Mark Allen Adkins today was ordered to remain in jail pending a July 11 preliminary hearing on murder and aggravated assault charges in the shooting of three people that led to the death of one victim.

Adkins, 22, was charged in the death of Frederick Early and shooting of two women at Eagle and Richard streets in west Savannah.

Downtown Precinct officers responded to the shooting at 12:46 p.m. May 16 to find the victims outside with gunshot wounds.

Chatham County Recorder’s Court Judge Harris Odell Jr. explained Wednesday that only a superior court judge can set bond on a murder charge.

In an unrelated case, Chatham County jail inmate Derek Rogers today was denied bond pending a June 26 preliminary hearing for his attack Sunday on a corrections officer at the jail.

Rogers, 24, is charged with felony obstruction on a law enforcement officer in the attack on Officer Kenneth Meeks that hospitalized Meeks with non-life-threatening injuries. Assistant District Attorney Tom Cerbone told Chatham County Recorder’s Court Judge Harris Odell Jr. that it was the fourth felony charge against Meeks since January 13. He urged the judge to deny bond because of concerns that Meeks may flee.

MIAMI (AP) — Forecasters say Tropical Storm Barry has formed off the southeastern Mexican coast.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami said the Atlantic season's second tropical storm is drenching areas in its path with up to 10 inches of rain in some places, raising the threat of flash floods.

Barry was about 75 miles (115 kilometers) east-northeast of Veracruz, Mexico, on Wednesday afternoon. It is expected to make landfall Thursday morning in Veracruz.

The storm has maximum sustained winds of 40 mph (64 kph), just above the threshold of at least 39 mph (63 kph) to become a named storm. It formed as a depression off the coast of Belize on Monday.

A tropical storm warning is in effect from Punta El Lagarto to Barra de Nautla.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.

FLOWERY BRANCH — Steven Jackson is still trying to feel his way through his first offseason with the Atlanta Falcons.

The NFL’s active career-leading rusher has been reporting to work early and staying late so he can make a good impression on his new team.

There’s a lot to learn for Jackson, who left St. Louis after nine seasons to sign a three-year, $12 million contract with Atlanta.

Jackson says he signed a three-year contract with Atlanta three months ago because the Falcons — with quarterback Matt Ryan, tight end Tony Gonzalez and the wideout tandem of Roddy White and Julio Jones — offer him a legitimate chance to win a Super Bowl.

“I just think that this offense has so many weapons that I’m going to get quality carries,” Jackson said at mini-camp this week. “I’m going to have opportunities that may not be 25 carries a game, but it will be quality touches and allow me to close out a game.”

Closing out games has haunted the Falcons’ running game over the last two years.

One glaring example came against New Orleans in November 2011, when Michael Turner was stopped for no gain on fourth-and-1 in overtime. The Saints needed just three snaps to kick a field goal and leave Atlanta with a victory that helped them win the NFC South.

Lead slips away

Five months ago at the Georgia Dome, the stakes were higher and the anguish greater when the Falcons failed to protect a second-half lead in the NFC championship game.

Atlanta finished 10 yards shy of touchdown and a trip to the Super Bowl, failing to score against San Francisco in the final two quarters.

Jackson doesn’t believe the Falcons will struggle this year to control the clock late in games or to convert short-yardage situations. Though he stops short of promising to change Atlanta’s fortune single-handedly, Jackson sees potential for vast improvement.

“I’m not really quite sure what was happening in the years previous, but these are runs where you have to keep churning your legs, (make the right) read and trust your offensive line to get the job done,” he said. “If it pops (for a big gain), that’s great, but most importantly, it’s to move the chains.”

Jackson has been through 12 practices with the Falcons, most recently in this week’s mandatory mini-camp. He will make his debut in full pads when the team opens training camp late next month, at which point Jackson can start to gauge how Atlanta will attack short-yardage situations on the ground.

Learning curve

“Right now, short yardage is something we’re definitely going to pay extra attention to and especially goal line as well,” Jackson said. “Once I get a feel for how guys (on the offensive line) are going to pull and who tends to kick out a little wider in pass protection, those are real technical things that you just can’t get a feel for until you put the pads on.”

At 6-foot-2, 240 pounds, Jackson already seems to run more explosively in practice than did Turner, who had two surgeries last offseason and was slowed by an assortment of minor injuries. Turner was released in February after making two Pro Bowls in five seasons with Atlanta.

Turner is shorter and is listed 7 pounds heavier and is more compact, so Falcons offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter wants to tailor Jackson’s role to better suit his size.

“Coach Koetter is still going to allow me to be a downhill runner, catch the ball out of the backfield and most importantly protect Matt,” Jackson said. He believes Koetter and Ryan will be delighted with his versatility.

“We’re definitely going to have opportunities,” Jackson said. “If teams decide to (cover White and Jones one-on-one) or use cover-2 in the red zone, it allows for a lot of underneath receptions for myself to make a guy miss in the open field and hopefully get into the end zone.”

Falcons head coach Mike Smith likes what he’s seen so far from his new star running back.

“When he gets his shoulders going north and south, he’s tough guy to tackle,” Smith said. “And we plan hopefully to get him in space quite a bit catching the ball out of the backfield.”

Detectives on Wednesday afternoon were questioning three people after the stolen car they were in collided with two police cars.

The three males were arrested after colliding with a Georgia State Patrol car that was attempting to block their path on Interstate 516 and then sideswiped a Savannah-Chatham police car. All three were taken into custody at the scene, said metro police spokesman Julian Miller.

The 2013 Nissan Altima they were driving was taken in the robbery of a 28-year-old man in front of his apartment on West Oglethorpe Avenue on Tuesday night. The owner told police he was sitting in the car about 11 p.m. when a man placed a box cutter to his face, ordered him out of the vehicle and drove away in it, Miller said.

Detectives are attempting to determine if anyone in the car was involved in the carjacking or other offenses. Police will not release names unless charges are filed, Miller said.

The Georgia State Patrol is investigating the collision, and any charges will be filed by metro police.

Miller said undercover agents from the Chatham-Savannah Counter Narcotics Team identified the car traveling on 37th Street and alerted a metro officer who attempted a traffic stop just before 1 p.m.. The car sped away and the metro officer discontinued the pursuit, but a state trooper in the area interceded. He attempted to corral the Altima on a bridge on I-516, but it struck his car and then sideswiped the metro car, Miller said.

Damage to each police car was slight, but the Altima received heavier damage and had to be towed away, Miller said.

The Effingham County Sheriff’s Office has filed charges against the driver who stuck and critically injured a 14-year-old South Effingham High School student in May.

Investigators have obtained warrants for Jonathan Chase Skaggs, 29, for felony serious injury by vehicle and reckless driving.

On May 16, Dylan Cain was walking down Glenwood Drive to his bus stop on Ga. 30 when Skaggs struck him while driving in a reckless manner, according to Sheriff’s Spokesman David Ehsanipoor.

Cain was airlifted to Memorial Health University Medical Center, where he remained in critical condition for several days. At last report, Cain was taken to an out-of-town rehabilitation center.

Anyone with information on Skaggs’ whereabouts is asked to contact the Effingham County Sheriff’s Office at 912-754-3449 .

LOS ANGELES  — James Gandolfini, whose portrayal of a brutal, emotionally delicate mob boss in HBO's "The Sopranos" helped create one of TV's greatest drama series and turned the mobster stereotype on its head, died Wednesday in Italy. He was 51.

In a statement, the cable channel, and Gandolfini's managers Mark Armstrong and Nancy Sanders, said he died Wednesday while on holiday in Rome. No cause of death was given.

"Our hearts are shattered and we will miss him deeply. He and his family were part of our family for many years and we are all grieving," said Armstrong and Sanders.

HBO called the actor a "special man, a great talent, but more importantly a gentle and loving person who treated everyone, no matter their title or position, with equal respect." The channel expressed sympathy for his wife and children.

Gandolfini played mob boss Tony Soprano in the groundbreaking HBO series that aired from 1999 to 2007. His film credits included "Zero Dark Thirty" and "Killing Them Softly," and he amassed stage credits as well.

He shared a Broadway stage in 2009 with Jeff Daniels, Hope Davis and Marcia Gay Harden in a celebrated production of "God of Carnage," where he earned a Tony Award nomination for best actor. He had also been in "On the Waterfront" with David Morse and was an understudy in a revival of "A Streetcar Named Desire" in 1992 starring Alec Baldwin and Jessica Lange.

Gandolfini's performance in "The Sopranos" was indelible and career-making, but he refused to be stereotyped as the bulky mobster who was a therapy patient, family man and cold-blooded killer.

After the David Chase series concluded with its breathtaking blackout ending, Gandolfini's varied film work included comedies such as "In the Loop," a political satire, and the heartwarming drama "Welcome to the Rileys," which costarred Kristen Stewart. He voiced the Wild Thing Carol in "Where the Wild Things Are."

In a December 2012 interview with The Associated Press, Gandolfini said he gravitated to acting as a release, a way to get rid of anger. "I don't know what exactly I was angry about," he said.

"I try to avoid certain things and certain kinds of violence at this point," he said last year. "I'm getting older, too. I don't want to be beating people up as much. I don't want to be beating women up and those kinds of things that much anymore."

Gandolfini was honored locally at last year's Savannah Film Festival.

24-hour jail bookings for Savannah-Chatham County are now posted. Visit booked.savannahnow.com to view photos and information.

All information has been obtained from the Chatham County Sheriff’s Department.

All individuals posted have not been convicted of a crime and are innocent until proven guilty.

Savannah-Chatham Metro police will be operating radar hot spots along Montgomery Crossroads. 

Police remind drivers there is zero tolerance for speeding in school zones. 

The Savannah Downtown Business Association partnered with the Tourism Leadership Council for the June After Hours Social at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. 

Click here to view Spotted® photos

A 16-year-old suspect has been charged with armed robbery, hijacking a motor vehicle and other offenses after the stolen car he was driving collided with two police cars Wednesday.

 The juvenile has been charged with robbing the owner of the car on the 200 block of West Oglethorpe Avenue Tuesday night after holding a box cutter to his face. A cell phone stolen during the robbery was recovered after the crash, police said. Two other males in the car at the time, age 17 and 18, were questioned and released.

 The three males were taken into custody after the car in which they were riding collided with a Georgia State Patrol car on Interstate  516. The 2013 Nissan Altima then sideswiped a Metro police car.  

The Altima was taken Tuesday in the robbery of a 28-year-old man in front of his apartment about 11 p.m.. The owner said he was sitting in the car  when a man placed a box cutter to his face, ordered him out of the vehicle and drove away in it.

The Georgia State Patrol is investigating the collision. Metro detectives continue to investigate the robbery and collision. 

Undercover officers from the Chatham-Savannah Counter Narcotics Team (CNT) identified the car traveling on 37th Street and alerted a Metro officer who attempted a traffic stop on Interstate 16 just before 1 p.m.

 The car sped away and the Metro officer discontinued the pursuit, but a state trooper in the area interceded. He attempted to corral the Altima on a bridge on I-516, but it struck his car and then sideswiped the Metro car.

 Damage to each police car was slight, but the Altima received heavier damage and had to be towed away. It had been purchased a week ago and still bore a paper tag.

ATLANTA — Georgia labor officials say the state's unemployment rate increased to 8.3 percent in May.

The Georgia Department of Labor announced the seasonally adjusted rate early Thursday, saying it was up one-tenth of a percentage point from 8.2 percent in April.

The rate increased because more job seekers entered the labor force looking for work, Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said in a statement. He said there was also a slight increase in layoffs, many of which were temporary.

"Despite the slight increase in the unemployment rate, Georgia employers continued to create jobs for the fourth consecutive month, giving us the largest number of jobs we've had since December 2008," Butler said. "And, it's very encouraging that the number of construction jobs has increased for the third consecutive month."

The May jobless rate was down eight-tenths of a percentage point from 9.1 percent in May a year ago.

But the number of layoffs rose by 4,238 -- or 9.9 percent -- to 46,882 in May, officials said. The increases came mostly in temporary layoffs in manufacturing, accommodations and food services, educational services, and health care and social assistance.

NEW YORK (AP) — The daughter of former New York Yankees manager Joe Torre made a quick-thinking save Wednesday when she caught a baby who had tumbled off of a second-floor Brooklyn apartment's fire escape, the baseball great has confirmed.

"I am very proud of my daughter Christina's actions today during an incident in Brooklyn involving a small child," Torre, now Major League Baseball's executive vice president of baseball operations, said in a statement. "Fortunately for that child she was in the right place at the right time to lend a hand."

Christina Torre did not respond to a request for comment.

Police said a 44-year-old woman caught a 1-year-old boy after he fell from a fire escape outside a Brooklyn apartment building but did not identify the bystander. They said the baby somehow climbed out of the apartment onto the fire escape and tumbled from above. That's when Torre caught the baby as she walked on the sidewalk below.

The baby is in stable condition, police said.

The baby's parents — Sam Miller, 23, and Tiffany Demitro, 24 — were arrested and charged with reckless endangerment and acting in a manner injurious to a child less than 17, police said.

The parents were in custody and unavailable for comment Wednesday. It was not immediately known if they had an attorney.

Joe Torre managed the Yankees from 1996 to 2007, winning four World Series titles and six American League pennants. He had a 29-year career as a manager and retired after the 2010 season following three years with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

He played parts of 18 seasons in the majors, with nine All-Star appearances. He was the National League's MVP in 1971, when he led the league with a .363 average for the St. Louis Cardinals.

Torre is also a Brooklyn native.

Crime and arrest reports for Savannah-Chatham County have been updated through June 15, 2013.

Click here to access crime reports.

Click here to access arrest records.

A $75,000 bond today was set for a Texas man charged in the June 4 traffic death of jazz icon Ben Tucker.

Attorneys for Robert William Martin, 52, waved preliminary hearing in the case before Chatham County Recorder's Court Chief Judge Tammy Stokes. That means charges of vehicular homicide, reckless driving and speeding will go to the Chatham County grand jury for indictment at a later date. 

Tucker, 82, was killed when a golf cart in which he was riding was struck by a speeding car driven by Martin on Hutchinson Island.

For more details see Friday's Savannah Morning News and come back to savannahnow.com.

Slideshow: The Life and Legacy of Ben Tucker

Murder and armed robbery charges against a Texas man today were sent to Superior Court in the June 25 slaying of Isle of Hope firefighter Wesley Franklin. 

Brandon Rainer Mackey, 26, of Watauga, Texas will remain in Chatham County Jail pending presentation of his case to a Chatham County grand jury at a later date.

Franklin, 21, was struck in the chest by a 9 mm gunshot early February 25 at Deb's Pub & Grub on Norwood Avenue in Sandfly.

For more details pick up Friday's Savannah Morning News and come back to savannahnow.com.

Since Wednesday afternoon, news stories have been circulating on numerous media outlets concerning racially tinged comments Paula Deen made during a deposition in connection with a lawsuit that accuses her and her family run enterprises of sexual harassment and racial discrimination.

The Savannah Morning News is reviewing that deposition, which runs to more than 100 pages, and related court documents and will have a full report in Sunday’s editions of the newspaper and on savannahnow.com.

It's summertime in the Coastal Empire and Lowcountry! Whether that means idling by the days on an extended break from work or school, or just spending a weekend on the beach at Tybee, we want to see your most creative, most realistic, most moving, most comic and most colorful Instagram shots from Summer 2013.

HOW TO ENTER

Share your best Instagram shots from Summer 2013 using the hashtag #savsummer on Instagram for a chance to win a framed print of your favorite Instagram shots and other great prizes. Tag and follow our account at @savannahnow and we'll reshare your entry via our account to help you win more votes. The first-place winner will be determined by the raw number of votes received. Second-place, third-place and three runners-up will additionally be selected by the Do staff based upon how well they represent the overall experience of summer life in Savannah, as well as how each entry performed in the voting period. The prizes are as follows:

1. FIRST PLACE: A customized, matted and acrylic-glass framed 12" x 12" print of the winner's favorite Instagram shots hand-assembled by the folks at Prinstagr.am.
2. SECOND PLACE: A one-year calendar with the winner's 365 favorite Instagram shots for every day of the year, printed on high-quality matte paper.
3. THIRD PLACE: A bounded minibook of the winner's 40 favorite Instagram shots.

Three runners-up will additionally receive a Tiny Book of 24 images.

HOW TO VOTE

Voting will take place on our Do Savannah Facebook page here. Users may come back and vote once each day. The contest will end Wednesday, July 3, 2013, and will be notified via Instagram. NOTE: Only users who have their Instagram accounts set to "Public" will appear on the voting ballot. All other users may or may not be considered to win as runners-up, but must first approve our follow request so we can view your submission.

Click here to vote on and view the current entries.

Happy #savsummer-ing,

The Do Team

BASKETBALL

Bullock new

women’s coach at Armstrong

Fala Bullock has been hired as the new women’s basketball coach at Arrmstrong Atlantic State, the school announced Thursday.

Bullock joins Armstrong from Central Georgia Technical College in Macon, where she started the program in 2011 and directed the Cougars to a 25-6 record in just their second season of competition in 2012-13, advancing to the GCAA Championships.

Bullock was the assistant coach as well as the Senior Woman’s Administrator (SWA) at Peach Belt Conference member Columbus State for two years. The Cougars featured WBCA first-team All-American selection Phoebe Smith and compiled a 32-23 record in her two seasons with the program.

She will be introduced to the Savannah community at a reception on July 9th, at 2 p.m. in the Armstrong Student Union.

“I am very excited to be a member of the Armstrong athletic program and represent the Pirates as the head women’s basketball coach,” Bullock said. “Armstrong athletics has a long-standing reputation of success in the Peach Belt Conference and I am honored to have the opportunity to contribute to that success.”

A former two-year standout at Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Okla., Bullock earned her bachelor’s of science degree in health and human performance from Northeastern State in 2004 as well as her master’s of science degree in kinesiology from Northeastern State in 2006.

She served as a graduate assistant for her alma mater from 2004-06, then spent one season as an assistant coach at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College before moving on to NCAA Division II Midwestern State as an assistant coach from 2007-09.

“After conducting a thorough search it became evident that coach Fala Bullock was the best fit for Pirate Athletics and our women’s basketball program,” Armstrong athletic director Lisa Sweany said. “Her background as an NCAA DII student-athlete and assistant coach as well as her recent head coaching experience gives her a unique perspective with which to lead our young ladies.”

Bullock takes over the Armstrong program from Matt Schmidt, who departed to become an assistant coach at Duquesne University.

RACING

Kentucky race taps Calipari

LEXINGTON, Ky. — John Calipari will help orchestrate the most powerful drive of his career next weekend at Kentucky Speedway.

The Kentucky basketball coach is the honorary pace car official for the Quaker State 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. Calipari is a front-seat passenger in the Ford Fusion that will lead the 43-car field to the green flag on June 29 but looks forward to setting the fast pace similar to what he seeks from the Wildcats’ offense.

Calipari said in a release Thursday that leading the high-speed field is like “walking out in the Final Four and having your team behind you. ... The speed of it is what gets everybody hyped.”

Brian Vickers’ No. 55 Toyota, sporting the colors of rival Louisville, should also rev up race fans.

Savannah-Chatham police remain at an eastside Savannah scene this evening where two people were shot earlier in the day.

Police spokesman Julian Miller said both victims were transported to a local hospital after the shooting near the intersection of Martha and Jurgensen streets, just off Skidaway Road, about 4:15 p.m. Miller said on victim was suffering from potentially life-threatening wounds; the other man received  non-life-threatening injuries.

Miller said investigators are currently trying to determine what led to the shooting in a residential area several blocks from Savannah State University. He said an off-duty officer from the university's police department was involved in the incident, but it was unclear what role he may played.

"He (the SSU police officer) interceded in an event that was going on," Miller said. It was not immediately clear if the officer fired a shot during the incident, but he was not injured.

Further information was not available Thursday evening, Miller said.

Please return to Savannahnow.com for more information as it becomes available.

A pit bull that attacked a 5-year-old Effingham County boy last summer will go to a rescue center in New York if $5,000 in donations can be gathered in the next few days.

Mickey Kicklighter, the court-appointed attorney for the dog named “Kno,” said Glen Wild Animal Rescue in South Kortright, N.Y., will take the dog and make sure that he is kept under the restrictions suggested by the boy’s family.

The family asked that Kno not be adopted and that he be kept away from children. The dog also does not get along with cats and has to be kept away from them, according to staff at the Effingham County animal shelter.

The $5,000 would go toward Kno’s food and vet bills for the rest of his life, said Liz Keller, a founder of the rescue.

She said Kno would live on the rescue’s 10-acre property, which is about 160 miles northwest of New York City, and would live inside a 10-bedroom house. She said the rescue helps dogs, horses, goats and cats.

Kno bit Wesley Frye on July 24, 2012, while he was playing with another child in a neighbor’s house in the Paddleford Subdivision. One of the dog’s owners was able to stop the attack by getting the dog outside.

The boy was left with scars and some facial paralysis.

The dog has lived in a 6-foot by 5-foot pen at the county’s animal shelter since the attack.

Julie Long, one of Kno’s former owners, said she’s glad to hear the dog is going to live and not be around children or cats. “That’s what we were hoping for,” she said.

Gene Frye, the boy’s father, said he’s had some second thoughts recently about whether the dog should be allowed to live.

He said the boy still has a fear of large dogs, but he has “improved vastly” and the family is moving on with their lives.

To donate to Glen Wild Animal Rescue, go to the rescue’s website: www.glenwildanimalrescue.org or mail checks to: P.O. Box 75, South Kortright, N.Y., 13842. Say the funds are on the behalf of Kno.

Keller said the shelter is non-profit and donations are tax deductible.