Police were called to the WTOC-TV newsroom at 11 The News Place on April 9 in response to a battery. At the scene, an officer was told by anchor Mike Manhatton that the suspect and victim had gotten into a fight in the newsroom.
The officer first spoke with the suspect, Michael B. Bougeau, and asked him what had happened. "I took an ass-beating," Bougeau replied.
He said Andrew Johnson called him a "bitch" then "attacked" him. Bougeau had a swollen eye and was bleeding heavily, so he was transported by Southside EMS to St. Joseph’s hospital for treatment.
Johnson said he was in the break room when Bougeau began yelling for him over the intercom. Bougeau then found Johnson in the breakroom, and the yelling continued.
Johnson walked to the newsroom 100 yards away, with the suspect following, still yelling. Both men were face to face when Johnson said Bougeau "poked" him in the face.
Johnson hit Bougeau to defend himself, sustaining a possible broken hand. He refused treatment at the scene, saying he would seek treatment himself.
Manhatton and co-anchor Dawn Baker confirmed Johnson’s story. Both said the suspect is a "hothead."
Johnson said he didn’t want to press charges, but preferred that station administrators handle the situation. Forensics was called to the hospital to document Bougeau’s injuries, and also went to Johnson’s home to photograph his injuries.
-- A Shott Avenue resident reported the theft of her alligator-skin wallet to police. She said she left the wallet on her bed, and when she returned, it was gone.
The wallet contained her ID, social security card, credit cards and about $100 in cash. She said she left it to go to the bathroom, and was gone from her room only a few minutes.
Four other people live at the residence, she told police, and any one of them could have taken the wallet. The woman said she waited to call until Monday to report the theft because she didn’t realize the police took reports on the weekend.
-- The science wing of Jenkins High School was evacuated of April 16 after a teacher discovered an unknown substance in the sink of a science lab. The substance was later identified as mercury.
Savannah firefighters were dispatched to the school shortly before 2pm. and immediately requested the evacuation of all students and staff. The entire wing was closed and the room which contained the mercury was isolated.
A Savannah Fire Department HazMat team entered the room and identified the substance as a small amount of mercury. It was discovered during a lunch period when no students were present.
The HazMat team scanned the room and sink and found the vapor levels to be well below the EPD’s established standards for action. School officials dismissed most students, but about 30 were assembled outside the school to be checked by the HazMat team. No elevated levels of mercury were found on any of the students or staff members.
An environmental clean-up company was called to the scene. Classes resumed Friday, but the classroom that contained the mercury was kept closed until it could be reinspected by firefighters on Sunday.
-- The Summit County Medical Examiner’s Office in Akron, Ohio, is looking for family and friends of Willie Lee Johnson, 54, a former Savannah resident.
Officials say Johnson died recently in Ohio, but they don’t know how to contact his family. Johnson was born in Savannah on Sept. 18, 1954, and was honorably discharged from the U.S. Marine Corps in 1976.
According to Dr. Dorothy Dean, Johnson’s girlfriend told them he was originally from Savannah, but she couldn’t provide names of relatives. Johnson died of natural causes and survivors may be beneficiaries of his veteran’s benefits.
If you have information about Johnson or his family, call 330-643-2101.
