Tonya Caldwell

Name:
Caldwell, Tonya Michelle

Date of Booking:
12/31/2022

Reason(s) For Booking:
CRUELTY TO CHILDREN – 3RD DEGREE ALLOW CHILD TO WITNESS CRIME OR FVA

SIMPLE BATTERY – FAMILY VIOLENCE ACT

Officer’s Narrative:
[Please note: The following is a direct transcription from the official initial incident report. The Georgia Gazette does not fix any spelling or grammatical errors that may exist. Any changes or redactions made by our staff are placed inside brackets. Some errors may exist. All subjects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The topics discussed may be sensitive to some readers. Discretion is advised.]

On 12/31/2022 Cpl. Blackmon was dispatched to [200 BLOCK] Dry Valley Road in reference to a physical domestic between a male and female. Upon arrival Cpl. Blackmon made contact with Ray Caldwell Sr, Ray Caldwell Jr, Tonya Caldwell, Ray Caldwell Sr’s wife, and three juvenile children.

Upon arrival everyone on scene was screaming at one another and at Cpl. Blackmon. Cpl. Blackmon immediately noticed that Tonya was bleeding from her nose and mouth. Cpl. Blackmon was attempting to speak with everyone on scene, but all subjects were still yelling and talking at the same time. Ray Caldwell Jr then approached Cpl. Blackmon and told him he was going to listen to him, but at that time everyone was still yelling including Ray Jr. Cpl. Blackmon was attempting to tell everyone to stop yelling and talking at the same time, because he could only listen to one person at a time.

At that time Ray Jr. approached Cpl. Blackmon in a very aggressive manner with his fist balled up. He then bowed his chest out and continued to approach Cpl. Blackmon. At this time Ray Sr put his elbow on Cpl. Blackmon’s chest attempting to separate him from Ray Jr. Ray Jr again came at Cpl. Blackmon with his fist balled up appearing he was going to hit Cpl. Blackmon.

At that time Cpl. Blackmon grabbed Ray Jr and told him to put his hands behind his back. Ray Jr immediately began to resist and failed to comply with verbal commands. Cpl. Blackmon and Ray Jr then went to the ground where Cpl. Blackmon was able to gain control of Ray Jr’s hands and placed him into cuffs. During this time Ray Sr grabbed Cpl. Blackmon and attempted to pull him off of Ray Jr. At that time Cpl. Blackmon removed his Taser and advised Ray Sr to get back.

At this time Officer Goins and Officer Himm from the Summerville Police Department arrived on scene. After Cpl. Blackmon placed Ray Jr into cuffs, he then gave Ray Sr commands to put his hands behind his back. Ray Sr failed to comply with verbal commands and refused to give his hands up. Eventually Cpl. Blackmon was able to gain control of Ray Sr and place him into hand cuffs. Ray Sr stated he was having a heart attack at that time, so Cpl. Blackmon called for EMS to check him out.

Cpl. Blackmon the spoke with Tonya who stated that while inside of the residence she and Ray Jr got into a physical altercation. Tonya stated that he hit her in the back of the head with something and she turned around and slapped him. She stated that their fourteen year old son, [REDACTED BY AGENCY] then got involved and Ray Jr hit and pushed him. Tonya stated she then attempted to stop Ray Jr from hitting their son, and he elbowed her in the face busting her nose and mouth.

Cpl. Blackmon then spoke with [REDACTED BY AGENCY] who stated that he was tired of being hit by his dad, and was tired of his dad hitting him mom. [REDACTED BY AGENCY] stated that he was trying to keep them from fighting when his dad pushed him against the bathtub hurting his finger. Cpl. Blackmon then spoke with the other two juvenile children who stated they witnessed the altercation.

Cpl. Blackmon then spoke with Ray Jr who stated that his wife had hit him with something, and that was what caused the altercation. He also stated that he did strike his wife, but that his son had stabbed him with something. Cpl. Blackmon then observed two small marks on Ray Jr’s left arm that appeared to be finger nail marks.

EMS arrived on scene and cleared Ray Sr. Cpl. Blackmon then contacted DFACS for the children. Chattooga County DFACS arrived on scene and made a safety plan for the children. The children were released to Tonya’s mother. After speaking with everyone on scene Ray Sr, Ray Jr, and Tonya were all placed under arrest and transported to the Chattooga County Jail.

[End of Narrative]