BERLIN — A Moultrie man faces multiple charges after he allegedly was involved in a domestic dispute and attempted to run a woman off the road in Berlin early Sunday morning.

Carol Omar Lopez Moreno, 25, of 167 Scott Cemetery Road, was charged with battery (family violence), DUI and aggressive driving.

The Colquitt County sheriff’s deputy’s report said the deputy received a call at 3:41 a.m. Sunday about a Ford Econoline van about to enter Colquitt County on Highway 133 from Brooks County.

Karen Hall, another driver on Highway 133, told the 911 dispatcher that the van was parked beside the road with a man and woman involved in a domestic dispute outside of it. She said the man involved forced the woman into the van.

As the deputy responded, Hall again called 911 and said she and the van were at the Holiday Market in Berlin and the van had tried to run into her car.

As the deputy approached the store, the van drove away. The deputy followed it and pulled the van over.

Moreno, the driver, told the deputy Hall had been following him, so he began to follow her, the deputy’s report said.

Reports said the deputy put Moreno into his patrol vehicle after searching him for any weapons. Moreno had an odor of an alcoholic beverage about him, the deputy’s report said. He denied drinking anything, and the deputy spoke with Sales, who appeared to have been crying.

Sales did not speak any English, so reports said the deputy used hand gestures to communicate with her. Using the gestures and a translator, the deputy determined Moreno had become drunk, pulled over to the side of the road and planned to leave Sales where he had pulled off the road.

Sales had visible marks on her face and head where Moreno allegedly had hit her, reports said. Moreno was placed under arrest and had an alcohol concentration of .098 grams according to a breathalyzer test.

Reports said the deputy spoke with Hall, who stated she had seen the van parked beside the road as she passed. She saw Moreno allegedly grab Sales and get her back into the van, so Hall turned around to check on the situation.

Hall told the deputy she followed the van as it drove north on Highway 133, and she later passed it. The van then got behind her vehicle and passed by her at a high rate of speed.

The van got back behind Hall and followed her after she entered the city limits of Berlin, reports said. Hall pulled into the Holiday Market parking lot, and she said the van pulled in behind her at a high rate of speed, nearly hitting her Ford Expedition.

Reports said Moreno was taken to Colquitt County Jail and was booked in on the charges against him. The van was towed from the scene of the traffic stop.



Suspicious grass fires burn almost 300 acres

In a separate incident, a ranger with the Georgia Forestry Commission reported Monday several spot fires on March 20 had burned nearly 300 acres of land.

The sheriff’s deputy’s report said the ranger was called out to the scene of a grass fire on Zion Grove Church Road at 7:53 p.m. March 20. The area burned was between Zion Grove Church Road, Vinson Road and Bay Pole School Road and had burned roughly 295 acres of land.

An employee with the county Roads and Bridges Department reported seeing four-wheeler tire tracks next to each grass fire site, reports said. An unknown person who lived on Bay Rockyford Road had been seen on a four-wheeler earlier in day, but it was not known if he was responsible for the fires.

The ranger also stated a fire was found at Lower Meigs Road and Bay Pole School Road March 18, and reports said the fire burned three acres of land. It was unknown at the time of the report if the two fires were connected to each other.



Arrests

• Courtney Graham, 17, of 302 Seventh St. N.W., was charged Tuesday with illegal possession of alcohol.

• Dennis Quarttro, 40, of 5555 Bags Ferry Road in Camilla, was charged Tuesday with driving without a license and lights required.

• A 15-year-old boy was charged Monday with theft by taking a motor vehicle and being an unruly child.

• Derrick Donta Key, 23, of 500 Fourth Court N.W., was charged Monday with driving without a license (third offense) and two counts of probation violation.

• Reginald Bernard Holmes, 37, of 1330 Highway 319 N., Lot 117, was charged Monday with disorderly conduct.

• Max Labraun Fritts, 18, of 389 Willis Still Road in Chula, was charged Sunday with obstruction and passing contraband across a guardline. He was seen allegedly throwing a cigarette under the visitation door at the Colquitt County Jail.

• Michael Dewayne Dillon, 37, of 6209 Old Adel Road, was charged Sunday with obstruction and theft by taking.

• Lonnie Anderson Jr., 80, of 3769 Doerun-Norman Park Road, was charged Tuesday with DUI.



Other Incidents

• Tracy Stewart, of Fourth Street Northwest, reported a male acquaintance kicked her vehicle, damaging both sides, the passenger door and windshield, after she allowed him to borrow it Tuesday. Damage to the vehicle was estimated at more than $500.

• Rendira Rezendiz, of 12th Avenue Southeast, reported a male relative stole her Alltel cell phone Monday. The value of the stolen cell phone was unknown at the time of report.

• Allen Fausett reported an unknown person stole a pair of ostrich-skin boots, a pair of lizard-skin boots, a pair of elephant-skin boots, a set of two-way walkie-talkies, a set of Motorola walkie-talkies, a toolbox with Craftsman tools inside, a 3/8-inch air compact wrench with sockets, two Penn rods and reels, a Dewalt drill with charger and battery, a circular saw, a tackle box with lures inside, a black leather jacket, a brown leather jacket, a bag with 150 to 200 tools inside, a Craftsman leaf blower, a line trimmer, a Hunter ceiling fan, a laser line level, an air compressor, a Craftsman wrench and socket set and an Igloo cooler from a friend’s residence on Fourth Street Southeast between Feb. 27 and 10:26 a.m. Monday. The total value of the stolen items was approximately $3,350. Fausett provided officers with the name of a male acquaintance he suspects stole the items and sold them to local pawn shops.

• An employee with the City of Moultrie reported an unknown person kicked a total of 14 boards in half on the bike trail on Goff Drive between 4:30 p.m. Friday and 7:30 a.m. Monday. Total damage to the boards was approximately $140.

• Frank Westbrook, of Second Avenue Northwest, reported an unknown person pried off a window screen at his residence and stole an AUDX stereo system with two speakers between 1 p.m. and 11:59 p.m. Sunday. The value of the stolen stereo system was $250.

• Bobby Bartley reported Monday an unknown person stole a 4-foot by 8-foot “For Sale” sign with a lot diagram and his cell phone number from property for sale on Pineridge Street in Funston. The value of the stolen sign was $300.

• Jerry Johnson reported Monday a male acquaintance sold his 5-foot-by-14-foot trailer after he had left the trailer at the acquaintance’s residence on Dogwood Drive March 10. The value of the trailer was estimated at $500.