The parapro who was fired by the Tift County Board of Education, the man who was accused of shooting TPD officer Eddie Bailey and the man who was charged with the murder of Alisha Carol Lewis were all indicted during the March term of the Tift County Grand Jury. On Monday, the Grand Jury handed down 98 true bills of indictment.

The paraprofessional fired by the Tift County Board of Education in March after being accused of biting a young student at Len Lastinger Primary School has been indicted on charges of making terroristic threats. Vivian Hightower was originally charged with aggravated assault in the April 15, 2006 case. According to the indictment, Hightower “threatened to commit the crime of aggravated assault, a crime of violence, with the purpose of terrorizing Lanina Howard, when she waived a machete at her and said, ‘I’m gonna get you b------!’”

James Scott Lewis was indicted for malice murder. The indictment alleges that on Feb. 25, 2008, Lewis murdered Alisha Carol Lewis by choking her to death. According to the incident report filed by the Tift County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to a 911 call from Lewis, who stated he thought he had killed his wife by choking her. The incident happened at the Lewis home on Connell-Ray Road.

Curtis Jermaine Akins was indicted for aggravated assault on a peace officer. The indictment alleges that on April 19, 2008, Akins assaulted Tifton Police Department officer Eddie Bailey by shooting him with a handgun.

The 39-year-old Tifton police officer was shot in the neck while on patrol and checking property at the Sun Mart convenience store on South Central Avenue on that Saturday evening. He observed a person wearing a mask in the alley behind Willis Country Meats and as he began driving towards that person a man, believed to be Akins, approached his patrol car and fired one shot into the patrol car through the passenger’s side. The bullet struck Bailey in the neck.

Other indictments handed down by the Grand Jury included:

• Sharod Demon Bateman and Justin Ewing for armed robbery.

• Tracy Dewayne Carr and Robert Anthony Simpson for two counts of burglary, four counts of theft by taking, four counts of theft by taking/misdemeanor, one count entering an automobile with intent to commit theft and one count of attempt to commit a felony.

• William David Smith for sex offender registry violation.

• Thomas Isaac Futch for three counts of aggravated assault.

• Joshua Conner for four counts of aggravated child molestation.

• Artemio Luis Sanchez for four counts of child molestation, one count of statutory rape, one count of aggravated child molestation and one count of aggravated sodomy.

• Kaylee Nebraska Basso and Brett Ashley Moser for two counts of forgery in the first degree.

• Patrick Lamar Mack for one count of rape, three counts of child molestation, one count of incest, one count of aggravated sodomy and one count of aggravated child molestation.

• Jacquelyn Snead Gordon for one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and one count of battery/family violence.