Officers were called to investigate the discharging of firearms on City Pond Road early Sunday morning and ended up arresting one man with a gun, but only after they were forced to chase him to an area Waffle House.
As officers from the Covington Police Department arrived at the "CWA building" on City Pond Road, they reportedly saw people running from the building and jumping into vehicles, driving away at high speeds and running toward the woods in a frantic effort to leave the area. According to reports, officers estimated there were about 500 people leaving the building when they arrived.
When the officers entered the building, they reportedly found that it had been destroyed. Beer cans, trash, clothing, CDs, chairs and tables were thrown everywhere. As they made their way through the building looking for a person with a gun, they also noted that all of the emergency doors were open and people were still running all over the place.
After clearing the building several witnesses reportedly told officers that a man they knew as "Dino" had a black handgun and he was firing it into the air. They also allegedly told officers that this man had fired the gun into the air four times, ran across the parking lot and got into a black car and then fired several more shots in the air as he drove off toward Alcovy Road.
Roughly two minutes later officers received a call that the shooter from CWA was at the Waffle House on Alcovy Road with the gun in his hands. Officers hurried to the location, just a few minutes away, and when they arrived they noticed that several of the people that had fled from City Pond were at the restaurant and began to detain them. While doing this, officers also reportedly noticed a man matching the description of the suspect walking out from behind Waffle House and attempting to enter the eatery. Officers detained the man and began to check the area behind the restaurant and it was there that the allegedly located a black handgun that matched the description as the one that had been fired at the CWA building earlier. The gun was reportedly found at the fence between Waffle House and Best Western Hotel and was identified as a .45 caliber High Point.
A witness allegedly identified the man in custody as the same one that had fired a gun at the CWA building. A search of the man's person reportedly revealed several condoms, some hair product, and three packages of "Extense" male enhancement pills. He had no identification on him, according to reports, and when officers asked his name the man refused to give it, allegedly using colorful language to do so. He was asked several more times for his name according to reports, but continued to refuse to cooperate with officers, using several obscenities.
The man was informed that he would be fingerprinted when transported to the Newton County Detention Center but he reportedly continued to refuse to tell officers his name and "continued his barrage of expletives."
He was transported to the jail where he was charged with reckless conduct, obstruction and battery. He was initially booked in as a John Doe but he was later found to be 21-year-old Sambino Aikens.
A later search of the area around the CWA building allegedly yielded four spent shell casings from a .45 caliber gun.
Drug dealer busted by undercover sting
After receiving several complaints from a concerned citizen, officers from the CPD decided to descend on the area of South Emory Street and Lunsford Circle to try and put a stop to some of the criminal activity described.
The citizen had reportedly told officers that they were concerned about drug buying, pimping and prostitution and allegedly named Willie Lamar Avery as being a person directly involved in the illegal activities in the Happy Hollow and Harristown neighborhoods, generally in the afternoons and evenings on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
On Saturday night, plain clothes officers in an unmarked vehicle were conducting surveillance in the area and noticed Avery standing on a sidewalk, speaking with another man. When the officers drove past, he allegedly began waving his arms and shouting, attempting to flag the undercover officers down. The officers turned the vehicle around and the 44-year-old Avery reportedly walked to their vehicle and said to the officers "what do you need?"
Officers played along, asking for "hard" – street slang for crack cocaine – and Avery allegedly replied "Alright, let me get in the truck." He ran toward the passenger door to get inside but before he could enter the vehicle officers activated their emergency equipment and identified themselves as Covington Police.
Avery allegedly shouted an obscenity which indicted he was surprised and dismayed and fled on foot, according to reports. He was taken into custody after a brief foot chase. A search of his person reportedly yielded an aluminum pipe containing burnt Brillo pad and an off-white substance believed to be crack cocaine.
Avery was transported to the Newton County Detention Center and charged with possession of cocaine. He also had a warrant for arrest for violation of probation.
