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Police briefs 4/11/19

Clay County Sheriff's Office
Posted 4/10/19

Citizens’ alert leads to fourth DUI arrest for Green Cove Springs woman MIDDLEBURG – Concerned citizens alerted the Clay County Sheriff’s Office of a woman seeing swerving while …

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Police briefs 4/11/19


Posted

Citizens’ alert leads to fourth DUI arrest for Green Cove Springs woman

MIDDLEBURG – Concerned citizens alerted the Clay County Sheriff’s Office of a woman seeing swerving while driving northbound on Blanding Boulevard on April 3, then falling asleep at a traffic light with three children in the back seat.
Moments later, Victoria Ann Podhany, 30, of Green Cove Springs was on her way to jail after being charged with driving under the influence and without a valid driver’s license.
According to deputies, it was the fourth time Podhany had been arrested for DUI and the third time she’s been caught driving with a suspended or revoked license.
At least two residents reached out to CCSO with concerns. Deputies conducted a field sobriety test and determined she acted as if she was intoxicated. Two different breathalyzer tests revealed blood alcohol concentration levels of .206 and .212 – more than two times the legal limit of .08.
The children were released to her boyfriend’s grandmother.

Orange Park man charged with choking, punching his girlfriend at hotel

ORANGE PARK – An argument over a telephone call ended with a man being charged with choking and punching his girlfriend, CCSO said.
Deputies were called to the In-Town Suites at 442 Blanding Blvd. after someone heard a woman screaming for help. The found the victim in the parking lot. She said her boyfriend, Ward Moore Corbett, 26, was mad because she was on the phone. He eventually put his hands around her throat, spit on her and punched her with a closed fist, according to the arrest warrant.
Corbett was charged with felony battery and domestic battery by strangulation.
His bond was set at $25,003.

Community outrage, pressure force registered sex predator to move

ORANGE PARK – Concerned parents apparently applied enough pressure to force a registered sexual predator away from three schools.
Bruce Granai Jr., 57, was living on Brookwood Road, directly across from Lakeside Junior High on Moody road. Lakeside Elementary and St. Johns Country Day School are nearby. He moved out, Clay County Sheriff’s Office reported on Tuesday.
Granai was convicted in 1995 of sexual battery on a child younger than 12 and lewd and lascivious acts on a child younger than 16, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
CCSO said it was helpless in keeping Granai from living on Brookwood Road since according to Florida law, there are no residency restrictions for those convicted of a sexual crime before October 2004.
"So because of Florida Statute 775.215, I believe 2C, he is allowed to live basically anywhere he chooses due to the fact that the residency restrictions, which most people know as the 1,000-foot rule of residing around schools, day cares and so forth, because his conviction was before October 2004," CCSO spokesman Chris Padgett said. "The residency restrictions do not apply to him.”
Granai apparently grew weary of the attention.
“We have confirmed that the sexual predator residing across from the schools has vacated the home from being his residence,” Padgett said late Tuesday.
Granai now lives on Miller Street in Orange Park, according to the FDLE’s list of registered sexual predators.

Orange Park man faces charges following drug buy sting

ORANGE PARK – Authorities arrested a man after they said he sold cocaine and methamphetamine to a confidential source.
According to the Clay County Sheriff’s Office, Bryan Lee Maynard, 31, sold the drugs to their source while they watched outside his home.
According to Records Management Systems, Maynard’s address has been known for “various drug related incidents involving the defendant as far back as 2016.”
His bond was set at $175,009.

Middleburg man busted with drugs after refusing to dim bright lights

MIDDLEBURG – A man was arrested April 8 and charged with possessing methamphetamine, marijuana and drug paraphernalia after Clay County Sheriff’s deputies saw him continually run into the curb and refused to dim his bright lights along Blanding Boulevard.
Douglas Burttron Morgan, 47, also was charged with driving with a suspended license.
Deputies reported seeing Morgan “strike the curb several times” and for refusing to dim his bright lights last Monday night. A department K9 alerted deputies to drugs, which were found in a plastic bag hidden under the driver’s seat.
A subsequent search also found Morgan’s license had been revoked or suspended 10 times since 2017. He’s also been charged twice with being a habitual traffic violator.