Athens Crime Blotter — Drunk Drivers on Child-sized Motorbikes and Loan-initiated Cell Phone Thefts

An Athens man was arrested and charged with DUI Wednesday morning while driving a child-sized motorbike, according to an Athens-Clarke County Police report. 

Police stopped Charles Barrow III, 32, after the officer noticed him driving a small motorbike with no lights down Lexington Road at about 2 a.m. When the officer approached Barrow, he "immediately began to say he did not know he could not ride the bike" and that he was just riding to the store. B

arrow said the bike belonged to his son, and that although on previous trips he had driven the bike on the sidewalk he was unable to do so that night because of construction taking place near the GA-10 Loop. 

When the officer told Barrow that it was dangerous for him to drive without lights Barrow said he didn't think about that and that he just wanted some Black & Mild cigars from the store. The officer noticed Barrow's eyes were glassy and that a strong alcoholic odor was coming from Barrow's breath.

When asked, Barrow said he had three 22-ounce Keystone Light beers at his house in Town View, starting at about 9 p.m. He said the last beer had been consumed about an hour before, although he was unsure what time it was. Barrow consented to sobriety tests, saying that "he was excited to do the tests because he had seen them done before and wanted to see if he could pass them."

Barrow displayed signs of intoxication during several of the tests. After completing the field sobriety tests, the officer asked Barrow to provide a breath sample, the result of which was a blood-alcohol content of 0.111. An information check also showed Barrow was unlicensed, according to the report.

Barrow was arrested and charged with DUI, driving without a valid license and driving without headlights. He was transported to the Clarke County Jail. 

An Athens woman stole an acquaintence's cell phone Wednesday morning after the acquaintance failed to pay back $30, according to an Athens-Clarke County Police report. 

A Riverview Apartment resident told police that she had met Hillary Thompson, 46, the week before through a mutual friend. She said she had told Thompson she didn't have enough money to pay her cable bill and buy her child diapers, at which point Thompson offered to loan her $50. After telling Thompson that was too much money, Thompson loaned her $30, which the woman said she received over a period of two days. 

When the Riverview resident declined Thompson's request to pay back the money Wednesday at about 1 a.m., Thompson came over to get her money. After asking for the money repeatedly, Thompson reportedly began pushing her way inside the residence, "demanding to get her money back." The two women struggled both inside and outside the apartment, afterwhich Thompson grabbed the woman's phone and left in her own vehicle.

Officers later stopped Thompson at an undisclosed location. Thompson was arrested, charged with theft by taking and barred from the woman's apartment for two years. While officers transported Thompson to jail, Thompson said she did not have the stolen cell phone and would not give it back "until she got her $30 back."