Dougherty grand jury delivers indictments

ALBANY — A Dougherty County grand jury delivered several indictments Wednesday, including one in which an Albany man was charged with three counts of aggravated assault against peace officers.

The indictment against the defendant William Mark Spence Jr. also included three counts of possession of firearm during commission of a felony and one count of reckless conduct.

The charges stem from a Dec. 17 incident in which Spence allegedly fired a handgun in the direction of officers of the Albany police and Dougherty County police who were attempting to execute a search warrant at his residence on the 3300 block of War Eagle Drive.

Police reports state that following gunshots, the three officers left the location but quickly returned with backup units from the APD, DCPD, Metro Albany-Dougherty SWAT and the Dougherty County Sheriff’s Office. Dougherty County EMS were also present.

According to police, the purpose of the attempted search had been to recover a “bathroom vanity box” allegedly stolen sometime around Dec. 12 from a residence on the 400 block of Cannon Circle, allegedly by Spence’s sister Tiffany Mae Spence and her friend Brittany Dawn Bodiford.

Officials say Spence had left the residence when the officers returned, but was quickly located at the deadend portion of nearby Torrey Pines Lane, where for about two hours he held a handgun to his head, threatening to take his own life. Following a tense period in which APD crisis negotiators talked with him, Spence surrendered his weapon and was taken into custody.

In an unrelated case, Dawayne Lamontrail Anderson was indicted Wednesday on one count of armed robbery, one count of kidnapping, two counts of aggravated assault and four counts of possession of a knife during the commission of a felony.

Greg Edwards, Dougherty County district attorney, said the charges stem from an incident on Dec. 10 in which Anderson and another unidentified individual allegedly forced their way through the back door of a residence on the 1500 block of Gordon Avenue and attacked the occupant, Lenwood Thomas, with a knife.

Prosecutors say that Thomas was stabbed multiple times in the throat and back, but was treated at Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital and survived.

“After stabbing Thomas so many times and taking his money, Anderson left him for dead,” Edwards said. “But the victim survived and described his attackers.”

According to the indictment, the state of Georgia will also seek “recidivist punishment” in consideration of Anderson’s previous convictions for violent crimes, including battery /family violence in Dougherty Superior Court in 2015, battery in State Court of Dougherty County in 2002, and criminal trespass in State Court of Dougherty County in 2000.