Homeless Camp Set Ablaze

A 43-year-old woman set fire to the homeless camp under the North Avenue bridge Jan. 29 after an argument with two other people who also lived under the bridge. The fire caused a gas line to rupture and destroyed three mens' clothing, furniture and mattresses. The woman was charged with arson and criminal damage.

Bargoer Hit with Tire Iron

A woman was walking home from Gresham's Disco early on Feb. 2. On Waddell Street, a dark-colored vehicle came up from behind and hit her. A friend helped her get up, and the vehicle tried to run her over again. She dodged it and threw something at the car, breaking a window. Two men and a woman got out and attacked her. One man hit her with a tire iron. A Stonehenge Way man and an Old Lake Drive woman were charged with aggravated assault. The third suspect was identified.

Man Mugged at Gunpoint

An Oglethorpe Avenue man was going to get something out of his car on Feb. 1 when a 6-foot-2-inch, 190 pound black man wearing an orange shirt with a hood and brandishing a handgun approached him. He pushed the victim to the ground, took $44 from his pocket, ran to a nearby parking lot and drove away in a primer-colored Oldsmobile Cutlass.

Man Stabbed Over Cigarette

A man said another man approached him on Old Hull Road and asked for a cigarette Jan. 31. He didn't have one, and the man hit him on the shoulder, pushed him and walked away. When he arrived at his girlfriend's house on Oak Hill Drive, he realized he'd been stabbed. His girlfriend took him to Athens Regional Medical Center.

Diner Beaten for No Reason

A woman was having dinner with friends at La Fiesta on Jan. 29. She walked out onto the patio with an unknown man who hit her in the face, knocked her to the ground and continued to hit and kick her. As witnesses approached, the man—described as tall, thin but muscular, with short hair and a scruffy face, and wearing a white or gray shirt—left in a white Lincoln. No one had any idea what led to the attack. 

Drug Deal at Bethel

Officers spotted what looked like a drug deal Feb. 2 at Bethel Midtown Village. When they approached, one of the two subjects tried to run but was caught. The 25-year-old Springdale Street resident was charged with possession of Ecstasy, obstruction and criminal trespass.

Shoplifter Caught with Gun

Loss prevention officers at Belk at Georgia Square Mall caught a man stealing clothes and hiding them under his own clothes. When he was confronted, police also found a .32 caliber revolver in his pocket. The 28-year-old Alto man was charged with shoplifting, carrying a concealed weapon, carrying a weapon without a permit and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

Thefts and Break-ins

• A West Hancock Avenue woman reported that she parked her black 1998 Honda Civic, license plate LAL348, near Hancock and Hull Street around 10 p.m. Feb. 1. When she went to get it the following afternoon, it was gone.

• An employee entered Moonshine Bar on East Clayton Street at 6:35 p.m. Feb. 1 and found a man inside. The man left through the back door. Nothing was found missing from the bar.

• A squatter entered a Whitehall Road residence through a broken window between Jan. 15–Feb. 1. The bed looked it like had been slept in, and a bedspread was missing. 

• Someone forced open the back door of a Lake Place apartment Feb. 1 and stole two TVs, clothing, seven pairs of shoes and several bottles of liquor.

• $2,177 worth of liquor was stolen between Jan. 26–29 from Boar's Head Lounge on East Washington Street.

• An airless paint sprayer, spray gun and floor jack were stolen from a Watkinsville man's car on Ashley Circle between 9:45–9:50 p.m. Jan. 26.

Information taken from Athens-Clarke County police reports.