is open directly to investigators at (912) 525-3124.

Downtown traffic will be rerouted for several hours Monday as Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police close down streets and intersections for the Martin Luther King Day Parade, scheduled for 10 a.m.

Road closures throughout the staging area will begin at 6:30 a.m. The staging area runs from East Broad Street to Price Street and Liberty Street to Gwinnett Street.

The parade route begins at East Broad and Liberty streets then travels north on East Broad to Broughton Street, west on Broughton to MLK Boulevard, and south on MLK to Anderson Street to disband. Roads along the staging area and parade route will remain closed throughout the parade’s duration.

“No Parking Zone” notices will be posted along Broughton and MLK Sunday morning between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. Vehicles remaining in the no parking zone after 7 a.m. Monday will be towed at the owners expense.

Delivery vehicles with Bay Street destinations should take Interstate 516 at DeRenne Avenue to northbound Truman Parkway at Presidents Street to access Bay Street.

Traffic will be impacted until approximately 3 p.m.

A dedication ceremony is planned to signal the completion of the Chatham County Detention Center expansion project.

In 2004 Sheriff St Lawrence "issued a needs assessment to the county," a county spokesperson says. "In 2006 voters approved a Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax to fund a jail expansion. In December 2010 County Commissioners awarded a $71 million dollar construction contract."

The expansion project added 400,000 square feet and brought the total number of inmates beds to 2,300, nearly double the previous capacity. Major renovations were also done to the administration building, medical, kitchen, laundry and warehouse facilities, as well as new security and fire alarm system.

The dedication ceremony is open to the public and will be held Tuesday, January 21, 11 a.m. at the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office, 1050 Carl Griffin Drive. Sheriff Al St Lawrence and Chatham County Commissioners will be present.

Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police are investigating a shooting that left a 39-year-old man in critical condition this morning.

Randy Brown was transported to Memorial University Medical Center after the 2:07 a.m. shooting on the 1000 block of East 34th Street.

Central Precinct Patrol officers found him injured when they responded to a “shots fired” call.

Anyone with information on the case is asked to call Crimestoppers at (912) 234-2020 or text CRIMES (274637) using the keyword CSTOP2020. Tipsters remain anonymous and may qualify for a cash reward.

A confidential Tip Line also is open directly to investigators at (912) 525-3124.

A man and woman have each been arrested after Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police interrupted a burglary in unincorporated Chatham County and "followed a getaway car until it crashed Wednesday afternoon," police say.

Arlecha Mycole Dickerson, 19, and Devone Marquell Osborne, 21, both of the 1000 block of Stark Avenue, were arrested after separate foot pursuits following the burglary at a house on the 2100 block of Washington Street, off Skidaway Road.

Dickerson was charged with fleeing to elude police, reckless driving, failure to maintain lane, burglary and disorderly conduct. Osborne also was charged with burglary and then was transported to Garden City where Garden City Police Department detectives already had warrants for aggravated assault issued against him.

Dickerson and Osborne were seen leaving the residence about 12:15 p.m. when officers approached the house on Washington Street. "Osborne ran on foot, jumping a fence along the way," police say.

Dickerson drove away in a gray 2006 Honda Accord. It crashed on Jasmine Avenue, "slamming into a utility pole that toppled, pulling wires to the ground with it. She was captured about 30 yards away."

An officer noticed Osborne walking in the Norwood Plaza shopping center and followed him into a courtyard area between two restaurants where he was taken into custody.

Detectives continue to investigate the burglary and examine similarities to other burglaries reported in the area in the past few days.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crimestoppers at (912) 234-2020 or text CRIMES (274637) using the keyword CSTOP2020. Tipsters remain anonymous and may qualify for a cash reward.

A 52-year old Savannah man has been charged with murder in the death of a another man found dead on December 7.

Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police detectives have charged John Cope of the 800 block of East Anderson Street in the death of 57-year-old Moses Mack. Mack was found deceased inside of 827 E. Anderson St.

Cope was arrested Monday night, taken to the Chatham County Detention Center and will be arraigned today at 1:30 p.m. in Recorder's Court.

Two nights of a "show of force operation netted significant results, highlighted by four felony arrests and recovery of two stolen weapons Thursday and Friday nights," police say.

Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police, bolstered by the FBI Violent Crimes Task Force, Savannah-Chatham Counter Narcotics Team and Savannah Impact Program (SIP) officers, executed 32 total arrests, issued 143 citations and recovered two stolen weapons in “Operation Total Focus.”

On Thursday and Friday nights, SIP officers visited 64 residences of probationers to assure they were complying with all regulations, conducted 13 checks on sex offenders, assisted patrol officers with four assists, served one warrant and performed one drug screen. Officers also seized 17 grams of marijuana.

Three men were arrested after drawing attention of participants in the operation who watched the three convicted felons study two convenience stores before confronting them at a third. Officers found marijuana, gloves and a stolen firearm. Early Friday morning they arrested another man found with a stolen pistol.

“The idea of Total Focus is to prevent crime,” said Maj. Richard Zapal, commander of the operation. “We do this by finding those who have been charged with crimes and getting them off the streets and presenting a presence that would discourage illegal activity. In a sense, we are taking the enforcement to them rather than reacting to the crimes they may commit.

“We are fairly certain we interrupted several robberies in the planning stages Thursday night. That was a huge achievement. I have thanked and congratulated all participants in the operation.”

Robert Douglas Morgan, 29, of the 1300 block of East 34th Street, was charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, obstruction and theft by receiving. Lawrence Sheppard Jr., 41, of, the 600 block of West 31st Street, was charged with operating a vehicle without a license plate and possession of marijuana. And Joseph Maurice Hamilton Jr., 40, of a Berwick Lakes Boulevard address in Pooler, was charged with possession of marijuana.

Friday morning, Kareem Byrd entered a convenience store near Waters and Derenne avenues smelling of marijuana. Police found marijuana, drug-related objects and a stolen pistol in his vehicle. He was charged with traffic offenses, possession of marijuana, theft by receiving stolen property and possession of drug-related.

The Ossabaw Island Foundation recently honored the late Armstrong Atlantic State University History professor Dr. Mark A. Finlay as an Ossabaw Fellow at the non-profit organization’s annual meeting on Jan. 9.

At the time of his death in October of 2013, Dr. Finlay was completing research for a book on the environmental history of coastal Georgia, with emphasis on Ossabaw Island, Ga.

As part of that research, he interviewed members of Ossabaw Island’s first Genesis Project at a 40-year reunion in 2010. Just a month before he died, he traveled to Plains, Ga. to interview former President Jimmy Carter as part of his Ossabaw research.

“What made Mark so exceptional is that he brought a brilliant mind for research, an excellent writing ability and a remarkable gift for telling an engaging story,” said Paul Pressly, director of The Ossabaw Island Educational Alliance. “He was able to make the past real and meaningful to everyone — scholars and schoolchildren, academics and amateurs — and to make us all feel a little bit more connected to our history and to each other.”

The late Dr. Mark Finlay

Dr. Finlay’s work will serve as the centerpiece for an environmental history symposium being organized by the Ossabaw Island Education Alliance, scheduled for 2016. Dr. Finlay served as co-chair of its planning committee at the time of his death.

In 2008, The Ossabaw Island Foundation established the Ossabaw Fellow academic prize, which is awarded to a scholar who has completed a significant body of work relating to, and inspired by, Ossabaw Island. Since its inception, two other Ossabaw Fellows have been designated: Dr. Allison Dorsey, for her research on the post-civil war reconstruction period on Ossabaw Island, and Dr. Stephen Darcy for The Marshes of Glynn.

Historic Savannah Foundation will present a check donation to the Coastal Empire Habitat for Humanity as part of their recent partnership to help bring forth Habitat’s latest project, a three-bedroom home on West 42nd St. in Savannah, Ga.

The new, single-family Habitat home is in the Cuyler-Brownville neighborhood, a National Register Historic District. Through the collaborative efforts of Habitat for Humanity, Historic Savannah Foundation, City of Savannah, SCAD and the U.S. Green Building Council, the home will be LEED-certified and feature an environmentally-friendly design that is affordable, sustainable and compatible. This event is open to the public.

Thursday, January 16, 12 p.m. on-site at the new Habitat home, West 42nd St. (at the intersection of 42nd St. and Bulloch).

The Savannah National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) and the National Wild Turkey Federation are partnering to provide 10 youths "an opportunity to learn about turkey conservation and experience hunting turkey with a guide."

This structured hunt and educational event will be held March 28, 29 & 30, 2014 and will focus on the development of turkey hunting skills and conservation knowledge. Participating youth will be assigned a mentor for the event.

The Hunt & Learn Weekend will be limited to a maximum of 10 hunters, ages 15 and under. All applications must be received at the Savannah NWR Visitor Center by January 31, 2014 to be entered in the random drawing which will be held on February 7, 2014. Only selected applicants will be notified after the drawing. One adult guardian per child will be required to attend the entire weekend event.

To be eligible to hunt, all selected applicants must have passed a state approved hunter education course (from any state) and present their hunter education card upon check-in. Youth hunters who do not yet have a hunter education card must complete either Georgia or South Carolina’s on-line hunter education course prior to the event and present their printed certificate upon check-in. The final written exams for both states will be administered at the event.

An information packet for the hunt, including more detailed information on how to apply, as well as the application (FWS Form 3-2356), may be downloaded from the refuge website at http://www.fws.gov/savannah/hunting.html or requested from the Savannah NWR Visitor Center at (843) 784-2468.