Student accused of felony shoplifting at clothing store

Well it's been awhile since I've written a crime story, but it's like riding a bike — you never forget how to do it. (Or something along those lines, at least)

We had a student at UGA who was arrested and charged with felony theft by shoplifting after a worker at a downtown clothing store suspected her and another man of taking nearly $700 in items.

Click here to read my article on the incident. You can also check out her mug shot and the police incident report.

Student suffers severe eye dammage after bar fight

This will be my last article for the semester as the crime reporter. There was a fight downtown early Saturday that left a man with severe eye damage. One of the main problems I've found this semester in writing crime is that people are often not willing to talk, which leaves a lot to be desired in a story. I spoke with one witness of the incident who was more than willing to tell me what happened, but wished not to be quoted so that was unfortunate. Click here to read what the police report said about this incident.

Student claims roommate urinated on her dorm bed

This article was one that left me with some questions and I wish I had been able to get in touch with the other party involved. It seems to me that with the crime beat it is always difficult to get every bit of information because I normally don't find out about what happened until the afternoon, which leaves little time to contact people before the story is due. I'm trying though. In this article a pair of roommates were having a feud and, well, the rest is in the article. Click here to read more.

Student confronted, robbed by armed man

Sometimes doing the crime beat and seeing all of the police reports gets a little unnerving. The amount of break-ins and thefts that I have seen is just crazy. Click here to read about a student who was robbed in his apartment by two armed men.

Fake ID possession lands two with felonies

Two UGA students learned Wednesday that having a fake ID is a big deal. They were both arrested and charged with two felony counts of possession of a fake ID. Click here to read more about the incident.

Student accuses other of crime, holds on headlock

Well I had my first experience in breaking news reporting yesterday and I must say there are many things I learned. If I could have a "do-over" I would definitely try to get some more information from people who witnessed the event. Don't get me wrong, I tried...but most people were unwilling to talk (story of a reporter's life?).

I do wish we had addressed the issue of the crime the student was accusing the other of, though. It is sensitive in nature and there have been no police reports filed on the accused crime, but that should have been made more transparent to the reader.

I am looking at this as a learning lesson and welcome such instances so that my writing will improved. Click here to read about the headlock incident, and I apologize if you end up scratching your head. I did too.

Three women report sexual assualt crimes from weekend

Sexual assaults are a very sensitive subject and I think I handled the situation with sensitivity. At least I hope I did. Click here to read more about the reported sexual assault crimes from the weekend.

Police advise caution as crime rates increase

I have been amazed at the amount of entering auto and theft incidents that have happened so far this semester. It really is surprising to me how many people leave the their cars unlocked and leave valuable items in plain view. When we started talking about this in the newsroom, we started to wonder if maybe the economy had something to do with it? Click here to read about the thefts in Athens and how it may (or may not) relate to the economy.

Numerous felony arrests not explainable

There have been six students arrested and charged with felonies in the past month alone. That seems like a lot, especially compared to other semesters, but the UGA police chief said he didn't think there was enough in his numbers to constitute a trend. A lot of these seem to be drug related, which doesn't really play into the intuition that the economy might be the reason. Click here to read more about the felonies this semester.

Student reports rape in downtown Athens

There are a lot of questions that arise in this incident, but since it involves a rape and the information about the woman involved is not known, some of those questions just remain unanswered. It's unfortunate to see the amount of rapes that are reported. I see a lot in the crime reports (but we only print the ones that involve UGA students). Click here to read about the report.

Former UGA running back arrested

A former UGA football player was arrested in downtown Athens Sunday. Click here to find out who and what he was charged with.

Student accused of theft

Well this is my first assignment as the crime reporter and I'm happy to say that it wasn't too bad. I was able to talk with a few of the involved parties and they were more than willing to give me their side of the story. I can only hope my future articles go so smoothly. Click here to read about a UGA student arrested and charged for felony theft by taking.