Alapaha man arrested, jailed on consecutive nights

An Alapaha man reached a curious milestone last weekend — he went to jail on consecutive days for the same charge.

Officers from the Douglas Police Department arrested Harry Jonathan Dotson, 48, of Alapaha, on Friday and Saturday for essentially the same violation. ,

On Friday, March 3, 2023, a Douglas police officer responded to an address on the Willacoochee Highway at the bypass for a suspicious person. An incident report states that the officer found Dotson sitting beside the road drinking an alcoholic beverage. He appeared to be intoxicated, the report states. It also says that the officer gave Dotson “many opportunities to contact or find a way home” but none of the numbers Dotson provided were good. The officer arrested Dotson and charged him with public intoxication. He was transported to the Coffee County Jail and later released.

The following night, Dotson surfaced again — this time at Zaxby’s and Ole Times Country Buffet. An officer responded to a report of an intoxicated person at the Zaxby’s parking lot between 7:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. However, the officer didn’t find anyone there. A few minutes later, another officer told him that the suspect was at Ole Times following people around the parking lot while drinking an alcoholic beverage. The officer went to Ole Times and found Dotson there, once again allegedly intoxicated. The officer attempted to contact Dotson’s daughter to pick him up but was unable to. Dotson gave him another number to call for someone else but that number didn’t work, either. 

As was the case the previous night, the officer arrested Dotson and charged him with public intoxication. He was transported to the Coffee County Jail but this time, he was not released. Dotson remains in jail.