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Murder trials dates to be set
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Amber Pittman
Published: Sep 22, 2012, 8:51 PM
The deaths of Andrew Nichols and Ketitra Jones may have happened months, and for Nichols, years ago, but those charged in their cases are still making their way through the court system. Sam Dumas Dawkins, Robert Vincent Lambert, Michael Scott West and Chad Ashley Allen Charged with the 2009 murder of Andrew Nichols, Dawkins, Lambert, West and Allen have all joined issue and will be tried together. According to investigators, Nichols was taken from the area of Ivy Street in Porterdale and transported to Dawkins' home on Deer Trail in Oxford.
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April 3 crash kills two young adults, injures third
Newton County Sheriff Car---WEB
Kate Verity
Published: Apr 4, 2025, 10:29 PM

NEWTON COUNTY — Around 10 a.m. on Thursday, a head-on collision on Highway 212 left two young adults dead and a third hospitalized.

Joe Navarro, 21, was driving the vehicle and Breanna Smith, 18, was in the passenger seat. Katie New, 20, sat between them.

According to the Newton County Sheriff’s Office, the vehicle lost control while going around a curve and crossed the centerline, where it collided head-on with a box truck. The crash report shows that their vehicle traveled another hundred feet after impact before coming to a stop. It spun, ended up facing the opposite direction on the shoulder of the opposite lane.

Navarro and Smith were pronounced dead at the scene of the accident. New was airlifted to Grady Hospital. Her current condition is not known. 

Navarro, Smith and New were not believed to be wearing seatbelts when the collision occurred.

The driver of the box truck was not reported to have suffered any injuries.

This is an ongoing story. The News will post updates as they are made available.