GCSPD: Nobody hurt after car smashes into concrete pole
GREEN COVE SPRINGS – Although it tied up east- and westbound traffic for more than an hour, nobody was injured when a car ran off Idlewild Avenue (State Road 16) at Robert Street on Monday near the old Florida Department of Health-Clay building.
The car hit head-on with a concrete utility pole, snapping the pole in half and on top of the car.

Jailed Clay County man now faces six child sexual abuse charges in Maryland

GREEN COVE SPRINGS – A man already in the Clay County Jail facing charges of stealing lottery tickets from his place job, now faces
Damion Keonte Scurry, 21, of Green Cove Springs, had six fugitive from justice charges for sexually abusing children added to him on Aug. 22 after he was arrested on June 18 for fraudulently taking lottery tickets from a gas station on Blanding Boulevard.
According to the arrest report, Scurry took scratch-off tickets from the store. The owner called the Clay County Sheriff’s Office after he found losing tickets in a garbage can.
An inventory revealed 25 books of tickets valued at $35,000 had been taken in two months. Deputies said Scurry admitted he won about $5,000 on the tickets, according to the arrest report.
A search of National Crime Information Center records then revealed Scurry was wanted in Washington County, Maryland on six charges of sexual abuse of a minor.
Scurry now is in jail without bond.

CCSO: Melrose man busted for trafficking methamphetamine
KEYSTONE HEIGHTS – With the help of a confidential informant, the Clay County Sheriff’s Office arrested a man after he sold methamphetamine to the informant on Feb. 10, the agency said.
Willie Akilshaker Ford, 44, of Melrose, was charged with trafficking methamphetamine, possession of methamphetamine and suboxone and resisting arrest after deputies served a felony warrant at a house on Aug. 17 on Arfman Way in Keystone Heights. In Florida, a suspect is charged with trafficking if they are caught with at least 14 grams of a controlled substance.
According to the arrest report, Ford tried to run away, but he was quickly caught 200 yards from the house.
Ford is expected back in court on Sept. 20. His bond was set at $110,011.

Bond set at $750,000 for man accused of trafficking drugs

ORANGE PARK – A Jacksonville man was jailed on Aug. 21 after he was caught with drugs by deputies who were investigating a possible break-in.
Antonyo James Hatch, 40, was charged with two counts each of trafficking methamphetamine, amphetamine and fentanyl, possession of marijuana and synthetic narcotics and the use of a cellphone to facilitate a felony after the Clay County Sheriff’s Office pulled him over on Blanding Boulevard after a neighbor said two people had broken into a house on Charles Pinckney Street. The neighbor said it appeared to be a couple who recently was evicted.
A deputy spotted the car as it left the neighborhood and Hatch eventually pulled over at Blanding and Constitution Drive. A check revealed Hatch also was wanted in Duval County for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
K-9 Odin alerted deputies to the likely presence of drugs inside the car. They found 7.31 grams of fentanyl, 31.17 grams of methamphetamine and 7.6 grams of marijuana.
Hatch’s bond was set at $750,267

Probation revoked for man
who didn’t pay court costs
ORANGE PARK – A man on probation for leaving a 1-year-old girl alone in a hotel room while he walked to a store to buy beer is back in jail after he didn’t pay $553 in court costs, report to his probation officer and complete a parenting course.
Matthew James Neff, 29, of Middleburg, was arrested on Aug. 21 after the state corrections department revoked his probation.
Neff originally was arrested on Sept. 7, 2020, after he told a hotel security guard and deputies he accidentally locked himself out of his room when he stepped out to smoke while his daughter slept. He said he was locked out of his room, but he refused to show identification to the security guard, who then called the Clay County Sheriff’s Office.
After continually refusing to show an ID, he told deputies he walked to the Wawa store on Blanding Boulevard to call for help. Surveillance footage, however, showed him go directly to the beer cooler, which was locked, and employees said he didn’t ask to use the phone.