Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025
Good morning. This week we’re reporting on a new court filing involving Savannah Police homicide detectives. The homicide unit has been under scrutiny in recent years.
Then, we look at three stories out of Glynn County: a suspended school board member, violence in Brunswick and a major goal met by the Glynn County Police Department.
Questions, comments or story ideas? Reach out to staff@thecurrentga.org.
NEWS: PUBLIC SAFETY
Filing takes aim at SPD homicide unit practices
A man wrongfully imprisoned for nearly two years in a Savannah murder is accusing Savannah Police Department homicide detectives of routinely withholding evidence from defendants.
The claims came from Marquis Parrish and Tyesha Love, a married couple suing the City of Savannah after Parrish was wrongfully accused by former SPD Homicide Detective Ashley Wood as taking part in the 2021 murder of Charles Vinson near Tremont Park.
Wood wrote in search warrant affidavits and testified to a grand jury that Parrish was caught on surveillance footage related to the crime, when he was not on the video at all, according to court documents.
NEWS: COURTS, EDUCATION
Glynn school board member suspended
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp issued an executive order suspending Audrey Gibbons from her elected post as District 5 Glynn County School Board representative after Gibbons was implicated in a federal fraud scheme.
The decision came after a state review commission, required by law, recommended suspension for Gibbons. A Delaware grand jury indicted her in November 2024. She has denied wrongdoing to The Current.
NEWS: PUBLIC SAFETY
Two things: Brunswick violence and Glynn County Police win
It’s been a mixed week for public safety in Glynn County.
Early on Monday, two teenagers in Brunswick were found dead in a double homicide, according to the Brunswick Police Department. The Brunswick News reports that two males, 17 and 19 years old, were found dead in a home on Brailsford Avenue, near Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. They were taken to the hospital where they later died.
It’s a difficult beginning to the year for the city. Last month, a 15-year-old boy was shot and killed in Brunswick. The city police department’s longtime chief retired last month, and Angela Smith, a top deputy, took over as interim chief.
Meanwhile, the police agency for the entire county, the Glynn County Police Department, achieved a long-awaited goal this week.
The Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police awarded state certification to GCPD, something the department has been trying to regain since 2018. The certification lapsed as former Chief John Powell took the reins that year. Powell was indicted two years later.
Former Chief Jacques Battiste, who took over in 2021, prioritized revamping policies to regain certification. Battiste left in 2022 before seeing the project through and current Chief Scott Ebner brought it to the finish line.
State certification means the association verifies that GCPD implemented “policies and procedures (that are) conceptually sound and operationally effective,” according to the organization’s website. Not only that but professional standards and certification help keep costs down for liability insurance and lawsuits.
It also helps reassure citizens that their police department follows the most up-to-date practices in law enforcement.
Savannah homicide detectives regularly withheld evidence from defendants, filing alleges
A couple suing the City of Savannah said its police department homicide unit had a policy withholding evidence to criminal defendants, violating their rights. This follows the indictment of Ashley Wood, who wrongfully accused Marquis Parrish of being involving in a 2021 murder.
Georgia publicly touts its Medicaid experiment as a success. Numbers tell a different story.
In January, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp boasted that his experiment in Medicaid reform was a success, despite low enrollment numbers. Yet a report commissioned by the state and not yet publicly released suggested otherwise.
Glynn school board member suspended amid federal fraud indictment
A Glynn County school board member was suspended by the governor following a federal money laundering indictment that named her and others in November 2024.
EV supplier cancels plan to build plant near Statesboro
Aspen Aerogels Inc. has decided to increase production capacity at its existing plant in East Providence, RI, instead of building a second facility in Bulloch County due to softer EV demand and a shift in EV policies.
Trump administration slashes Georgia CDC workforce by 10% in sweeping cuts
The Trump administration’s sweeping jobs cuts have resulted in the loss of nearly 1,300 jobs at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Georgia, with U.S. Sens. Ossoff and Warnock condemning the move as a threat to public health.
Savannah sues PFAS polluters, seeks water treatment funds
Savannah wants companies that make, sell, use and discharge the per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (“PFAS”) found in Savannah’s water supply to pay for the treatment needed to remove these “forever chemicals.” The city filed a complaint on Feb. 5 in Chatham County Superior Court against 65 companies ranging from chemical giant Dupont to […]
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