Tuesday, August 4, 2015
Hardball Capital, owners of the soon-to-be-former Savannah Sand Gnats, have a new name for the "new" team after its move to Columbia, S.C. on the conclusion of this season: The Columbia Fireflies.
As announced by Minor League Baseball, "The primary logo is an iconic representation of the firefly," according to Hardball CEO Jason Freier. "We've got the silver wings, we have a luminous neon flame at the base of the abdomen. The emphasis of the 'fire' part of 'fireflies' points to one of the things Columbia is known for — the heat. Columbia's slogan is 'Famously Hot,' so that's the primary reason."
The ownership group "gathered name suggestions from fans, their design partner, Sky Design, and from internal suggestions over the last year," according to Minor League Baseball
The Fireflies will debut at their new home on April 14, 2016, at the newly-built Spirit Communications Park. They will remain a Class A team and a New York Mets affiliate.
As announced by Minor League Baseball, "The primary logo is an iconic representation of the firefly," according to Hardball CEO Jason Freier. "We've got the silver wings, we have a luminous neon flame at the base of the abdomen. The emphasis of the 'fire' part of 'fireflies' points to one of the things Columbia is known for — the heat. Columbia's slogan is 'Famously Hot,' so that's the primary reason."
The ownership group "gathered name suggestions from fans, their design partner, Sky Design, and from internal suggestions over the last year," according to Minor League Baseball
The Fireflies will debut at their new home on April 14, 2016, at the newly-built Spirit Communications Park. They will remain a Class A team and a New York Mets affiliate.
Monday, August 3, 2015
Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police "ask the public’s help in identifying the suspect who injured five uninvolved bystanders in a shooting at Ellis Square early Sunday morning," a police spokesman says.
The suspect is described as a black male in his early to mid-20s, with a short, scruffy fade haircut. During the incident he wore a white shirt and dark jeans. "He was last seen traveling eastbound from City Market on foot. Citizens with knowledge of this suspect’s identity or whereabouts are urged not to approach him, and to call 9-1-1 immediately," police say.
Investigators believe the shooting "resulted from an argument between the suspect and another male at about 3:07 a.m. on Sunday. Nearby Metro officers responded to Ellis Square after hearing gunshots. Three shooting victims were located in the area, and transported by ambulance to a nearby hospital, where two additional victims of this shooting were also receiving care," police say.
The five victims sustained non-life threatening injuries.
Additionally, Metro investigators continue their search for a person of interest tied to this case. He is described as a fair complexioned black male in his early to mid-20s. During the incident he wore orange shorts and a light colored, button-up shirt. He was last seen on foot, traveling west from City Market.
The suspect is described as a black male in his early to mid-20s, with a short, scruffy fade haircut. During the incident he wore a white shirt and dark jeans. "He was last seen traveling eastbound from City Market on foot. Citizens with knowledge of this suspect’s identity or whereabouts are urged not to approach him, and to call 9-1-1 immediately," police say.
Investigators believe the shooting "resulted from an argument between the suspect and another male at about 3:07 a.m. on Sunday. Nearby Metro officers responded to Ellis Square after hearing gunshots. Three shooting victims were located in the area, and transported by ambulance to a nearby hospital, where two additional victims of this shooting were also receiving care," police say.
The five victims sustained non-life threatening injuries.
Additionally, Metro investigators continue their search for a person of interest tied to this case. He is described as a fair complexioned black male in his early to mid-20s. During the incident he wore orange shorts and a light colored, button-up shirt. He was last seen on foot, traveling west from City Market.
Violent Crimes detectives of the Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police Department are investigating a shooting that wounded a 13-year-old male Sunday afternoon.
"At 3:10 p.m. Metro officers were dispatched to the intersection of Ott and East 38th streets, where the teen was found suffering from a gunshot wound," police say. "The victim was transported to Memorial University Medical Center in stable, but critical condition."
Investigators believe the victim was riding a bicycle with another male just before the shooting. Investigators seek to identify that bicyclist.
"At 3:10 p.m. Metro officers were dispatched to the intersection of Ott and East 38th streets, where the teen was found suffering from a gunshot wound," police say. "The victim was transported to Memorial University Medical Center in stable, but critical condition."
Investigators believe the victim was riding a bicycle with another male just before the shooting. Investigators seek to identify that bicyclist.
Sunday, August 2, 2015
"An argument and shoving match between two men in Ellis Square ended in a shooting that injured five bystanders early Sunday morning," police say.
At about 3:07 a.m. Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police officers patrolling City Market heard multiple gunshots in Ellis Square. Responding officers located three shooting victims in the area.
The victims were transported by ambulance to Memorial University Medical Center. "Two additional victims of this shooting arrived at MUMC in private vehicles. The five victims sustained non-life threatening injuries," police say.
The victims include a 16-year-old female, Jamaica McCann-Bell, 19, Austin Brown, 21, Rodney Hardee, 23, and Stephen Maynard 23, who is a Ft. Stewart soldier.
"Investigators believe the five victims have no affiliation with the suspect," police say.
Metro investigators are searching for two subjects. The first is a fair complexioned black male in his early to mid-20s. During the incident he wore orange shorts and a light colored, button-up shirt. He was last seen on foot, traveling west from City Market.
The second suspect is described as a black male in his early to mid-20s, "with a short, unkept fade haircut," police say. During the incident he wore a white shirt and dark jeans. He was last seen traveling eastbound from City Market on foot.
This is an ongoing SCMPD investigation. Violent Crimes investigators seek information from witnesses in the area of Ellis Square near the Johnny Mercer statue on Barnard Street from 3 a.m. - 3:15 a.m. today.
Anyone with information on this investigation should 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.
At about 3:07 a.m. Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police officers patrolling City Market heard multiple gunshots in Ellis Square. Responding officers located three shooting victims in the area.
The victims were transported by ambulance to Memorial University Medical Center. "Two additional victims of this shooting arrived at MUMC in private vehicles. The five victims sustained non-life threatening injuries," police say.
The victims include a 16-year-old female, Jamaica McCann-Bell, 19, Austin Brown, 21, Rodney Hardee, 23, and Stephen Maynard 23, who is a Ft. Stewart soldier.
"Investigators believe the five victims have no affiliation with the suspect," police say.
Metro investigators are searching for two subjects. The first is a fair complexioned black male in his early to mid-20s. During the incident he wore orange shorts and a light colored, button-up shirt. He was last seen on foot, traveling west from City Market.
The second suspect is described as a black male in his early to mid-20s, "with a short, unkept fade haircut," police say. During the incident he wore a white shirt and dark jeans. He was last seen traveling eastbound from City Market on foot.
This is an ongoing SCMPD investigation. Violent Crimes investigators seek information from witnesses in the area of Ellis Square near the Johnny Mercer statue on Barnard Street from 3 a.m. - 3:15 a.m. today.
Anyone with information on this investigation should 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.
Friday, July 31, 2015
Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police Department is investigating a five-vehicle accident that sent a Metro officer and a civilian driver to hospitals this afternoon.
"Just before 12:50 p.m. an SCMPD patrol officer was in route to a bank robbery in progress at a Wells Fargo Bank branch on the 5700 block of Waters Avenue," a department spokesman says.
"The patrol car’s emergency equipment was activated when it was struck by a silver Chevrolet sedan on Waters Avenue and East 69th Street. The impact caused the patrol car to ricochet into a parked SUV. This caused the SUV to overturn and hit a silver Volkswagen parked next to it. At the same time the silver Chevrolet collided with a brown Nissan sedan," police say.
The Metro officer was transported by patrol car to Candler Hospital. The driver of the Chevrolet was transported by ambulance to Memorial University Medical Center. Both drivers sustained non-life threatening injuries.
"Just before 12:50 p.m. an SCMPD patrol officer was in route to a bank robbery in progress at a Wells Fargo Bank branch on the 5700 block of Waters Avenue," a department spokesman says.
"The patrol car’s emergency equipment was activated when it was struck by a silver Chevrolet sedan on Waters Avenue and East 69th Street. The impact caused the patrol car to ricochet into a parked SUV. This caused the SUV to overturn and hit a silver Volkswagen parked next to it. At the same time the silver Chevrolet collided with a brown Nissan sedan," police say.
The Metro officer was transported by patrol car to Candler Hospital. The driver of the Chevrolet was transported by ambulance to Memorial University Medical Center. Both drivers sustained non-life threatening injuries.
"Members of the FBI’s Violent Crime Task Force and robbery detectives from the Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police Department are trying to identify a gunman who robbed a Wells Fargo Bank branch this afternoon," police say.
"The black male walked into the bank on the 5700 block of Waters Avenue, produced a handgun and demanded money. He then left on foot at 12:45 p.m. No injuries were reported."
The suspect was wearing a cap and a surgical mask covering his face and neck. His image was captured on the bank’s video system.
Anyone with information on the case is asked to call the FBI at (912) 790-3100 or Crimestoppers at (912) 234-2020 or text CRIMES (274637) using the keyword CSTOP2020. Tipsters remain anonymous and may qualify for a cash reward.
A Tip Line also is open directly to SCMPD investigators at (912) 525-3124 and most area clergy have agreed to serve as liaisons for anyone who would like to share information with police anonymously.
"The black male walked into the bank on the 5700 block of Waters Avenue, produced a handgun and demanded money. He then left on foot at 12:45 p.m. No injuries were reported."
The suspect was wearing a cap and a surgical mask covering his face and neck. His image was captured on the bank’s video system.
Anyone with information on the case is asked to call the FBI at (912) 790-3100 or Crimestoppers at (912) 234-2020 or text CRIMES (274637) using the keyword CSTOP2020. Tipsters remain anonymous and may qualify for a cash reward.
A Tip Line also is open directly to SCMPD investigators at (912) 525-3124 and most area clergy have agreed to serve as liaisons for anyone who would like to share information with police anonymously.
Wednesday, July 29, 2015
Dominique Leonard Dillard, 28, was taken into custody by agents of the Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force on warrants taken by Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police detectives. He has been charged with armed robbery, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime. He also faces a federal probation violation charge.
The investigation revealed the shooting took place during an attempted robbery of Craig.
"Patrol officers from the Islands Precinct of the Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police Department responding to the shooting on the 1100 block of East 59th Street found Dillard in the yard and Ricky Tyrone Craig, 21, in the house, both with gunshot wounds," police say. "Craig, who lives at the residence, had been pulled into the house by his girlfriend."
The incident prompted comments from Metro Police Chief Joseph H. “Jack” Lumpkin Sr. because of the danger the shooting posed to others in the neighborhood. Children were playing in the street and a woman driving through the intersection of 59th and Guatemala streets escaped injury when an errant shot struck her car.
“Clearly, behavior in the house and by participants led to endangerment of the entire neighborhood,” Lumpkin said at the time. “School is out, so children were playing on nearby lawns; residents were in their yards and on their porches; and innocent victims were driving by.
“Indiscriminate shooting such as this is taking place nationwide and it is going to take community-wide efforts to stop them. That’s what it will take to show perpetrators of these senseless shootings that this neighborhood is not going to stand for it.”
"Bodies found in a Windsor Forest neighborhood house on April 18 have been identified as a mother and son and the case has been closed by Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police as a murder-suicide," a department spokesman.
Violent Crimes detectives have "positively identified the bodies as Patricia Witherspoon, 80, and Ralph Terrill, 50."
The investigation confirmed that "Terrill had killed his mother and then committed suicide in the house they shared on the 12000 block of Sunnybrook," police say.
Police discovered "a history of abuse of the woman in the house which had been barricaded from inside. The two had been dead for a considerable amount of time before a lawn care worker alerted police to an odor coming from the house."
Violent Crimes detectives have "positively identified the bodies as Patricia Witherspoon, 80, and Ralph Terrill, 50."
The investigation confirmed that "Terrill had killed his mother and then committed suicide in the house they shared on the 12000 block of Sunnybrook," police say.
Police discovered "a history of abuse of the woman in the house which had been barricaded from inside. The two had been dead for a considerable amount of time before a lawn care worker alerted police to an odor coming from the house."
Savannah-based metal band Kylesa will release their seventh album, Exhausting Fire, on Oct. 2 and have announced a full slate of U.S. gigs this fall to promote it.
The first single is "Lost and Confused." Here it on Soundcloud here.
Recorded at Columbia, S.C.'s Jam Room, Exhausting Fire is “an album we really put our hearts on our sleeves for. We’ve always done that, but emotionally, it’s probably the most honest and raw album we’ve ever done," according to guitarist/vocalist Phillip Cope.
“No band sounds like us and we don’t sound like any other band,” says guitarist Laura Pleasants. “After all these years of experimenting with different styles and sounds, we’ve really developed our own thing and I can faithfully say that we sound like us. With this album, we’ve successfully made a record that incorporates all the elements we’ve always played with into a record that works on its own.”
Key Southern gigs on the tour include:
Augusta GA: Sept. 7 at Sky City
Savannah: Oct. 9 at The Jinx
Asheville NC: Oct. 10 at New Mountain
Atlanta: Oct. 25 at The Drunken Unicorn
The first single is "Lost and Confused." Here it on Soundcloud here.
Recorded at Columbia, S.C.'s Jam Room, Exhausting Fire is “an album we really put our hearts on our sleeves for. We’ve always done that, but emotionally, it’s probably the most honest and raw album we’ve ever done," according to guitarist/vocalist Phillip Cope.
“No band sounds like us and we don’t sound like any other band,” says guitarist Laura Pleasants. “After all these years of experimenting with different styles and sounds, we’ve really developed our own thing and I can faithfully say that we sound like us. With this album, we’ve successfully made a record that incorporates all the elements we’ve always played with into a record that works on its own.”
Key Southern gigs on the tour include:
Augusta GA: Sept. 7 at Sky City
Savannah: Oct. 9 at The Jinx
Asheville NC: Oct. 10 at New Mountain
Atlanta: Oct. 25 at The Drunken Unicorn
Tuesday, July 28, 2015
Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police have charged a 24-year-old man with burglary "after he was shot attempting to enter a house in the Paradise Park neighborhood Monday afternoon," a department spokesperson says.
Nathaniel Eugene Holsey was transported from the first block of Sheridan Circle for treatment of a non-life threatening gunshot wound about 1:23 p.m.
Southside Precinct patrol officers "found him alert and aware on the floor of a sun room on the rear of the house," police say.
Violent Crimes detectives determined that Jordan Philips, 27, who lives in the house, "shot Holsey after he was awakened by two males entering a locked gate and the sunroom and attempting to force open a partially glass door to enter the house."
The other suspect ran after the shooting and police are trying to locate a brown or maroon mid-1980s model Pontiac Bonneville or Grand Prix that was seen parked in the area and later speeding away.
Nathaniel Eugene Holsey was transported from the first block of Sheridan Circle for treatment of a non-life threatening gunshot wound about 1:23 p.m.
Holsey
Southside Precinct patrol officers "found him alert and aware on the floor of a sun room on the rear of the house," police say.
Violent Crimes detectives determined that Jordan Philips, 27, who lives in the house, "shot Holsey after he was awakened by two males entering a locked gate and the sunroom and attempting to force open a partially glass door to enter the house."
The other suspect ran after the shooting and police are trying to locate a brown or maroon mid-1980s model Pontiac Bonneville or Grand Prix that was seen parked in the area and later speeding away.
