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St. Marys city councilman jailed on battery charge

Published on May 22, 2023 at 10:40 am

A 71-year-old city councilman from St. Marys, Georgia, was arrested on Friday after officers were called to his late father’s home, according to the arrest report.

Artie Jones Jr. was charged with battery and booked into the Camden County Jail. He was released later Friday morning on bail, jail records said.

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The St. Marys Police Department asked the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to look into the incident, which was termed “a fight between family members,” according to its news release.

Jones is a St. Marys native and U.S. Army veteran who worked at St. Marys Railroad and ran child care centers before his election to the Camden County Commission from 1979 to 1996. He was reelected to the City Council in November.

The arrest report states that Jones was at his late father’s home on May 4 when an argument occurred with his sister. Jones claimed he wanted a generator returned to him, but his sister said it was not his since it was bought with their fathers’ money, the report said.

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Artie started to get more upset and that is when the argument started to get worse,” the report said.

“(The sister) stated that Artie then shoved her causing her to fall into a chair,” the report said. “(The sister) said that she got up out of the chair and punched him in self-defense.”

The sister said she was shoved back into the chair again before a hand grabbed her neck. The sister said she punched Jones again, and “he punched her at least five or six times,” the report said. Another family member broke up the incident, and Jones drove away.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s Kingsland Office at (912) 729-6198.


author image Reporter, WJCT News 89.9 Dan Scanlan is a veteran journalist with almost 40 years of experience in radio, television, and print reporting. He has worked at various stations in the Northeast and Jacksonville. Prior to joining the WJCT News team, Dan spent 34 years at The Florida Times-Union as a police and current affairs reporter.
author image Reporter, WJCT News 89.9 Dan Scanlan is a veteran journalist with almost 40 years of experience in radio, television, and print reporting. He has worked at various stations in the Northeast and Jacksonville. Prior to joining the WJCT News team, Dan spent 34 years at The Florida Times-Union as a police and current affairs reporter.