Courtney Cirou

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Name:
Cirou, Courtney

Date of Booking:
12/13/2025

Reason(s) For Booking:
DISORDERLY CONDUCT

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.]

[NARRATIVE #1 on December 13, 2025]

While investigating a fight in progress at Wire Park (1725 Electric Avenue), an additional fight broke out. It was discovered the details of the original call, was the reason the second fight broke out.

The details for the first fight: a group of older children, approximately 13 years-old, were supposedly picking on a younger child that had a mental health disorder. An adult female approached the group of teens, and began cussing at them. Another, unrelated, female stepped in and confronted the agitated female, asking her not to cuss at the children. An argument ensued, a fight broke out, but it was undetermined exactly what happened. All parties involved in that altercation were trespassed from the property and left the scene.

Before law enforcement was able to leave the scene, a second fight broke out. According to, Samantha Rhodes, she and her friend were trying to walk into a restaurant to use the restroom when they were confronted by a tall man, in a green shirt, who was later identified as Charles Tankersley, saying they were the ones who started the previous mentioned fight, and they needed to go somewhere else to use the bathroom. Samantha and her friend engaged in an argument with Charles, and that’s when I was called to come defuse the situation.

As I walked up to Samantha and Charles, I began asking what was wrong. That’s when I heard another fight behind me. I turned around to see Lt. Higginbotham and Sgt. Holl fighting with a male on the ground. The male was later identified as Austin Shackleford. The crowd began flooding toward this fight, so I was trying to keep others back, which caused my attention to be taken away from Samantha and Charles. During this time of distraction, Samantha punch Charles in the face two times, according to others standing around. I did not observe her strike Charles. Samantha was immediately placed into handcuffs and admitted she punched him because he wouldn’t stop, “coming at me.”

Charles was ultimately arrested, also, because he was engaged in the verbal altercation, that led to a physical assault, even though he was the victim of being assaulted. Due to Charles being engaged in the initial verbal altercation, with Samantha, this escalated the entire situation to the point law enforcement had to intervene, which caused a breach of peace.

During the time I was placing Samantha into handcuffs, there was another female, standing extremely close to us, that put her opinion into the incident. Her opinion being, “Yeah, b*tch! You deserve that, you f*cking b*tch!” These words were said in front of two children, below 14 years old, that just so happened to be standing right behind the female, Courtney Cirou. Courtney was also placed into handcuffs.

Samantha and Courtney were both escorted to the parking lot and placed into a patrol vehicle. Once the scene was de-escalated, all information and testimonies were obtained. All parties admitted to having consumed an unknown amount of alcoholic beverages. Samantha admitted to having punched Charles. Charles stated he was not involved in any other way, other than the initial verbal altercation with Samantha, but wished to press charges on Samantha for punching him.

Courtney claimed she was not involved at all, but decided to scream curse words toward Samantha, assisting with the breach of peace. The actions of all parties involved occurred in front of children who were standing around watching. The ages of the children who viewed the entire incident varied between 0 and 14+.

All three parties were arrested and charged with disorderly conduct. However, Samantha was charged with Battery (misdemeanor) and disorderly conduct. All parties were transported to the Oconee County Jail, and booked accordingly.

All four parties mentioned in this case, were issued criminal trespass warnings for a period of 2 years.

The investigation was recorded on body worn camera.

**When adding Charles to this report, as a suspect of disorderly conduct, I ran into an issue when adding his name profile as a victim of Battery. The RMS program would not allow me to add his name profile as the offender of one charge, and a victim of another charge, in the same report and under the same case number. Therefore, I only added his name profile as a victim of Battery, because the charge requires a victim in order for the report to be submitted without error. I explained the probable cause of why he was arrested, in the above narrative.

[End of Narrative]

[NARRATIVE #2 on December 13, 2025]

On 12/13/2025 around 2126 hours I Lt. Higginbotham along with Sgt. Holl and Deputy Ward were standing outside Lola’s inside Wire Park after completing a call for service. While outside a woman came out to us and advised that a woman was arguing with her husband and wanted us to sperate them.

Deputy Ward and Sgt. Holl began talking to the group arguing while I continued to speak to the complainant. While doing so a male pushed between the complainant and myself going toward the group arguing while he yelled and cursed.

I grabbed the male by both his arms from behind in an attempt to stop him. The male continued forward and tensed his arms. Due to the male not obeying commands and continuing towards the group that was already arguing I decided to detain the male. Due to the male being non-compliant he was taken to the ground where he was handcuffed. While being taken to the ground the male sustained “road rash” to his left elbow and the right said of his face.

The male, Austin Shackelford, was secured in the back of my patrol vehicle where he requested to speak to me. I read him his Miranda Warning where he stated that he agreed to speak and answer questions. Shackelford stated that he saw a man arguing with his wife and ran over to defend her. He advised that he did not notice the deputies that were speaking to the group and apologized for pushing past me on his way to the group of people. While speaking to Shackelford I was able to smell the odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from his person and he was observed earlier drinking in the same area.

See Deputy Wards narrative for further regarding charges.

[End of Narrative]

The information below reflects all details available at the time of publication and was obtained directly from the official court database accessible to the public. Court records are subject to change at any time at the court’s discretion. The Georgia Gazette is not responsible for errors, omissions, or discrepancies within the docket. No information provided should be construed as legal advice or opinion. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

CASE HISTORY:

12/15/25

CASH BOND ($500)

What this means: The court set a $500 cash bond, which means the full $500 must be paid in cash for the person to be released from jail. Unlike a surety bond, this amount is typically paid directly to the court, not through a bondsman. If the person follows all court rules and appears as required, the money is usually refunded at the end of the case (minus any fees or fines).

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12/22/25

MOTION FOR DISCOVERY FILED

What this means: Courtney Cirou’s defense attorney, Mark M. Wiggins, filed a formal request asking the prosecution to provide evidence they plan to use against her in the disorderly conduct case. This includes witness lists, the accusation document, defendant statements, scientific reports, police reports, and any other materials that might help her defense. Discovery is a standard part of the legal process where both sides share evidence before trial.

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12/22/25

ENTRY OF APPEARANCE FILED BY DEFENSE COUNSEL

What this means: Mark M. Wiggins and David Harris from the law firm Wiggins Casto Barrow officially entered the case as Courtney Cirou’s defense attorneys in Oconee County Magistrate Court case MGWM2025000588. This formal filing notifies the court and prosecution that these attorneys are representing Cirou and that all future legal notices should be sent to their law office address in Watkinsville, Georgia.

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12/30/25

NOTICE OF CONFLICT FILED

What this means: Defense attorney Mark Wiggins notified the court that he has a scheduling conflict and cannot adequately handle Courtney Cirou’s case along with other matters he has scheduled for Friday, January 9th, 2026. He specifically mentioned conflicts with another case in Morgan County Probate Court. Wiggins requested that if Cirou’s case cannot be rescheduled to later in the day, it should be moved to the next available court date to ensure proper representation.

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1/9/26

MAGISTRATE COURT CALL CALENDAR HEARING

What this means: Courtney Cirou had a scheduled court hearing at 8:30 AM in Oconee County Magistrate Court for case MGWM2025000588. This was likely a calendar call where the court reviews pending cases, addresses any motions, and schedules future proceedings in her disorderly conduct case. Her defense attorney Mark Wiggins had previously filed a notice of conflict for this date, requesting the case be rescheduled if it couldn’t be moved later in the day.

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2/3/26

STATE’S NOTICE OF WARRANT DISMISSAL FILED

What this means: The Western Judicial Circuit dismissed the warrant and charges against Courtney Mapp Cirou in case 2025-588-WM-N. The prosecution determined it was not in the best interest of judicial economy to proceed with the case, noting that while probable cause existed for the original arrest, the defendant’s involvement in an alleged physical altercation was based on a phone call from Wire Park management rather than direct witness testimony.