Someone fired a shotgun through a house in Macon

Someone fired a shotgun through the window of a south Macon home early Sunday while a family slept inside, according to a Macon police news release.


The incident happened shortly before 3 a.m. on Shea Drive. A 45-year-old woman and two teenagers were awakened by a loud noise, which was followed by the home’s burglar alarm. Police responded to the alarm and found that someone had shot though a kitchen window with birdshot. No one was injured in the incident. Anyone with information about this shooting is encouraged to call Macon police at 751-7500 or Macon Regional CrimeStoppers at (877) 68-CRIME.

Kingstowne West Apartments caught on fire

A fire Monday morning at the Kingstowne West Apartments on Bloomfield Road displaced five families, according to authorities.
The cause of the fire, reported about 10 a.m., is still under investigation. Macon-Bibb County Fire Department officials haven’t been able to talk to the occupant of the apartment where the fire started, District Fire Chief Stephen Stafford said.

One apartment sustained major damage, and four others received smoke and water damage. The American Red Cross met with families on the scene and helped them with immediate needs, including food, clothing and lodging.
Stafford said smoke detectors in the apartments alerted other tenants to the fire.

Braswell accused of Molesting a seven year old

A Bibb County school bus driver has been charged with child molestation after his wife caught him abusing a 7-year-old girl Sunday, the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office reported.


Ernest Braswell III, of a Lochwold Drive address, is being held at the Bibb County jail in lieu of a $5,700 bond, according to jail records.

Braswell, 57, left the scene in his vehicle after the incident. Deputies arrested him later Sunday after he returned home, according to the sheriff’s office.


Braswell has been employed off and on with the Bibb County school system since 2000 as both a custodian and a bus driver, system spokesman Chris Floore said.
“We took immediate action as soon as we heard” about the allegation, he said. “We have to look out for the safety of our students first and foremost.”

Floore said Braswell was terminated from his position with the school system Monday.
Most recently, he had been driving a bus route and picking up students who attend Morgan Elementary, Weaver Middle and Westside High.
Floore said all school system employees undergo state and national background checks as part of the hiring process.
“His background check came back without any arrests,” Floore said of Braswell.
While deputies are continuing to investigate the case, they say they haven’t identified any additional victims.
“As far as we know, it’s just that one,” said Sgt. Sean DeFoe, a sheriff’s office spokesman.
A phone message left at the Braswells’ home was not returned Monday.