Fish Cooker Stolen from Carrollton Baptist Church

By Donna Bain
Staff Writer

Mayor Mickey Walker’s Cajun Fryer fish cooker was stolen from Carrollton Baptist Church on Tuesday, August 8, 2023. The church members had cooked a meal for all the football players and athletes in Pickens County on what they call Kick-Off Sunday. The mayor left the fish cooker close to the Fellowship Hall near the parking lot to cool. He didn’t pick it up the next day because he was working.

The cameras in Carrollton caught a picture of the truck that picked up the cooker. After posting it on social media, it only took about an hour to apprehend the man. Ronald  Fidel Jones, age 63, from Pickensville, was arrested. He was driving a silver 2002 Dodge Ram two-door truck with a trailer behind it. Jones is out on bail.

“I want people to know we have cameras in Carrollton,” said Walker. “If you steal in Carrollton, we are going to find you. We would like to thank everybody for paying attention and helping us out with this.”

Jones was arrested for theft of property in the third degree. It is a misdemeanor. The property that he stole was worth around $900.00, including the oil and propane tank.

“We couldn’t have done it without the help of the community,” said Police Chief Anthony Durrah. “Once we posted that vehicle on the town’s social media page, it was within minutes that we were getting feedback from the community. He had scoped it out ever since Sunday. He said he thought it was junk or scrap metal. Nobody leaves stuff like that out for someone to take it. If you see it, you are supposed to ask for it. You can’t just take stuff because you think it is somebody’s junk.”

Chief Durrah and Mayor Walker are grateful to the community for helping them apprehend this criminal. They encourage people to stay aware of what is going on and help them keep Carrollton a safe place to live.