Thursday, May 17, 2012
An Acworth woman reviewing home surveillance video in connection with a separate incident found footage of a man near her home just before midnight.
Bartow County Sheriff's Office investigators say an Acworth woman was "shocked" to find evidence of a peeping tom on video footage captured by her home surveillance system. The 50-year-old Lake Shore Circle woman reported a previous trespassing incident on May 10. She was reviewing the video in connection to that case when she spotted the suspected peeping tom, investigators said on the department's Facebook page. "She was shocked to see this white male near her home just before midnight on May 14," the post says. A deputy who watched the surveillance video noted the man looked around the home and opened the back gate. The homeowner said she had seen him at the lake, but doesn't know him. If you recognize the man captured in the footage, …
Thursday, May 10, 2012
An operation based in Cobb County sold identification to illegal immigrants.
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Thursday, May 10
Four members of a counterfeit document ring based in Smyrna were sentenced to federal prison Wednesday on charges of conspiring to produce fraudulent documents. Ruben Osorno Altamirano, 31, Jose Luis Israel Legoretta Castillo, 31, Juana Hernandez Fonseca, 40, and Jose Molina Vasquez, 33, received sentences ranging from 10 months to two years in prison, plus two years of supervised release. All are from Mexico. U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said in a news release that the men ran a counterfeit identification operation out of a Smyrna laundry. They sold fake Social Security cards, permanent resident cards and other forms of identification. “These defendants ran an operation that enabled many illegal aliens to get their hands on …
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
His injuries are not considered life-threatening.
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Tuesday, May 8
A 36-year-old Acworth man drove a Honda through a split-level house on Cedar Mill Crossing in Woodstock around 1:30 Monday afternoon. Cherokee County firefighters found that the car had gone through the garage door and exited through the wall on the opposite side, according to a press release. Shane Rainwater of Acworth, who has been identified Tuesday as the man who drove through the house, was taken to WellStar Kennestone Hospital and suffered critical, but non-life-threatening injuries, Lt. Jay Baker said in a news release. The home is roped off because of structural damage. The investigation remains under investigation, but nothing at the scene indicated Rainwater was impaired. Charges are coming, Baker said.
Saturday, May 5, 2012
The Cobb County grand jury expands on the charges against the NorthStar Church volunteer.
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Saturday, May 5
Former NorthStar Church volunteer Cesar Pastrana faces 15 counts of child molestation and aggravated child molestation under an indictment returned by the Cobb County grand jury, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. The indictment reflects the growth of the case against the 25-year-old Kennesaw resident as Cobb County police have continued to investigate the North Cobb High School graduate's involvement with kids. Pastrana was arrested Feb. 10 on two counts of child molestation and two of aggravated child molestation after police said he molested a juvenile during a church lock-in at a private Acworth home Feb. 3 to 4. The warrants for those initial charges covered the lock-in and an August incident, according to jail records. Police …
34.035467
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NorthStar Church
3413 Blue Springs Rd NW, Kennesaw, GA
/articles/pastrana-indicted-on-15-child-sex-counts
1160379
/locations/6944263
Thursday, May 3, 2012
An Acworth teen and his mom were arrested by Cherokee authorities in connection with the Wednesday head-on collision that killed a Marietta motorcyclist.
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Thursday, May 3
The Cherokee Sheriff’s Office arrested 19-year-old Giovanni Aragon-Mercado Thursday afternoon in connection with the fatal accident that occurred Wednesday in Woodstock. Mercado's SUV crossed the center line and struck a motorcycle driven by 24-year-old Derrick Ferree of Marietta on Bascomb Carmel Road at approximately 5 p.m. Wednesday, said Lt. Jay Baker of the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office. Ferree was transported to Wellstar Kennestone Hospital in Marietta where he later died from his injuries. Mercado survived with no injuries. "It appears Mercado fell asleep at the wheel," Baker said. Mercado was charged with misdemeanor homicide by vehicle, failure to maintain lane, and violation of license restrictions. Mercado had a learner’s …
But a 24-year-old man from Marietta died from the collision in Woodstock Wednesday afternoon.
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Thursday, May 3
The teen, 19-year-old Giovanni Aragon-Mercado, was arrested Thursday afternoon by the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office. Read the full story here. A 24-year-old motorcyclist died in a head-on collision on Bascomb Carmel Road in Woodstock Wednesday afternoon. Derrick Ferree of Marietta collided with Giovanni Aragon-Mercado, 19, of Acworth who was driving a Lincoln Navigator and suffered no injuries near Bascomb Springs at approximately 5 p.m., said Lt. Jay Baker of the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office. "It appears Mercado fell asleep at the wheel," Baker said. The preliminary findings show his SUV crossed the center and struck the motorcycle. Baker also said there was no evidence at the scene to suggest Mercado was impaired. Ferree was …
Cobb firefighters will be at businesses throughout the county during the first three Fridays of May to collect donations.
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Thursday, May 3
Cobb firefighters will be at businesses throughout the county on May 4, 11 and 18—the first three Fridays of the month—as part of the Give Burns the Boot annual fundraiser. They'll be collecting money for the Georgia Firefighters Burn Foundation and a camp for children with burn injuries. There isn’t a set list of collection locations, as each station in the county decides separately where they'll be, Cobb County Fire and Emergency Services spokeswoman Denell Boyd said. But firefighters typically go to places like Kroger and Home Depot, she added. One definite collection point is Town Center Mall, Boyd said. The Georgia Firefighters Burn Foundation works to educate the public in burn awareness and prevention, as well as supports the Burn …
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Two Cobb County juveniles are being investigated for identity theft, reported 11Alive News.
Fourteen-year-old Palmer Middle School student Alex Boston of Acworth made national headlines last week after she and her parents filed a civil libel suit against classmates they say bullied her through the use of a fake Facebook page. Now, two Cobb County juveniles accused of creating the page to impersonate the Acworth girl and post racial and sexual material, are being investigated by the Cobb Sheriff's Office for identity theft, reported 11Alive News. According to the Huffington Post, the page suggested Boston smoked marijuana and spoke a language called "Retardish." A racist video and sexual and obscene comments were also left on friends' pages using the fake account. Boston's attorney, Natalie Woodward, told the Daily Report that the…
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
An Acworth man and two others join Sean Hall in the Cobb jail in the death of Zach Gamble.
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Tuesday, May 1
Four men now are charged with murder in the death of Iraq war veteran Zach Gamble. Cobb County police arrested Arthur Lynell Batchelor, 37, of Acworth, Tarell Winston Secrest, 36, of Marietta and Jason Scott Hill, 35, of Marietta on Tuesday, police spokesman Sgt. Dana Pierce said in a news release. (Jail booking records list Hill as a Woodstock resident.) Each is charged with committing felony murder, aggravated assault and aggravated battery against Gamble, a 34-year-old Marine veteran from Acworth who police say suffered a fatal beating early March 25 after a party at the Concord Crossing Apartments in Smyrna. Sean DGene Hall, 38, of Mableton was arrested Monday on the same charges in Gamble’s death. The arrests follow more than a month …
Find out something you didn't know about Wayne Dennard, the city's new chief of police.
Wayne Dennard was sworn in on April 19 as the new Acworth police chief, following the resignation of Former Chief Michael Wilkie, who is leaving for a teaching position at Bob Jones University, a Christian university in Greenville, SC. Dennard has been with the Acworth Police Department for nine years and has held the rank of major more than three years. He holds a bachelor of science degree in criminal justice and has completed his studies to obtain a master's in public administration from Columbus State University. Dennard is also a graduate of the FBI National Academy in Quantico, VA. He and his wife, Melinda, have been married 17 years, and their daughters, Madelyn and Mallory, attend North Cobb Christian School.
Sherry
11:50 pm on Sunday, May 6, 2012
so sad.. 15 counts that could have been avoided, if a lead pastor had been doing his job. more ›