Charles R. Hyde
by Al Summers
News Editor
alsummers@timescourier.com
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Charles R. Hyde
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Charles Roger Hyde, 55, of Tate, was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison plus 110 years in connection with the armed robbery, attempted rape, and assault of a female employee in the East Ellijay Wal-Mart parking lot as she was getting out of her vehicle to report to work on Thanksgiving Day morning of 2003.
Hyde received the life sentence for armed robbery. He was sentenced to 110 years in prison for attempted rape, aggravated sodomy, aggravated assault with intent to rape and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and two counts of terroristic threats. Hyde threatened to kill his victim and her children and he threatened to cut her eyes out of her head. During the half day ordeal, Hyde drove the victim to a Dawson County bank where he forced her to withdraw money from an ATM. He later forced her to try to withdraw money from an ATM at a Pickens County bank.
Around 2:30 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day, Hyde stopped at a BP service station at the intersection of Hwy. 515 and Hwy. 53 in Jasper. The victim escaped and sought help when Hyde left her unattended in the vehicle.
From descriptions of the suspect, and Pickens County Sheriff Billy Wofford’s knowledge of people in the Tate area, Hyde was identified as a suspect. It was later determined that he had missed a visit with his parole officer and was picked up for that violation at that time.
Law enforcement officers used DNA evidence gathered from the vehicle, and a DNA sample from Hyde that was collected when he was in prison, to put him at the scene of the crime. They later obtained a “fresh” DNA sample from Hyde and compared it to the samples obtained from the vehicle and they proved to be a match.
Appalachian Judicial Circuit District Attorney Joe Hendricks told the Times-Courier that the state had a solid case against Hyde. “We had excellent DNA evidence and the testimony from Gilmer County Detective Ricky Henry, Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) Agents Lisa Hobgood and Diana Williams, and Sheriff Wofford was exceptional.”
Gilmer County Sheriff Stacy Nicholson echoed the district attorney’s words, saying, “I would like to express my sincere appreciation and gratitude to the Pickens County Sheriff’s Department and the GBI for their assistance and work on this case. Everyone did an outstanding job.
“Det. Henry gave a tremendous effort on this case and did an excellent job. I have never seen a better combined effort and spirit of cooperation among agencies.”
Hendricks also praised assistant district attorney Sara M. Grainger’s prosecution of the case.
Prosecutors from the district attorney’s office recently won convictions in a robbery and assault case against Mack Garland, Larry Garland, and Russell Stahl stemming from an incident that occurred off Big Creek Road in December of 2003.
During the commission of that crime, Larry Garland was shot and later spent time in an Atlanta hospital before being arrested.