English Bulldog Puppies for Sale in Macon-Bibb County, GA

Michael Dorough was arrested Tuesday for sexual assault and child cruelty. POST records show a 2024 domestic dispute and a 36-month probation for his certification.

MACON, Ga. — Michael Dorough, a former Bibb County deputy, was arrested Tuesday on multiple charges while on duty at the Bibb County Jail. Authorities say Dorough faces sexual assault, first-degree cruelty to children, and influencing witnesses.

He is currently being held at the Hall County Jail.

Authorities also arrested Dorough’s wife, Ashley Dorough, who is charged with first-degree cruelty to children and influencing witnesses. She is being held in the Jones County jail.

Even though the current charges are separate, state certification records from the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council, POST, the state agency that certifies and oversees law enforcement officers, show Dorough was previously investigated after a domestic dispute in 2024.

According to reports, the 2024 dispute occurred on March 11, 2024, after Dorough and his wife decided to separate and argued over personal belongings. During the argument, his stepson confronted him, telling him not to put his hands on his mother.

That led to a physical altercation on the back porch. Dorough told investigators the stepson lunged at him and said he restrained him without striking anyone.

The battery charge related to the 2024 dispute was later dismissed on June 25, 2024, after the stepson declined to prosecute. Following that, Dorough completed an anger management course as part of the process.

POST reviewed the 2024 dispute and placed Dorough on a 36-month probation tied to his law enforcement certification beginning Oct. 23, 2025. The state agency said he was allowed to remain certified but under supervision.

POST records also detail prior issues throughout Dorough’s law enforcement career:

Authorities said Dorough is no longer employed with the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office.

The National Weather Service confirms two EF-1 and one EF-2 tornadoes hit Central Georgia, causing extensive damage in several counties.

MACON, Ga. — The National Weather Service has assessed the damage and determined that two EF-1 tornadoes and one EF-2 tornado struck Central Georgia during severe storms on Thursday morning.

Crews with the National Weather Service were dispatched to Macon County, Macon-Bibb County, and Peach/Houston Counties to survey the damage and determine the strength of the tornadoes.

The tornadoes in Macon-Bibb and Houston Counties were EF-1 tornadoes, which both had wind speeds up to 100 miles per hour. The Macon County tornado was more severe, with estimated wind speeds of 112 mph, making it an EF-2 tornado.

Here's what the National Weather Service found regarding the tornadoes, their paths, and their severity.

A tornado struck western Macon County just west of Bryant Hill Road at around 6:40 a.m., moving through large pecan orchards where it uprooted and snapped multiple trees, according to the National Weather Service.

They say the storm quickly reached its maximum intensity as it approached Sleepy Hollow Road, where it struck a mobile home community, leaving devastating damage.

Two people were hurt when a home was flipped and destroyed, and one resident was thrown 40 feet by the tornado when their home was destroyed.

In total, the surveyors found that four mobile homes were destroyed, one was overturned, and many others were damaged.

The NWS says the tornado continued to move towards Highway 49, snapping and uprooting trees, and ripping the roofs off two large silos.

The tornado would lift off north of Juice Plant Road just east of County Road 116, which marked a length of 4.81 miles. The tornado is estimated to have been 600 yards wide.

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Touching down just west of Highway 74 or Mercer University Drive, an EF-1 tornado with 100 mph winds struck Macon-Bibb at around 6:45 a.m. Thursday morning, according to the National Weather Service.

Surveyors found the tornado struck near Windy Hill Drive, uprooting and snapping trees, before continuing east and crossing Mercer University Drive, and causing similar damage.

It then entered a neighborhood along McCleary Lane and Lochewolde Drive, where multiple homes suffered damage.

The surveyors found severe damage ranging from broken windows, garage doors flying off, portions of roofs removed, and entire sections of shingles being removed.

Once it left that neighborhood, it then continued east into Tucker Road, snapping and uprooting trees.

A large electrical transmission pole was knocked over and bent across the road, which closed the roads during the morning commute.

While that would have typically indicated a stronger storm, the weather service says the damage was determined to be caused by a large tree falling over, causing the collapse.

The tornado then crossed I-475 and entered North Mumford Road and continued until it got to Wolf Creek, lifting off as it approached the Highlands community near Payne City. In total, the weather service believes the path of the storm was 3.39 miles with an estimated width of 200 yards.

The tornado first touched down in Peach County just south of Georgia State Route 96 and west of Lakeview Drive at around 6:56 a.m., according to the National Weather Service.

Surveyors say the storm snapped and uprooted trees as it moved east, with several homes along Lakeview Drive suffering damage from falling trees. One home also had its garage door blown in, along with siding and shingle damage.

According to the National Weather Service, the tornado then crossed Interstate-75, where additional trees were snapped and uprooted. Several metal buildings just east of the interstate also sustained damage.

As it tracked east-northeast across Highway 96, multiple power poles were snapped along the south side of the highway, while numerous trees were damaged north of the road. Several structures in that area also suffered damage, including portions of roofs being removed, broken windows, and doors blown in.

The tornado continued east along Highway 96, snapping and uprooting trees before crossing Brantley Ridge, where it began to weaken.

The storm eventually lifted before reaching Lake Joy Road in Houston County. Surveyors estimate the tornado traveled 3.3 miles and reached a maximum width of 350 yards.

Tornado warnings across Central Georgia caused school delays and attendance adjustments Thursday.

MACON, Ga. — Tornado warnings across Central Georgia Thursday morning forced several school districts and private schools to delay classes, pause bus routes or make attendance adjustments.

Warnings were issued for multiple counties including Houston, Macon-Bibb, Jones, Laurens and others as storms moved through the region early Thursday.

We're trying to update this article with the latest information and updates as they come in.

Bibb County Schools are operating on a delayed start Thursday morning.

Start times were pushed back about an hour:

Houston County Schools initially paused bus transportation and advised students and staff to sty home until tornado warnings expired.

As of 8 a.m., the district said school operations and bus pickups have resumed with adjusted start times:

Baldwin County Schools continued accepting students during the storms but had students sheltering in place until warnings passed.

District officials said students will not be counted tardy Thursday morning due to the weather.

Jones County Schools paused bus transportation due to storm conditions. While they resumed bus transportation, the district says they currently have some facilities without power.

The district says bus routes resumed when conditions became safe and absences related to the weather will be excused.

Monroe County Schools delayed the start of classes until 9 a.m. to allow storms to move out of the area.

The Macon County School System is operating on a delayed start this morning, starting at 9:30 a.m. They say buses resumed running at around 8:30 a.m. But they recognize conditions may be hazardous, but asked all staff to report to work if it is possible to do so safely.

Several private schools also announced delayed starts:

Officials say the goal of moving about 150 inmates out of the jail has been met, but overcrowding remains due to slow indictments and inmate transfer delays.

MACON, Ga. — Macon-Bibb County Mayor Lester Miller says the county has met its goal of moving about 150 people out of the Bibb County jail through electronic monitoring, faster court cases and coordination with other jurisdictions, even as overcrowding and delays continue.

Miller said that number includes people released on ankle monitors, inmates whose cases were prioritized and resolved with probation, and others transferred because they had holds in different counties.

“That’s been attained,” Miller said of the 150 release goal. “That includes people who we got out of jail for electronic monitoring … [and] people that were perhaps in jail 90 days without being able to make a bond, but their case typically would carry maybe 60 to 90 days in jail plus probation.”

Still, the jail population remains above its designed capacity. According to the Bibb County Sheriff's Office, the facility housed 1,054 inmates on Friday, well over the jail’s stated capacity of 966.

When the county launched its justice reform initiatives on June 10, 2025, the jail population was 1,018 inmates, which was 52 people above capacity at the time.

Miller said the jail’s daily headcount does not always reflect the amount of movement happening inside the system as people transition to other forms of supervision or resolve their cases.

A key driver of the reduction has been expanded use of electronic monitoring for low-level, nonviolent offenders who could not afford bond through the Macon Justice Works initiative, a community-based alternative to jail for nonviolent offenders.

Participants wear electronic ankle monitors, maintain employment or enroll in structured programs and receive behavioral health and support services.

Macon-Bibb County officials authorized, in specific cases, allowing individuals to post their own cash bonds to as low as $1 to reduce the jail population amid the jail audit.

The county initially set aside funding for ankle monitors through A1 Monitoring, the only certified company approved by judges in the area. Miller said the program grew more quickly than expected.

“The program started growing, the number of people on the program and the number of days they spent on the program,” he said. “We had to put some more money in there to get us through the rest of the year before our next budget cycle.”

Officials estimate roughly 70 to 100 people have used the program so far.

The Macon-Bibb County Commission recently approved additional funding to sustain it. On Feb. 17, commissioners approved a $60,000 purchase order with A1 Monitoring to provide more ankle monitoring services through the end of fiscal year 2026.

The funding will support participants connected to the county’s Macon Violence Prevention Program.

The monitoring program is part of a broader justice reform plan launched in June 2025 that introduced six initiatives aimed at improving safety, health and justice outcomes while reducing unnecessary incarceration.

Other initiatives include a jail population audit, expanded case management services through the Macon InReach program, and a jail-based competency restoration program for defendants found incompetent to stand trial.

Despite the progress, Miller said the jail continues to face pressure from slow-moving cases and state-sentenced inmates who remain in county custody while waiting to be transferred.

Another issue involves inmates who have already been sentenced to state custody but remain housed locally.

“The last time I checked, we had 58 inmates that should be out of our jail,” Miller said. “They’re just sitting there being housed for the state.”

Meanwhile, the county is preparing to begin demolition and site work for a planned $30 million jail expansion project.

The Sheriff's Office also recently hired a new jail administrator to help revamp operations.

Miller said construction could begin soon and is expected to take 12 to 14 months once underway. Officials plan to incorporate improvements to housing layouts, security features and the placement of mental health and suicide-watch beds.

"We're being very strategic in the process," Miller said. "That's why it's taking a little bit more to get the jail started. But certainly we're going to break ground within the month, and I think we're still on 12 to 14 month schedule."

Miller said it may take a year or two before officials can fully evaluate whether the reforms are successful, particularly in reducing repeat offenses.

“We want people not to be repeat offenders,” he said. “After a year or two into this program, we’ll look back and see how many of those people were rearrested that may have gotten out on electronic monitoring, or how many of those people that we allowed to enter a plea to probation actually were successful.”