AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – A man has been by a jury of his peers on Thursday in connection with a string of armed robberies, according to authorities.

A Richmond County judge sentenced Dmond Jackson, 31, to seven consecutive life in prison sentences, followed by 280 years in the Georgia Department of Corrections.

The District Attorney’s Office says Dmond Jackson, 31, “terrorized the entire city of Augusta with various armed robberies, kidnappings, carjackings and shootings.”

Jackson was arrested on June 3, 2024.

The District Attorney’s Office says Jackson’s crime spree spanned from April 1 to May 30 of 2024.

Officials say he was wanted for several armed robberies that occurred along Kissingbower Road, Deans Bridge Road and Gordon Highway.

Authorities say Jackson is accused of robbing TJ Mart located on the 1900 block of Kissingbower Road on March 24, 25, 28 and April 10. Each time running toward Haynie Drive.

Jackson is also accused of robbing the BP station located at 2161 Gordon Highway on March 31 and the Dollar General located at 2549 Deans Bridge Road on April 8, according to authorities.

In each incident, officials say Jackson pulled out a gun, jumped over the counter and demanded money from the victims.

Authorities say at least $2,000 has been stolen in these robberies.

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AUGUSTA, Ga. – The Department of Veterans Affairs, a huge employer in the Augusta area, has eliminated an office created to help minority veterans.

It’s all part of the DOGE-led efforts to cut about 80,000 employees from the government agency that provides health care for retired military members.

With a two-campus hospital in Augusta and facilities in outlying counties, the agency is a major employer in the CSRA.

The agency employs about 2,700 people across the VA Augusta health system, which includes the two medical centers in Augusta and clinics in Athens, Aiken and Statesboro.

A VA spokesperson said the Veteran Benefits Administration’s Office of Equity Assurance is “no longer needed.” The office, which was created under President Joe Biden, helped minority veterans with disparities in how the government provides benefits.

Sen Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., blasted the closure.

“This undermines the progress we have made in making the VA more responsive and accountable to our men and women in uniform,” he said. “I urge the administration to reconsider this reckless decision and ensure proper treatment of all veterans remains at the core of the VA’s mission. Veterans deserve better, and I will keep fighting to get them the care they are owed.”

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Rep. Mark Takano, of California, is the top Democrat on the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. He called the office’s closure “reckless.”

As part of President Donald Trump’s effort to shrink government, the VA has cut a few thousand employees and hundreds of contracts. It is expected to cut 80,000 jobs before the end of the year.

VA Secretary Doug Collins, a former Georgia congressman, said the agency is aiming to cut the jobs as part of its “department-wide review” that is being carried out in response to President Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency and Workforce Optimization initiative.

“This will be a thorough and thoughtful review based on input from career VA employees, senior executives, as well as the top VA leaders,” Collins said. “Our goal is to reduce VA employment levels to 2019-end strength numbers – roughly 398,000 employees from our current level of approximately 470,000 employees. Now that’s an 15% decrease. We’re going to accomplish this without making cuts to health care or benefits to veterans and VA beneficiaries.

Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., has criticized the cuts.

“The administration must immediately and publicly withdraw any proposal to gut the VA and imperil veterans’ care and benefits,” he said last week. “Already, the chaos, incompetence, and disruption are unacceptable. Veterans earned their benefits through selfless service. It’s a contract, not a gift.”

Republican South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham has been apprehensive about how the cuts were communicated.

The chair of the Senate Budget Committee said he was displeased that the VA had not given lawmakers an advance notification of the changes, saying it was “political malpractice not to consult Congress.”

“Maybe you’ve got a good reason to do it,” Graham said last week, leaving a lunch with Musk. “But we don’t need to be reading memos in the paper about a 20% cut at the VA.”

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AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – This month, application fees for high school seniors are free for more than 60 colleges and universities across Georgia.

Augusta University and Augusta Tech are two of our local colleges participating in this promotion put on by the Georgia Student Financial Commission.

Both Augusta University and Augusta Tech are hoping to see more students on campus and in the classrooms.

“If you have a student that maybe wants to apply to 10 institutions, that could be $400 or $500 in application fees, and some students just don’t have the ability to do that,” said Nichole Spencer, Augusta Tech Student Affairs vice president.”And then you have to pay it up. You can’t submit your application in most cases without that fee. So it is giving students the opportunity to apply to more colleges, shop around the Georgia match programs, and also take the difficulty out of the application process by giving that direct match.”

Giving more people the chance to apply who might not have applied before.

“Anything that we can do to make it easier for a student to apply to make it easier for a family to afford college is going to trickle down into all of our communities,” said Amy Smith, associate vice president for enrollment management. “Whether that’s first-generation students who maybe their families aren’t as familiar with the college and application process or underrepresented communities or lower socioeconomic background families.”

It’s only their second year as a part of this program. Last February, Augusta University had around 400 applications and Augusta Tech had around 600.

In March, Augusta University jumped to nearly 700 and Augusta Tech to just over 1,400, hoping to bring in even that many applications again, if not more this year, and so far, they say they’re right on track.

“So I anticipate seeing a similar volume this,” said Smith. “So again, you know, 700 students that this takes advantage of this opportunity I think is really amazing.”

Breaking barriers with a goal to keep students local and bring more in from outside the CSRA to help build up augusta as a whole.

“It can be a daunting task for a lot of institutions, including our own,” said Spencer. “So this program has really helped I think to bridge that gap for students and give them more access to into higher education.”

There are more than 60 Georgia colleges and universities waiving application fees for the month of March.

Depending on which one you’re applying to, there are different ways to get that fee taken off.

You can see all the colleges and universities that will waive application fees here.

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