The Oconee County Sheriff’s Office reported the following incidents:

HIT AND RUN: On June 18, Deputy Matthew Lariscy responded to a hit-and-run call, where the victim called to report he followed the offender’s vehicle for more than a mile down Georgia Highway 316 before it finally pulled over. The 37-year-old Dacula resident said he was yielding to oncoming traffic when he was hit from behind. The other car then continued on 316. The deputy asked the 31-year-old Athens woman about the collision. She explained the vehicle in front of her was not moving fast enough resulting in her hitting it. The woman did not have a driver’s license, but she assured the officer she planned to get one. She was charged with hit and run and being an unlicensed driver.

SHOPLIFTING CASE: On June 19, Deputy Jonathan Strum was dispatched to Dick’s Sporting Goods, where two women had shoplifted almost $2,000 worth of goods including 10 pairs of Nike shorts, 40 Nike ball caps, and a Nike sweatshirt. The thieves fled in a BMW X3 SUV. Investigator Matt Pilcher obtained surveillance camera footage of the BMW and determined it was registered to a woman who was already wanted on warrants from Barrow and DeKalb counties for shoplifting and larceny. Later that day, Cpl. Dylan Pulliam stopped the BMW and arrested the owner, who is also a suspect in the sporting goods theft. He also arrested the male passenger, a 46-year-old man, who was wanted on a probation violation warrant from Morgan County. The second shoplifting suspect was not apprehended that day. The stolen merchandise was no longer in the BMW.

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DRUNK DRIVING: On June 20, Deputy Bill Reynolds responded about 9:20 p.m. to a disorderly person who had left a home in Watkinsville and was traveling out Hog Mountain Road in a Chevrolet Silverado. The deputy spotted the pickup and began following it. The pickup accelerated and after it crossed a fog line, the deputy made a traffic stop. The deputy asked the 33-year-old Bogart man how much he drank as the driver smelled of alcohol. “Nothing,” the man replied with slurred speech. The man refused any sobriety tests. He also complained that “there used to be a time where y’all just followed us home.” The man was uncooperative at the jail, where he made racial insults and called the officer a “terrorist.” Due to his unruly behavior, he was restrained in a chair and booked for DUI and obstruction. And his driver’s license was confiscated.

PASSED OUT: On June 20, Deputy Robert Perrin was dispatched to Barnett Shoals Road, where an Arnoldsville man reported a man was passed out in a 2019 Cadillac that was stopped in the roadway. His efforts to wake the man by yelling and honking a horn failed. The deputy also knocked on the window, but couldn’t wake the man. He then used his Lock-Jock to unlock the door. The officer used sternum rubs to finally wake the man. The 43-year-old resident of Lenoir, North Carolina, admitted he had a “few drinks.” He refused sobriety tests offered by Perrin. However, when Cpl. Baer Schiffer offered the tests, he accepted. He refused a blood test. He was taken to jail on a DUI charge and having an open container.

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BLOODSHOT EYES: On June 21, Deputy Doug Mattocks was dispatched at 8:40 p.m. to a reckless driver report in the Epps Bridge Parkway area. He spotted the 2008 Mazda CX7 cross the yellow center line causing oncoming traffic to swerve and slam on brakes to avoid a collision. The vehicle turned onto Jordan Drive and a traffic stop was made. The 37-year-old Athens man had a strong odor of alcohol and red, bloodshot eyes. His license was already suspended for DUI and a super speeder conviction. The man said he drank four to six beers, but he refused to do any roadside sobriety testing. An almost empty bottle of scotch was found in the vehicle along with some empty beer cans. He was taken to jail on the DUI charge.

UNSAFE DRIVER: On June 21, Sgt. Daniel Ellis was dispatched to a domestic problem reported on Hog Mountain Road. He arrived to find a young woman walking along the road followed by a car driven by a woman. He could hear the women arguing and the young woman told the officer she didn’t want to ride in the car with her mother. The 41-year-old driver smelled of alcohol and claimed she had one drink. However, during questioning she admitted it was not safe for her to drive. She was taken to jail on a DUI charge.

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Oconee Blotter: Driver found passed out in car blocking the roadway