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Missing Pieces: Sheriff’s department, Blackshear police say your tips could crack these unsolved murders, assaults and more
(NOTE: The Blackshear Times first compiled a list of the county's top unsolved cases in July 2009. This list was updated January 2012.)
One of law enforcement’s most important crime-fighting tools isn’t a fancy gadget or computer often glamorized on television crime shows.
It’s you.
Information provided by the public - even seemingly “small” tips - regularly help lawmen crack cases or locate suspects in hiding. As useful as fingerprints and DNA can be to an investigation, it may still take a phone call from a concerned citizen to help investigators tie all the pieces together.
The community can be an extra set of eyes and ears before officers arrive on scene and even after they leave. Sometimes a simple observation or even something overheard in neighborhood gossip can be the final piece needed to identify and arrest criminals.
The Blackshear Times is teaming up with the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department and the Blackshear Police Department to present cases most in need of public tipsters. Anyone with tips or potential information on these cases can contact the sheriff’s office at 449-2011 or the BPD at 449-7011. When applicable, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation office in Douglas can be reached at 912-389-4103..
PIERCE COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT
Three murders, an aggravated assault, a large marijuana crop and a despicable case of cemetery vandalism mark the list of unsolved cases for the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department.
Several leads came from tips in the days and weeks following these crimes, though Investigator Ramsey Bennett says none of those leads have panned out.
Still more tips were generated after the list of unsolved cases was first published in August, 2009, but local law enforcement still hasn’t been able to solve these cases.
“None of the leads we received led to solving these cases. They all remain open and active,” he says. “We are still hopeful we’ll find out something that will help us solve these crimes. The public is our eyes and ears and sometimes they can help us solve cases.”
Even though the cases date back as long as a decade ago, Bennett is hoping a fresh look might jar loose a memory or a forgotten fact from someone.
The following open cases are listed beginning with the highest priority:
1) Red Fern death a homicide - The first unsolved case on the list, is also the most recent and the most mysterious.
Domonique Hightower of Waycross, was found murdered October 4, 2010 on Red Fern Road.
Hightower, 25, was found shot to death in a vehicle in the Piney Grove community.
The case has puzzled law enforcement officials from the beginning.
“We don’t have a motive and we don’t have any suspects,” said Sgt. Robert Newton.
Hightower was formerly a resident of Brunswick, had family in Brantley County and had moved to Waycross in recent months.
2) Search still on for suspect in shooting death - The sheriff’s department has long wanted to solve the murder of Tito Lopez. Lopez, a farm worker, was murdered June 15, 1998 on Songbird Lane in Bristol.
The sheriff’s office identified Lauro Del Agua, one of Lopez’s co-workers as a suspect in the murder. Del Agua is believed to have shot Lopez, according to investigators. The two worked together on a farm.
Del Agua is believed to have fled to Mexico soon after the killing and remains at large.
“That’s what’s frustrating about this case,” says Bennett. “If we could catch Del Agua, we believe we can solve this case.”
Del Agua is also on the Sheriff’s Department’s most wanted list, but no new leads have turned up.
Still, law enforcement officials say it is not out of the question that he could return to the area. In addition to his ties to Pierce County and Mexico, he also had ties in Seebring, FL. Del Agua is currently 40 years old and at the time of the murder was described as 5’5” tall, weighing 160 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. (No photo available).
3) Lawmen investigating ‘suspicious’ head wound dealt to Pierce man - An aggravated assault case from April, 2008 remains open.
Ellis Taylor was discovered with a severe head wound at his home off Money Hole Road. Friends found him when they stopped by to visit.
Initially, it was believed Taylor had been shot, but authorities later said they were unsure what caused the wound. They did determine, however, that someone had assaulted Taylor.
Taylor was never able to help investigators. He was eventually moved to a nursing facility in Hazlehurst where he died early in 2009. His death was not directly related to the wound he sustained, however.
4) Patterson man found shot to death in his car - Jesus Ledezma was murdered on Ralston Road near Patterson over eight years ago.
Ledezma, 22, a father and mill worker who lived in Patterson, was found shot to death behind the wheel of his car in the center of Otter Creek Road on a June morning in 2003.
Bennett says the sheriff’s department has several good leads in the case, but has never been able to positively link anyone to the crime.
“There is a possibility the person responsible is already in jail for an unrelated crime, but we have never been able to prove a connection to this case,” he said.
5) Lawmen seize more than $6 million worth of marijuana - The sheriff’s department is also trying to round up “farmers” who abandoned $6 million worth of marijuana several summers ago.
Local and state law enforcement officials seized 4,944 almost fully mature plants August 13, 2008. The crop was located in a remote, wooded area in a timber slough near the Satilla River at the Pierce-Brantley County line.
The marijuana was planted in plots spread throughout the woods, in what Sheriff Richard King called “an elaborate operation”. Some of the plants were six feet tall.
King said his department had been watching the area for about 10 days before the crop was harvested and destroyed.
The “farmers” have never been caught.
6) Vandals damage graves at Old Shiloh - Vandals smashed, dug up and knocked over 19 tombstones at the Old Shiloh Cemetery in June, 2005.
Damaged gravestones ranged from those dating back to the 1920s to those buried as recent as 2001.
In addition to the damage to gravestones, a number of floral arrangements, pottery and vases were also destroyed.
The cemetery is the historic burying ground for many of Pierce County’s black families.
The vandalism stirred public outrage and a reward was offered.
Publicity of the case led to dozens of tips, but none of the leads ever resulted in the case being solved.
“We’d very much like to solve this case,” said Bennett. “It’s just hateful that someone would do something like this.”
A dump truck owned by Jerry Kicklighter, parked near the cemetery, was also damaged.
BLACKSHEAR POLICE DEPARTMENT
Could you help solve a crime?
Blackshear police are searching for those responsible in cases of beating an elderly man during a home invasion, attacking a motel operator and his wife during a robbery and threatening a clerk at knife-point during a store holdup, as well as other cases.
BPD senior detective Lt. Chris Wright says the department has received numerous tips in the following cases, which help build investigation files. Several leads came from tips in the days and weeks following these crimes, but even recent information on “old” crimes can make a difference.
“The smallest tip can point us in the right direction and bring a case from cold to solved,” Wright says.
A caller from Arizona once contacted the BPD with a tip on a fugitive, who she discovered was wanted by the authorities after searching his name on the Internet and discovering it on The Times’ website, Wright says.
The detective says people aren’t “bothering” police when they call with seemingly minor details.
“Something that may not seem significant may be very significant.”
The following open cases are listed beginning with the highest priority:
1) “This was a brutal attack on a kind man.” - Police are still looking for those responsible for a “heinous” beating of an elderly man in his Margaret Lane home here Feb. 20, 2008.
Residents living in the relative quiet around the short dirt road off Rose Austin Lane, were shocked by the assault, which police say occurred during a home invasion robbery.
James Washington, then 65, was struck several times in the face with a blunt object by two unknown subjects who took a small amount of money, according to police. Washington, described as “a good neighbor and a kind man” was later taken to a Savannah hospital in critical condition.
He never fully recovered from injuries suffered during the attack. Washington died a few weeks later, though the medical examiner determined his death was not directly related to the February assault.
2) Oak Plaza Motel armed robbery - More brazen violence followed almost a week after Washington was attacked.
A man entered the Oak Plaza Motel office Feb. 26, 2008, supposedly there to rent a room. His feigned interest soon turned into an attack on owner and operator Ishwar Gandhi, then 59.
A blunt object used to strike Gandhi in the head was then used on his wife, Ramilaben Gandhi, then 56, who walked into the confrontation after hearing a commotion, police say. The unknown assailant made off with an undisclosed amount of cash and was said to be driving an older model black truck.
3) Bandit brandishes knife to rob store clerk - An employee at the Flash Foods store #81 in the Cedar Hill neighborhood says a white female wearing dark clothes and a hood over her head robbed the store while brandishing a knife and tire tool Jan. 3, 2009.
The clerk was confronted by the weapon-wielding robber demanding money around 7:44 p.m. The suspect escaped with the stolen stash before lawmen arrived. She reportedly left on foot and disappeared around the corner of the store. It is not known if she then got into a vehicle while fleeing.
Investigators say DNA evidence recovered from the scene can be used for comparison.
4) Thief raids pharmacy’s drug supply - A large-scale burglary of a pharmacy’s supply of high-powered drugs could have potentially put addictive and - when abused - deadly medications on the street here.
Investigators believe someone broke into the Pierce Family Pharmacy on Highway 84 West near Yeomans Street around May 23, 2011 during overnight hours. The crime was discovered that Monday around 7:40 p.m. The burglar or burglars made off with the store’s entire supply of Schedule II and Schedule III drugs.
Police did not release the type of pills, but it is believed a few thousand were stolen.
5) Thousands of dollars worth of equipment stolen from city - Thieves took aim at the city of Blackshear’s equipment storage for a score earlier this year.
Police believe at least two thieves entered a public works shop on Church Street overnight April 12, 2011 and made off with several large lawn tools.
Among the items taken were mowers, weed eaters and pole saws. The missing equipment is valued at roughly $8,000.
One of law enforcement’s most important crime-fighting tools isn’t a fancy gadget or computer often glamorized on television crime shows.
It’s you.
Information provided by the public - even seemingly “small” tips - regularly help lawmen crack cases or locate suspects in hiding. As useful as fingerprints and DNA can be to an investigation, it may still take a phone call from a concerned citizen to help investigators tie all the pieces together.
The community can be an extra set of eyes and ears before officers arrive on scene and even after they leave. Sometimes a simple observation or even something overheard in neighborhood gossip can be the final piece needed to identify and arrest criminals.
The Blackshear Times is teaming up with the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department and the Blackshear Police Department to present cases most in need of public tipsters. Anyone with tips or potential information on these cases can contact the sheriff’s office at 449-2011 or the BPD at 449-7011. When applicable, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation office in Douglas can be reached at 912-389-4103..
PIERCE COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT
Three murders, an aggravated assault, a large marijuana crop and a despicable case of cemetery vandalism mark the list of unsolved cases for the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department.
Several leads came from tips in the days and weeks following these crimes, though Investigator Ramsey Bennett says none of those leads have panned out.
Still more tips were generated after the list of unsolved cases was first published in August, 2009, but local law enforcement still hasn’t been able to solve these cases.
“None of the leads we received led to solving these cases. They all remain open and active,” he says. “We are still hopeful we’ll find out something that will help us solve these crimes. The public is our eyes and ears and sometimes they can help us solve cases.”
Even though the cases date back as long as a decade ago, Bennett is hoping a fresh look might jar loose a memory or a forgotten fact from someone.
The following open cases are listed beginning with the highest priority:
1) Red Fern death a homicide - The first unsolved case on the list, is also the most recent and the most mysterious.
Domonique Hightower of Waycross, was found murdered October 4, 2010 on Red Fern Road.
Hightower, 25, was found shot to death in a vehicle in the Piney Grove community.
The case has puzzled law enforcement officials from the beginning.
“We don’t have a motive and we don’t have any suspects,” said Sgt. Robert Newton.
Hightower was formerly a resident of Brunswick, had family in Brantley County and had moved to Waycross in recent months.
2) Search still on for suspect in shooting death - The sheriff’s department has long wanted to solve the murder of Tito Lopez. Lopez, a farm worker, was murdered June 15, 1998 on Songbird Lane in Bristol.
The sheriff’s office identified Lauro Del Agua, one of Lopez’s co-workers as a suspect in the murder. Del Agua is believed to have shot Lopez, according to investigators. The two worked together on a farm.
Del Agua is believed to have fled to Mexico soon after the killing and remains at large.
“That’s what’s frustrating about this case,” says Bennett. “If we could catch Del Agua, we believe we can solve this case.”
Del Agua is also on the Sheriff’s Department’s most wanted list, but no new leads have turned up.
Still, law enforcement officials say it is not out of the question that he could return to the area. In addition to his ties to Pierce County and Mexico, he also had ties in Seebring, FL. Del Agua is currently 40 years old and at the time of the murder was described as 5’5” tall, weighing 160 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. (No photo available).
3) Lawmen investigating ‘suspicious’ head wound dealt to Pierce man - An aggravated assault case from April, 2008 remains open.
Ellis Taylor was discovered with a severe head wound at his home off Money Hole Road. Friends found him when they stopped by to visit.
Initially, it was believed Taylor had been shot, but authorities later said they were unsure what caused the wound. They did determine, however, that someone had assaulted Taylor.
Taylor was never able to help investigators. He was eventually moved to a nursing facility in Hazlehurst where he died early in 2009. His death was not directly related to the wound he sustained, however.
4) Patterson man found shot to death in his car - Jesus Ledezma was murdered on Ralston Road near Patterson over eight years ago.
Ledezma, 22, a father and mill worker who lived in Patterson, was found shot to death behind the wheel of his car in the center of Otter Creek Road on a June morning in 2003.
Bennett says the sheriff’s department has several good leads in the case, but has never been able to positively link anyone to the crime.
“There is a possibility the person responsible is already in jail for an unrelated crime, but we have never been able to prove a connection to this case,” he said.
5) Lawmen seize more than $6 million worth of marijuana - The sheriff’s department is also trying to round up “farmers” who abandoned $6 million worth of marijuana several summers ago.
Local and state law enforcement officials seized 4,944 almost fully mature plants August 13, 2008. The crop was located in a remote, wooded area in a timber slough near the Satilla River at the Pierce-Brantley County line.
The marijuana was planted in plots spread throughout the woods, in what Sheriff Richard King called “an elaborate operation”. Some of the plants were six feet tall.
King said his department had been watching the area for about 10 days before the crop was harvested and destroyed.
The “farmers” have never been caught.
6) Vandals damage graves at Old Shiloh - Vandals smashed, dug up and knocked over 19 tombstones at the Old Shiloh Cemetery in June, 2005.
Damaged gravestones ranged from those dating back to the 1920s to those buried as recent as 2001.
In addition to the damage to gravestones, a number of floral arrangements, pottery and vases were also destroyed.
The cemetery is the historic burying ground for many of Pierce County’s black families.
The vandalism stirred public outrage and a reward was offered.
Publicity of the case led to dozens of tips, but none of the leads ever resulted in the case being solved.
“We’d very much like to solve this case,” said Bennett. “It’s just hateful that someone would do something like this.”
A dump truck owned by Jerry Kicklighter, parked near the cemetery, was also damaged.
BLACKSHEAR POLICE DEPARTMENT
Could you help solve a crime?
Blackshear police are searching for those responsible in cases of beating an elderly man during a home invasion, attacking a motel operator and his wife during a robbery and threatening a clerk at knife-point during a store holdup, as well as other cases.
BPD senior detective Lt. Chris Wright says the department has received numerous tips in the following cases, which help build investigation files. Several leads came from tips in the days and weeks following these crimes, but even recent information on “old” crimes can make a difference.
“The smallest tip can point us in the right direction and bring a case from cold to solved,” Wright says.
A caller from Arizona once contacted the BPD with a tip on a fugitive, who she discovered was wanted by the authorities after searching his name on the Internet and discovering it on The Times’ website, Wright says.
The detective says people aren’t “bothering” police when they call with seemingly minor details.
“Something that may not seem significant may be very significant.”
The following open cases are listed beginning with the highest priority:
1) “This was a brutal attack on a kind man.” - Police are still looking for those responsible for a “heinous” beating of an elderly man in his Margaret Lane home here Feb. 20, 2008.
Residents living in the relative quiet around the short dirt road off Rose Austin Lane, were shocked by the assault, which police say occurred during a home invasion robbery.
James Washington, then 65, was struck several times in the face with a blunt object by two unknown subjects who took a small amount of money, according to police. Washington, described as “a good neighbor and a kind man” was later taken to a Savannah hospital in critical condition.
He never fully recovered from injuries suffered during the attack. Washington died a few weeks later, though the medical examiner determined his death was not directly related to the February assault.
2) Oak Plaza Motel armed robbery - More brazen violence followed almost a week after Washington was attacked.
A man entered the Oak Plaza Motel office Feb. 26, 2008, supposedly there to rent a room. His feigned interest soon turned into an attack on owner and operator Ishwar Gandhi, then 59.
A blunt object used to strike Gandhi in the head was then used on his wife, Ramilaben Gandhi, then 56, who walked into the confrontation after hearing a commotion, police say. The unknown assailant made off with an undisclosed amount of cash and was said to be driving an older model black truck.
3) Bandit brandishes knife to rob store clerk - An employee at the Flash Foods store #81 in the Cedar Hill neighborhood says a white female wearing dark clothes and a hood over her head robbed the store while brandishing a knife and tire tool Jan. 3, 2009.
The clerk was confronted by the weapon-wielding robber demanding money around 7:44 p.m. The suspect escaped with the stolen stash before lawmen arrived. She reportedly left on foot and disappeared around the corner of the store. It is not known if she then got into a vehicle while fleeing.
Investigators say DNA evidence recovered from the scene can be used for comparison.
4) Thief raids pharmacy’s drug supply - A large-scale burglary of a pharmacy’s supply of high-powered drugs could have potentially put addictive and - when abused - deadly medications on the street here.
Investigators believe someone broke into the Pierce Family Pharmacy on Highway 84 West near Yeomans Street around May 23, 2011 during overnight hours. The crime was discovered that Monday around 7:40 p.m. The burglar or burglars made off with the store’s entire supply of Schedule II and Schedule III drugs.
Police did not release the type of pills, but it is believed a few thousand were stolen.
5) Thousands of dollars worth of equipment stolen from city - Thieves took aim at the city of Blackshear’s equipment storage for a score earlier this year.
Police believe at least two thieves entered a public works shop on Church Street overnight April 12, 2011 and made off with several large lawn tools.
Among the items taken were mowers, weed eaters and pole saws. The missing equipment is valued at roughly $8,000.
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