A 16-year-old male was beaten up while walking with a friend to play basketball at Easy Street Park about 5:30 p.m. Monday.

LaGrange Police Sgt. William Nelson said the teens were walking along North Greenwood Street when a group of males they did not know came up behind them. According to Nelson, the group then started beating on the 16 year old, knocking him down and eventually stealing his cell phone.

The teen was left with bruises and scratches, stated Nelson. He was checked out by medics on the scene and released.

Nelson said LaGrange Police Department officers arrested two people in connection with the incident: Davon Osborn, 19, and a juvenile whose identity was not released because of his age.

Osborn was being held this morning at Troup County Jail. Nelson said charges were pending.

Investigators this morning still were looking for additional people involved in the incident.

Nelson said detectives are also investigating it as a potential gang crime.

Anyone with any information was asked to call the LaGrange Police Department Criminal Investigations Division at 706-883-2620, message the department on its Facebook page, “LaGrange Police Department,” or text tips anonymously to 888-777.

Contractor accused of theft by deception

A woman claims a local contractor took her money but has not started any of her home renovations — and the contractor allegedly admitted the claim is true.

The woman filed the report Monday and told officers she wrote the contractor a check for $8,500 on July 3. She said the check cleared her account within a few days, but as of Monday, none of the work had been done.

According to the homeowner, the last time she spoke with the contractor, he told her he no longer had any of the money she had provided to him.

LPD officers also met with the contractor who told them he used the woman’s $8,500 to pay other creditors and does not have the money to start her home renovations or return her deposit, according to the officers’ report.

The contractor told officers he is attempting to borrow money from another source, the report states.

Police were still investigating.

Apartment burglarized twice; lawn equipment stolen

LaGrange police discovered an apartment in the 600 block of Park Avenue had actually been burglarized twice.

Officers responded about 2:30 a.m. Monday to the apartment after the resident said he was at home when a man entered, took items and fled. The suspect, identified by police as James Howard Turner, 34, was found in the yard of his residence shortly after the incident.

While officers were investigating that call, it was determined a separate incident had taken place at the apartment between Friday and Saturday. The victim’s black leather wallet, valued at $25, that contained his driver’s license, Medicare card, Social Security card and $1,600 cash was stolen from the apartment. Police were investigating.

In a separate incident Monday, a man told police that his Echo brand weed trimmer and his Homelite backpack blower had gone missing from his home in the 600 block of Lakewood Drive. The total value of both pieces of equipment was estimated around $400.

Cash register found in trash

A LaGrange High School custodian made an unusual find Monday morning while emptying one of the trash cans on the campus on North Greenwood Street.

According to the school resource officer, the employee located a cash register in the juniors’ parking lot. LPD officers checked the serial number on the register and didn’t find any reports of it being stolen. The device was also empty.

The resource officer took the register to LaGrange Police Department and stored in an evidence locker.