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Aldi employee videoed making fraudulent returns
Aldi
Jackie Gutknecht
Published: Sep 29, 2017, 11:20 PM

COVINGTON, Ga. - According to a Covington Police Department (CPD) incident report, a local Aldi employee as caught on video making several fraudulent purchases and returns, totaling in $1,000 taken from the store.

CDP Officer John Seabolt reported that the Aldi General Manager Nicholas Ostafin reported having video evidence proving that one of his employees, Curtis Watson, was stealing.

The video reportedly shows Watson taking two mattresses out of the store and then returning the mattresses to the store and putting the money on his debit card. There were two instances that Ostafin had on video, according to the report.

The transactions totaled in Watson taking $1,000 from the store, according to the report.

Ostafin reportedly told Seabolt that Watson denied all allegations and was terminated from the store. 
Newton County native charged with threatening school in Warren County
Mason Garrett taught at Warren County High School
mason garrett
Mason Garrett, a Newton County man, was arrested for making terroristic threats at Warren County High School. Photo via McDuffie County Sheriff's Office.
Kate Verity
Updated: May 9, 2025, 9:23 PM
Published: May 9, 2025, 9:14 PM

WARREN COUNTY — The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) arrested a Newton County native who taught at a school 75 miles east of Covington.

Mason Garrett, 22, was arrested on April 29 for making verbal threats at Warren County High School (WCHS), where he is a teacher. 

According to a press release from the GBI, Garrett – a 2020 Alcovy High School graduate –  allegedly made verbal threats to shoot staff and students at WCHS. The incident reportedly occurred on school premises on April 24.

“On Monday, April 28, 2025, the Warren County Sheriff’s Office School Resource Officer requested the GBI to investigate a potential incident involving terroristic threats and acts made by a teacher at the school,” the press release states.

The following day, the GBI arrested Garrett and charged him with one felony count of terroristic threats and acts. He was booked into the McDuffie County Jail.

The GBI is continuing to investigate the situation. Following the investigation, Garrett will be prosecuted in the Toombs Judicial Circuit.

The GBI requests that anyone with information call 706-595-2575. Additionally, anonymous tips can also be submitted by calling 1-800-597-TIPS (8477), online at https://gbi.georgia.gov/submit-tips-online, or on the See Something, Send Something mobile app.