Murder Victim Identified; Suspect Still Sought

This is a picture of the woman whose body was found this morning off a dirt drive on Riverfront Drive in Augusta.

She's been identified as 53-year-old Teresa McElderry. Her killer is still being sought.

According to Lt. Scott Peebles, this morning at about 9:55, a Richmond County Sheriff’s Deputy was flagged down in reference to a man finding a body on the dirt road.

"The case is being investigated as a homicide, but we do not intend to release much information regarding injuries to the victim or other evidence found at the scene at this time. We are still very early in the investigation and will release as much as possible when we are able to," Lt. Peebles said in a press release earlier today.This is Richmond County’s 20^th Homicide this year and there were 20 this time last year.

The city's 19th homicide was recorded last night. According to Lt. Peebles, at 9:37 p.m. Thursday, the sheriff’s office responded to a shooting incident in the parking lot of the Circle K, Gordon Hwy. at Olive Road. Upon arrival, officers found 45-year-old Robert Lee Stone Jr., of Webster Road in Waynesboro, deceased of multiple gunshot wounds to the body.

The suspect in that case is described as follows:

Black Male, mid 20s, slim build, 5-07 to 5-08, medium complexion and close cut hair.

"The suspect was wearing what was described as a bright yellow t-shirt, dark pants and white tennis shoes," Lt. Peebles said in a press release. "As with another recent murder, in which the clothing of the suspect was key in identifying a suspect and leading to an arrest, Investigators also believe that the clothing of this suspect will be crucial. What stood out to all witnesses was the bright yellow shirt of the suspect. It is likely that the suspect was seen by many friends and acquaintances in this same shirt throughout the day."

The victim is a truck driver, and he frequently parked his rig in the parking lot of this “truck stop”. He also frequently slept in the cab of the truck in the parking lot, rather than driving back to Waynesboro. At this time, motive is not known.

How Indecent!

Two Augusta men were charged the same day with indecent acts in Richmond County.

Terry Leonard Johnson, 38 (top photo), was charged with lewdness and indecent exposure.

Kenneth Kelly, 17 (bottom photo) was arrested and charged with public indecency.

A wise man once said, "I believe that we should die with decency so that at least decency will survive."

Wanted for Violent Robbery at Greg's Gas Plus

The Aiken County Sheriff’s Office is looking for a Graniteville man for robbing a convenience store Sunday and assaulting a store employee.

Richard Brown, 29, of Hard Street, Graniteville (above), is wanted for armed robbery and assault & battery of a high & aggravated nature.

At 2:27 a.m. Sunday, the suspect was armed with a metal pipe when he entered Greg’s Gas Plus located at 106 Bettis Academy Road in Graniteville and demanded money from a store employee. The robber then struck the store employee on the hand and chest with the metal pipe, grabbed the cash register drawer containing money, and exited the store.

The Aiken County Bloodhound Team searched the area for several hours before suspending the search.

Anyone with information about this subject is asked to contact the Aiken County Sheriff’s Office: (800)-922-9709. Individuals also should call Crime Stoppers of the Midlands: (888) CRIME-SC. Callers can remain anonymous and will be eligible for a cash reward of between
$50 and $1,000.

The Most Interesting Mugshot Ever!

It might be the most interesting mugshot we've seen since The Jail Report started publishing in June -- a woman with a black eye making a funny face for her front shot and holding her dentures to her neck in the side view.

Here's the story: This is 35-year-old Leslie McClendon of Augusta, a repeat offender who was charges on Sunday with disorderly conduct. Her citation states she is a "known prostitute" who was "walking down Greene Street with shirt over head exposing herself."

We're not sure how Leslie got the bruiser. We know Richmond County authorities are very familiar with her. In fact, The Jail Report has featured her before. Since June, she's been arrested at least twice for disorderly conduct. Before that, her record's longer than her hair.

But her mugshots were never this interesting.

Batterer Arrested Over and Over

There's nothing worse than someone who beats up someone they supposedly love.

Jeremy Ard, 29, of Trenton, was arrested Wednesday morning for criminal domestic violence (CDV), the fifth time he's been arrested on the charge since 2003, according to jail records.

Let's take a look at Jeremy's history of domestic violence. Just five months ago, Aiken County charged him with two counts of CDV.

A year ago, CDV.

In 2007, CDV.

In 2004, assault & battery - common law.

In 2003, CDV.

Again in 2003, two counts of assault and battery.

Jeremy is the definition of repeat offender. When will the justice system wake up and do something to protect his victims from the abuse?

Drunk Driving with a Child in the Car

One of the many DUI arrests made over the Labor Day weekend was April Herrod, 22, of Augusta. Richmond County authorities say she wasn't just endangering herself, but also the child she was carrying in the vehicle.

Ms. Herrod was charged with DUI, endangering child while DUI, and driving an unsafe vehicle.

Attorney Arrested for Bribery (Read the Report)

We've got the incident report on explosive charges against retired attorney David Fry, charged today with two counts of bribery for trying to influence the votes of Augusta Commissioners Alvin Mason and Corey Johnson.

As you can read yourself by clicking on the report, Mr. Fry allegedly met with the commissioners at his home in Indian Cove in Augusta at 7 pm on Aug. 21 and "offered them the contract to operate the parking deck to the TEE Center in exchange for the (commissioners') votes for the TEE Center."

The Richmond County Sheriff's Office announced his arrest today and released this mugshot.