A man accused of sexually assaulting a 95-year-old woman with dementia had his bond set at a preliminary hearing today.
James Robert Suggs is charged with two counts of first-degree rape on the grounds that the victim was mentally incapable of consenting. Suggs was initially arrested on November 4, 2024, and he has been in the Houston County Jail since then.
Houston County Sheriff’s Cpl. Brandon Barnes said the matter was brought to law enforcement’s attention when someone the elderly victim trusted who checked on her daily was at first unable to reach the victim. When the caretaker finally reached the victim, the victim said she was concerned she may be pregnant.
Barnes said forensic data showed strong evidence Suggs’s DNA was present in samples taken while the victim was being treated at the hospital.
In an interview with Suggs, Barnes said the accused claimed he had gone to the victim’s house to introduce himself and ended up taking her fishing; they had been neighbors separated by two or three houses in Cottonwood for a few years.
Suggs said in the interview there had been sexual contact while they were together on a golf cart before entering her home and once again having sexual contact with her.
Barnes said the victim had to remove her diaper during the assault; when Barnes pressed Suggs on why he would want to have sex with someone who had to remove a diaper, Suggs admitted he had been drinking.
Barnes testified Suggs later said his actions were a mistake.
Barnes said the victim had been diagnosed with dementia and onset of Alzheimer’s in 2016.
The defense attorney, Christopher Sledge, called the victim to the stand.
Sledge initially appeared to press the notion it was possible the victim could have consented, as she cooks and cleans for herself and lives alone. The victim mistakenly said she was older than she was, and she occasionally seemed to struggle to remember some names, but she testified that she was doing well.
The victim said she had seen Suggs riding around in her neighborhood and didn’t recognize him, but she soon found out he was the brother of her landlady, who she said she knew and trusted; he invited her to go fishing.
The victim said Suggs “got a little rough with her in the woods.”
When he dropped her back at her house, the victim said she invited him in, as he said he wanted to see the house.
When they reached the back bedroom, the victim said that was where Suggs made “the second attack” on her.
“I personally felt that it was safer to go along than to resist because he was much stronger than I would be physically,” the victim testified. “I knew that was safer than fighting him.”
She insisted she made no indication she wanted to engage with Suggs sexually.
Suggs had not had an Aniah’s Law hearing, and he had been held with no bond.
Judge Spencer Danzey set Suggs’s bond at $250,000 per charge. Houston County District Judge Benjamin Lewis was originally supposed to preside over the case, but he recused himself.
Although his bond was set, a bondsman is unable to make a bond over $150,000; in order for him to be released on bond, he would either need to pay $500,000 cash (the total for both counts’ bonds) or provide a property bond free of liens worth a million dollars.
Michael Miller, the late owner of the Recovery Room Bar, was a music lover, but he also loved people — and he loved helping where he could.
The Wiregrass Area Food Bank accepted an incredible donation of funds raised at the first-ever Michael Miller Memorial Jam for Food.
Thanks to the generous efforts of over 40 local musicians, countless volunteers, and a supportive community, a donation of $11,000 will provide over 95,000 meals for those in need.
Miller, who passed away in January, was instrumental in providing more than 319,000 meals to the Food Bank through his “Jam for Food” events he held at his bar over the past decade.
In tribute to Miller’s unwavering dedication to fighting hunger in the Wiregrass, his friends formed a committee to carry on his legacy and continue providing for those who need it.
Gina Burdeshaw, a teacher at Dothan High School, and Jay Shinn, the owner of Annie Pearl’s Home Cooking, visited the Food Bank this afternoon to present the donation. They were two of the group of Miller’s friends who hatched the idea to continue his legacy by holding another Jam for Food.
They came up with the idea shortly after his death while they toasted his memory.
“By the third or fourth drink, we had a plan,” Shinn said.
Burdeshaw said Miller was an incredible person whose friendliness was second to none.
“Everybody thought they were Michael Miller’s best friend, because he made you feel that way,” Burdeshaw said.
“He never met a stranger,” Shinn said.
“We knew his love was the Food Bank,” Burdeshaw said. “He was constantly thinking about it.”
Shinn echoed that — “It’s just something he loved.”
Burdeshaw said before his death Miller excitedly showed her materials for another Jam for Food he’d wanted to put on.
Julie Gonzalez, the Food Bank assistant director, said Miller would show up with donations — even during Covid, when his bar was closed and he didn’t have much income — and always express how he wished he could bring more.
The Elks Lodge was filled out this past Sunday from the come-and-go event, with at least 500 people stopping in.
Burdeshaw said she had a $10,000 goal in mind for the Jam for Food.
“When we hit it, it was an emotional high,” she said.
Gonzalez was moved while counting the donation.
“I think it’s amazing to see Michael’s friends come together in this way to pay tribute to his legacy of taking care of people,” she said. “I think it just goes to show that there are still a lot of good people in the world. All of this is because one man had a big heart and wanted to take care of the people around him, and it just caused this ripple effect throughout the community.”
Miller’s legacy will continue — the Michael Miller Memorial Jam for Food will be a yearly event.
Burdeshaw and Shinn emphasized how thankful they were to the Elks Lodge; the people who donated auction items, time, money, and food; and the musicians who “kept the party going until the end.”
If you want to provide auction items or any help at all for next year’s Michael Miller Memorial Jam for Food, you can message the Recovery Room Bar Facebook page.
To donate to the Food Bank, Annie Pearl’s Home Cooking serves as a drop-off point, but you can bring food items and monetary donations to the Food Bank as well. You can also donate online.
Over 43,000 people in the Wiregrass go to bed every night now knowing if they’ll be able to eat the next day — that’s 1 in 6 people of our neighbors and friends, Gonzalez said.
But the statistic has an upside: it means there’s 5 in 6 people who can help, and you can be one of them.
A Dothan man is accused of stealing over $350,000 from a retiree who contracted him to build her home.
Scott Alexander Sanders, 52, faces grand theft charges.
He owns Tatum and Associates, Inc., in Marianna, and investigators claim he was hired to build a home but took over $350,000, failing to complete the construction and cutting ties with the victim in late 2023.
Sanders is being held in the Bay County Jail. The investigation is ongoing.
Water World has a number of positions already open for summer — if you know you’ll need employment in the summer months, it’s a great option, especially for teachers!
Many concessions and lifeguarding spots are open, with pay ranging from $12/hour to over $20/hour, depending on the position and level.
