Cousins charged with assault after fight

Nisha Briana Nowell, 25, 177 Indiana Avenue, Athens, was charged with aggravated assault. Lavonte Orlando Upshaw, 21, 220 Gillispie Drive, Hull, was charged with aggravated assault and criminal trespass.

According to the incident report, officer Gary Floyd was called to Gillispie Drive, where he met with approximately 10 people in and around a residence. He identified the two women, both cousins, who were fighting and separated them.

Although several versions of the fight were given by the women, and by witnesses, Floyd determined that at some point in the argument Nowell pulled out a large butcher knife and made threats to Upshaw. Upshaw also grabbed a pan and made threats to Nowell. Both allegedly threatened to kill each other. Upshaw then jumped from the porch and landed on the roof of Nowell’s car, jumping up and down and yelling “you’re not gonna upset my grandma!” The butcher knife was retrieved and placed into evidence and the cousins were taken to jail.

Other incidents on file at the sheriff’s office recently included:

•Someone reportedly tried to break into the cash collection boxes at Watson Mill State Park last week. Several boards were broken out on the wall of the bridge, a picnic table had been thrown into the river and men’s restroom soap dispensers were torn off the wall. There was also other damage on the Oglethorpe side of the park.

•A woman on Mae Drive reported that she has been receiving phone calls from an unknown number. Officer Wesley Bryant listened to the phone calls and heard an “adult-sounding” female threatening the woman. Bryant advised her to have the number blocked from her phone.

•A man on Arthur Road reported that a vacant mobile home and shop building were broken into. The a/c unit had been taken apart and the residence was entered by prying open the back door. The doorknobs, handles from kitchen cabinets and wire and internal parts of the furnace were also taken. Approximately 100 feet of copper wire was taken from the shop. The man’s grandmother told him that there several people with small children in the yard the day before.

•A suspicious person was reported on Pine Valley Farm Road last week. A resident there said he spotted a white male wearing a back pack and pushing a bicycle come out of the woods beside his residence. He asked the man who he was and the man said “Walker.” The witness said he then drove away, but watched the man walk into a neighbor’s yard. Officer Josh Fowler went to the neighbor’s home, where he found a backpack behind the residence. The homeowner said he did not want the backpack on his property and told them there was another neighbor with that nickname. Fowler and another officer took the backpack and went to that neighbor’s residence, where they found a black bicycle behind the house. No one would come to the door. Fowler then checked the backpack and found bare wiring, cutting tools, matches and an old radio. The bag was then taken to the sheriff’s office to be entered into evidence as the possible “fruits” of a theft.

•A woman on Sanford Road reported that cash and her ATM/debit card were missing from her purse. She said that only her family members have access to her purse and that she didn’t want to “point fingers at anyone.” She asked for a report so she could obtain a new card from her bank.

•Officer Brandon Hanley spotted a 15-year old he knows pumping gas into his mother’s car at the Golden Pantry on Hwy. 72 in Hull. Knowing that the teen did not have a valid license and that he had stolen his mother’s car recently, Hanley pulled up beside him and asked him if he had taken his mother’s car again. The boy replied “yes.” Hanley made contact with the boy’s mother, who was in bed and thought that her son was as well. She said she wished to prosecute her son this time. Juvenile detention was notified and he was told to release the boy to his mother. Since the vehicle was stolen out of Oglethorpe County, authorities there were notified.

•A woman on Glenn Carrie Road reported that her home had been burglarized sometime between 7:30 p.m. and midnight. The back window was found open and the screen pried off. Items were left laying everywhere and the dresser drawers were partially open. A jewelry box was left lying in the floor with the drawers empty.

•A man on Clements Road reported that his credit card had been used to purchase two $300 gift cards. He said he suspects hi daughter, who was charged with stealing his credit card previously.