Michael Berry

Name:
Berry, Michael Lee Jr

Date of Booking:
07/28/2025

Reason(s) For Booking:
AGGRAVATED ASSAULT

CRIMINAL DAMAGE TO PROPERTY – 1ST DEGREE

CRIMINAL ATTEMPT TO COMMIT A MISDEMEANOR

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 07/25/2025, I, Ofc. K. Dockery was working patrol with the Newnan Police Department when I was dispatched to [REDACTED BY AGENCY] Pinson St, Newnan, GA, about a criminal damage to property call. Coweta County 911 Dispatch provided that they had a female caller advising that [REDACTED BY AGENCY] was setting the yard on fire. It was also provided that the caller stated things like “he threw a bottle on fire through my window”. Upon my arrival, multiple other units on scene had already began to investigate. Also, before my arrival, the offender (Michael Berry Jr) was already placed into custody.

While on scene, I observed the following. There was a beer bottle with a burnt cloth hanging from the bottle neck on the ground next to a broken window. There was a very strong odor of gasoline in the area, and suspected gasoline residue in the area of the bottle. This made it apparent that the bottle was a makeshift incendiary bomb commonly refered to as a “Molotov Cocktail”. While observing the broken window, I noticed that there was a bed next to the interior of the window with broken glass lying on it. This indicated to me that the window was broken from the outside, causing the glass to be pushed inward and onto the bed. These facts together made it aparent that somone threw the Molotov Cocktail at the window in an attempt to light the room on fire.

Due to the nature of the offense, the Newnan Police Deptartment Criminal Investigation Unit was contacted, and Det. S. Leadford and Det. R. Edwards responded to the scene. The scene was cleared of people, and I assisted Ofc. A McKenzie secure the crime scene with tape. We taped off the entire back yard area. After the tape was secured, I began a crime scene log. During the time that the crime scene was secured, there was only one person who entered unauthorized and they were escorted out right after entry. This was documented on the log.

Multiple other officers on the scene spoke with the offender, witnesses, and victims as I maintained security of the scene. [REDACTED BY AGENCY] I never spoke with the involved parties or gathered statements. Ultimately, the investigation was turned over to Det. S. Leadford. Family Violence was established in this case because it was found that the victim [REDACTED BY AGENCY] the offender.

[End of Narrative]