A Putnam County Grand Jury was presented 17 cases on June 15, including aggravated assaults that involved a gun and a knife; fighting with law enforcement officers; stealing vehicles; cruelty to children; and felony shoplifting.
The jurors handed down true-bill indictments in each case.
The 23 grand jurors considered witness testimony and evidence and determined there was sufficient probable cause for each defendant to be formally charged and for the case to proceed to court. An indictment carries no weight on the guilt or innocence of a defendant.
The indictments include:
Adrian Michael Cornejo-Bueno, 36, of East Riverbend Drive, was indicted on felony aggravated assault, attempt to remove a weapon from law enforcement officers, obstruction of law enforcement officers, criminal trespass, and battery.
Cornejo-Bueno reportedly was choking his 62-year-old neighbor on May 21, and the neighbor’s family called 911. Putnam County Deputy Sheriff's Sgt. Justin Brock and Cpl. Chris Donovan responded. Cornejo-Bueno did not cooperate as they tried to talk with him.
Instead, he began punching and kicking both deputies and tried to remove their pistols from their holsters, according to Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills. After Cornejo-Bueno was taken into custody, Donovan went to Putnam General Hospital for X-rays because his face was so swollen he couldn’t open his mouth.
Sammy Wayne Lackey, 23 of Twilight Shores Road, was indicted on one count of felony aggravated assault and one count of misdemeanor terroristic threats.
Lackey was at a house on Friendship Road on May 27 with his girlfriend and other friends. As they were cooking in the kitchen, Lackey became agitated during an argument with his girlfriend and began throwing things. An incident report reveals that Lackey then went outside and threatened to shoot up the house with the revolver that was tucked in the waistband of his pants.
When one of the friends tried to calm him, Lackey pulled out his gun and pointed it at that man’s head. Lackey left the scene when law enforcement was called; he was arrested without incident later that day.
Nicholas Jesus Laguna, 17 of Glenwood Springs Road, was indicted on one count of felony theft by taking a vehicle, two counts of felony entering an automobile, one count of interference with government property, two counts of felony criminal damage to property in the second degree, one count of felony burglary in the second degree, and two counts of misdemeanor contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
Phone calls began coming in to the Eatonton Police Department and Putnam County Sheriff’s Office at 2 a.m. May 27, reporting a 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz was stolen from a residence; two cars had been broken into and items stolen; and the Santa Cruz had been crashed through a fence at the Putnam County Recreation Department and used to do donuts on the ball field.
On May 30, another resident reported that someone broke into their garage and stole their 2020 Can-Am Defender side-by-side UTV, which had also been used for joyriding and donuts, and had later crashed into a tree. A 13-year-old boy, who participated in the incidents with Laguna, was charged as a juvenile, said Eatonton Police Chief Howell Cardwell.
John Warren Yates, 62 of Sunnydale Drive, was indicted on one count of felony terroristic threats and acts, and one count of cruelty to children in the first degree.
Well-known around the City of Eatonton as “Radioman” and frequently seen walking around town visiting with anyone who will talk with him, Yates made his usual stop at McDonald’s on Oak Street on Feb. 3. According to a police report, Yates saw a 12-year-old girl wearing what he thought was his jacket.
Yates reportedly chased the girl around the restaurant and threatened to kill her with a gun if she didn’t give the jacket back to him. When Eatonton Police Officer Dillon Waldroup arrived, the girl was visibly upset and crying too hard to speak with him, who noted in his report that the jacket she was wearing was child-sized and much too small for Yates.
When Waldroup talked to Yates outside the restaurant, Yates said he had a Taser on him and gave it to the officer. After speaking with the girl, the witnesses inside the restaurant, and Yates, Waldroup arrested Yates.
Kennedy Mona Humphries is accused of one count of aggravated assault with an unknown sharp object against a female victim on Jan. 1, 2026.
Joshua Gregory Yarber is accused of one count of aggravated assault with a knife under the Georgia Family Violence Act. The crime reportedly occurred on Nov. 29, 2025.
William Michael “Mike” Stowe is accused of one count of felony terroristic threats on April 27, and aggravated stalking on May 7.
Garris Trippe Jones III is charged with one count of felony theft by taking a Toyota Prius on April 19.
Herbin Perez Esquivel is accused of two counts of felony fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer, one count of interference with government property, one count of misdemeanor obstruction of an officer, and one count of driving without a license on April 25.
Tyah Angeliche Culp is formally charged with one count of battery for hitting a person in the face on April 1; two counts of felony obstruction of an officer for hitting and/or pushing Putnam County Sheriff’s jailers Sabrina Booth and Jon Williams on May 13; and three counts misdemeanor obstruction of an officer for refusing to comply with Lt. Tracey Pitocchelli, jailer Sabrina Booth, and Deputy Mark Adams on April 24.
Lakika Resonjia Culp is charged with two counts of felony theft by shoplifting and two counts of misdemeanor theft by shoplifting. Culp, who worked at Walmart in Eatonton at the time, reportedly scanned and paid for lower-priced items in Walmart’s self-checkout in the place of some higher-priced items that she walked out of the store with on various days in May and June 2025.
Jatavious “Javious” Tanario Griswald is charged with three counts of felony fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer, one count of driving while license suspended. On Dec. 24, 2025, Griswald did not pull over for a traffic stop by GSP Trooper Michael Screws and reportedly sped recklessly away, failed to stay in his lane, and drove under the influence of marijuana.
Oswuar Hernandez-Granillo is accused of two felony counts of fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer, one count of simple battery family, one count of violating a family violence order, and two counts of misdemeanor obstruction of an officer on March 12. The grand jurors chose not to indict him on one count of felony crossing the guard line with marijuana.
Trabian Deandre Pass, aka Trabian Deandre Clark, is accused of one count of felony theft by receiving stolen property, two counts of fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer, and one count of driving while license suspended on May 18.
Quintavius Parks is indicted on two counts of felony obstruction of an officer on Feb. 28, and two counts of simple battery on Feb. 11 and April 21.
Eric Lavar Roberson is indicted on one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Dwytarius Davion Sanders is charged with misdemeanor possession of marijuana more than one ounce, misdemeanor obstruction of a police officer, and possession of drug-related objects on March 9.
Laura Lee Sanders was indicted for possession of drug-related objects and possession of marijuana less than one ounce on March 9.