A Macon man who reportedly fired a gun in front of a Putnam County deputy’s home was arrested and is being held in Putnam County Jail. It was later learned the man has “an extensive criminal history.”
Putnam County Sheriff’s Sgt. James Barbee called 911 on May 29, after hearing gunshots outside of his home. When he looked out the window, he saw a black Toyota Tacoma pulling a Sea-Doo turning onto Twin Bridges Road.
A family member told him that they also heard gunshots and looked out the window. The family member said they saw a man standing outside the driver’s side of the truck, firing a pistol in the direction of the road. The man then got back into the driver’s seat of the black Toyota truck and drove away according to a report by Deputy Hollie Collins.
Barbee got in his vehicle and followed the truck until it turned onto Gray Road, heading towards Jones County, and Jones County Sheriff’s Office was notified to be on the lookout for the Tacoma. Barbee returned to his home and noticed numerous 9mm casings on the road in front of his house.
Shortly afterward, Jones County Sheriff’s Sgt. Matthew Dennis notified PCSO that he had the truck and driver pulled over on the Eatonton Highway in Gray, and Deputy Collins went there.
According to Collins’ report, Dennis told her when he pulled the Toyota Tacoma over, he smelled the odor of alcohol coming from the driver’s person.
The driver was identified as Dobbin Evans. His girlfriend, her children and another person were passengers in the vehicle. Sgt. Dennis reportedly learned that Evans is a convicted felon on active probation. When he confronted Evans with that information, Evans became irate, and Dennis placed Evans in the back of his patrol vehicle.
Searching Evans’ vehicle, Dennis and Collins found an unloaded Glock G43X 9mm automatic pistol under the driver’s seat, and a fully loaded Smith & Wesson .44 Magnum in the glove compartment. The deputies also found a jar of green, leafy marijuana and a box of .44 bullets in the center console.
Dobbin Dwayne Evans, 51, of Lawrence Drive, Macon, is charged with discharging a firearm on a public highway, discharging a firearm while under the influence of alcohol/drugs, two counts of possession of firearms by a convicted felon, reckless conduct, and possession of marijuana less than one ounce.
Collins also spoke with Evans’ girlfriend, “and she advised no one had fired a gun,” Collins wrote in her report. “While speaking to (her), Evans was screaming from the patrol vehicle, ‘Don’t tell them anything!’” The girlfriend then refused to speak anymore and when the other adult passenger was questioned, they said “They didn’t hear anyone shoot a gun.”
Meanwhile, the Sea-Doo did not have any registration numbers on it, so a search of the Vehicle Identification Number revealed it did belong to Evans, but the Toyota truck belonged to his employer, a plumbing contractor in Macon.
Deputy Collins noted in her report that when she went to inform Evans of his charges, she smelled alcoholic beverages coming from him.
“Evans stated I was wrong, and he would see me in court,” Collins wrote.
When Putnam County Sheriff’s Sgt. Charles Riley arrived to transport Evans to Putnam County Sheriff’s Office, Evans reportedly had poor balance as he walked to Riley’s patrol vehicle. During his walk, Evans reportedly told Riley that his girlfriend had fired the gunshots and that the pistols belonged to her. The entire encounter was captured on the deputy’s body camera.
The next day, Evans’ girlfriend called Putnam County Sheriff’s Office and told Chief Deputy Col. Russell Blenk that she had fired the gunshots and she was shooting at a rattlesnake, according to Blenk’s report.
Investigation revealed Evans has “an extensive criminal history with several prior federal convictions,” Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills said.
Those prior convictions include obtaining firearms while under indictment, commissioning a crime while out on bond, distributing cocaine, and aggravated assault with a firearm. Evans is currently on probation in Monroe County for prior convictions of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and aggravated assault.
Evans was denied bond by Chief Magistrate Dorothy Adams at his first appearance hearing. Evans’ attorney appealed the denial to Putnam County Superior Court, where Senior Judge William Prior upheld the bond denial.
“Bottom line, you are not coming to Putnam County and indiscriminately shooting up our community,” Sills concluded in an email.