Three Covington teenagers were arrested in connection with a string of Porterdale burglaries after being caught with stolen women's jewelry, rubber gloves and a loaded gun, according to a Porterdale Police Department report.

Jawan Chestnut, 17, and two male juveniles in their mid-teens were arrested July 8 around 1 p.m. after residents observed the trio knocking on doors, ringing bells and trying to hide in bushes when drivers passed them.

Porterdale police officers found the three near the entrance of the subdivision walking with backpacks. They told police they were looking for a friend who had moved to a different house within the subdivision and were going to play basketball, but did not have a basketball and were reportedly looking at one another while talking.

Chestnut was allegedly holding his backpack "as if guarding something," according to the report. When officers asked if they could search the bag, he said "You can't search my bag... for no reason!"

After arresting the teens for loitering and prowling, officers found rubber gloves, a black neoprene mask, eight jewelry boxes with women's jewelry and a loaded silver .22 revolver with an ivory handle in the backpack.

Officers also found a large amount of rubber gloves, a black shirt, a clear Halloween mask in the other adolescents' bags and a large, black hunting knife nearby.

During the search, an elderly man came to the officers and reported that his house had just been burglarized. The back door of the house had been forced open and the man's wife identified the jewelry in Chestnut's backpack as hers.

At the Newton County Detention Center, the three adolescents reportedly admitted to the burglarizing the elderly man's house and two others.

Family dispute

An argument between an aunt and a niece turned into a non-fatal stabbing July 24 in the Jamestown settlement.

Betty Jane Kelly, 47, was arrested and charged with aggravated assault after she allegedly stabbed her 22-year-old niece once in the chest with a knife at around 11 a.m. at their home.

According to a Newton County Sheriff's Office incident report, no alcohol or substances were involved in the incident. Children were in the house at the time, but it is unclear if they witnessed or were exposed to the stabbing, said NCSO spokesperson Lt. Mark Mitchell.

The victim was transported to Newton Medical Center and Kelly was taken to the Newton County Detention Center.

Arrest record

July was not a good month for one Covington resident, both the victim and perpetrator in multiple run-ins with law enforcement.

Christopher Shiver, 20, found himself the victim of a July 6 armed robbery where he was struck in the back of the head with a pistol and then robbed of his cell phone and money. Investigators later suspected the robber actually meant to strike another apartment.

Shiver was cited in a July 7 complaint for hitting an office door with his fist and calling the complainant names after she informed him he would have to move out of his apartment or be evicted.

On July 12, Shiver was arrested for possession of alcohol under 21 after officers found him sleeping in an apartment with half-full bottles of liquor and beer nearby.

Shiver was arrested less than a week later along with two other adults and three minors in connection with a reported fight on July 18. He was charged with furnishing alcohol to minors, consumption by a minor, disorderly house and disorderly conduct.