A driver who held up a beer to display to an officer who challenged him eluded capture Friday night afer he abandoned his car, but left behind a stolen weapon.

A Colquitt County Sheriff’s Office investigator encountered the man as he was stopped at a red light waiting to turn right onto First Avenue Southeast off Veterans Parkway. He noticed the driver had a bottle that appeared to be an alcoholic drink between his legs. The officer got the man’s attention and said: “You’ve got to be kidding me,” at which time the driver of the 1995 Dodge Caravan lifted up a bottle of Bud Ice beer, sheriff’s reports said. At that time, Inv. Jerome Burgess held up his badge so that it was visible to the driver and had him roll down his window, repeating: “You’ve got to be kidding me.”The driver said that he was about to pour the beverage out.

Burgess instructed the driver to pull into a nearby convenience store when the light changed to green. Instead, reports said, the driver accelerated after turning onto First Avenue Southeast, made a right turn onto Kingwood Garden, and stopped in the 40 block of that street. Taking a black bag, he ran from the van and escaped. Burgess noticed a firearm in the car and stopped chasing the driver and stayed with the van to secure the weapon, instead calling for other officers for assistance in locating the driver.

A check revealed that the firearm “with a large capacity magazine” had been stolen in Moultrie.

Burgess was able to positively identify the driver, the reports said. 

Arrests

Doerun Police

• Kirt Leon Brown, 33, 5756 Hwy. 202, Thomasville, was charged Saturday with driving under the influence.

Sheriff’s Office

• Kimberly Venessa Ingram, 26, 120 Fourth St. S.W., was charged Thursday with battery.

• Heather Nicole Bailey, 25, 106 Greenough Road, Doerun, was charged April 17 with theft by taking.

• Cissy Renae Jett, 42, 2219 Sylvester Drive, was charged Friday with failure to send child to approved school.

Moultrie Police

• Pedro Lopez, 37, 117 Cherry Ave., was charged Saturday with driving without license and speeding (in) highway work zone.

• Hermelinda Moreno, 34, 153 Blackberry Lane, was charged Saturday with driving without license and failure to stop for stop sign.

• Mack Trimble, 66, 411 Second St. N.W., was charged Saturday with driving while license suspended.

• Darnell Slaughter Jr., 58, 421 11th St. S.W., was charged Thursday with theft of services.

Norman Park Police

• Jason Theron Mims, 32, 172 Weeks Ave. Norman Park, was charged Thursday with simple assault.

Probation violation

Sheriff’s Office

• Marcus Henry Holton, 49, 3020 Sylvester Drive.

• Timothy Dean Melton, 44, 2954 Mitchell County Line Road, Hartsfield.

• Sarah Marlene Norman, 32, 200 Radkin Lane, Thomasville.

Moultrie Police

• Jimmy Lee Powell Jr., 27, 717 First St. S.W.

• Bryan Christopher Reynolds, 28, 173 Sam Harrell Road.

• Ellis Lee Williams, 46, 219 Third St. S.W.

• Christopher Lee Arant, 30, 411 11th Court Southeast.

Battery

Sheriff’s Office

• Selica Daniels, 25, reported Friday that a male relative grabbed her by the shoulders and threw her to the ground and later during the incident grabbed her by the throat and hit her in the back of the head.

Daniels told police that the incident happened at a residence in the 800 block of Fourth Street Northwest. Daniels had a scrape on her arm, sheriff’s reports said.

• Tabitha Hicks, 452 block Dorminey Road, reported that a male companion got on top of her and tried to choke her after she confronted him about damaging the residence. When roommate Octavia Martinez tried to help her, Hicks told police, the man kicked Martinez in the face.

Regino Gomez Encino, of the same address, told police that his girlfriend “disrespected him so he fixed it,” reports said. He was taken into custody and faces charges of two counts of simple battery.

Hicks had red marks on her neck and chest, police said, and Martinez had redness to the side of her face and scratches on her arm. Encino appeared to be “very intoxicated” when officers arrived.

Moultrie Police

• Chazna Thomas, 30, Moultrie, reported Saturday that a male acquaintance grabbed her by the hair and hit her in the head while they were in a parked car in the 2600 block of South Main Street.

She also reported that she slapped or scratched the man so that he would let go of her hair.

Everette Smith, 27, agreed with Thomas’ account of the incident. Neither wished to press charges. Both appeared to be intoxicated, police said.

• Nitarasha Eady, 200 block Fourth Street Northwest, reported Saturday that a male acquaintance beat hear after he had been drinking during the night. Eady had injuries to the right eye and forehead, police said, her shirt was ripped and there was debris scattered throughout. After giving some information, Eady refused to cooperate further and demanded that police and emergency medical personnel leave, police reports said.

• Christopher Filiccia, 38, Moultrie, reported Monday that a male acquaintance hit him in the face several times and took his wallet. Tony Coates, who was identified by Filiccia, told police that he did not take the wallet. Filiccia had no apparent injuries, police said, and was intoxicated when he made the report.

Entering auto

Sheriff’s Office

• An officer patrolling Sunday in the 600 block of Woodman Road investigated after noticing that a fog light was activated on a car inside the fence at Bridge’s Auto.

Further investigation indicated that a compact disc player may have been removed from a F-150 pickup truck. The contents of glove boxes had been emptied in several other cars. Doug Bridges told police that he would give a list of stolen property.

Thefts

Sheriff’s Office

• Elizabeth Lawson, 100 block Cool Springs Road, reported Friday the theft of a piggy bank containing about $20.

Moultrie Police

• Hollywood Beauty Supply, 905 First Ave. S.E., reported Saturday that a woman walked out with a bottle of shampoo valued at $14.The woman returned while police where there to pay for the shampoo. A store employee had a trespass notice filed banning the woman from returning.

• Mary Ousley, 100 block Ninth Street Southwest, reported Sunday the theft of a fern plant valued at $30.

Burglary

Sheriff’s Office

• Jessica Sparkman, 1200 block Rossman Dairy Road, reported Friday the theft of a white gold ring with 1/2-carat diamond valued at $2,500.Sparkman told police that she had seen a suspicious man on a child’s bicycle in the area around the time that the ring was taken.

Moultrie Police

• Audriana Hawkins, 500 block 26th Street Southeast, reported Friday the theft of a television of unknown value.

• Keisha Blalock, 900 block Fifth Avenue Southwest, reported Saturday the theft of an Emerson television, XBox 360 and cash with a total value of $1,023.

Property damage

Sheriff’s Office

• Mildred Phillips, 2800 block Sylvester Drive, reported Saturday that someone scratched the passenger side of a 2014 Nisssan Versa.

• Terry Dravghon, 3400 block Highway 111, reported Friday that the driver of a Dodge dually truck damaged his lawn by spinning tires.

• Kimberly Jones, 1300 block Highway 319 North, reported Friday that one of two girls who were in her side yard threw a rock at the residence, breaking a bathroom window. Jones told police that that the girls were playmates with her daughter who were upset that her daughter was playing with some other girls in the neighborhood.

Moultrie Police

• Nicole Smith, 22, Norman Park, reported Friday that the driver of a red pickup truck struck her car while she was driving on Industrial Drive.

The other driver left the scene.

• Jennifer Pope, 40, Moultrie, reported Friday that a male acquaintance hit her 2006 Pontiac G6 with a flashlight, detaching the driver’s rearview mirror. Pope told police that as she was driving away from the residence in the 1900 block of Third Street Southeast the man threw an object that shattered the rear windshield.

• Nancy Luna, 29, Moultrie, reported Sunday that a 2003 Ford F-350 was damaged while parked in the 200 block of Harper Boulevard.

• Charlene Ryce, 43, Moultrie, reported Sunday that a female acquaintance tried to pull the license plate off her 2004 Infiniti after they got into an argument in the 700 block of Third Avenue Southeast.

• Ken Pollock, 200 block Lakeside Drive, reported Sunday that a red Ford Ranger struck his shed, causing an unknown amount of damage. A witness told police he saw a man running after the truck as it was backing up. Following the collision he asked the man whether he needed help and he drove away.

Other investigations

Sheriff’s Office

• An officer investigating an alarm notification of a window broken Friday morning at a residence in the 4600 block of Tallokas Trail found no open doors or broken windows. Later, Scott Cooper reported that someone had attempted to pry open a window on the back side from which a window screen also had been removed.