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8 suspects arrested in Gwinnett for human trafficking and gang activity
Eight suspects were arrested in Gwinnett County after an investigation into human trafficking, racketeering and gang activity.
Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr said in a press release that warrants were taken out on Nov. 11 and the arrests were made by the Gwinnett County Sheriff's Office Special Investigations Section. The case will be prosecuted by the Attorney General's Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit and his Gang Prosecution Unit. Read More.
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Gwinnett County settles $2M with Tennessee bounty hunters
The Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners approved Tuesday a $2M settlement with Tennessee bounty hunters who were previously charged with kidnapping and home invasion in a 2014 incident near Lawrenceville.
Officials said Kevin Roberson and Khalil Abdullah kicked in the door of a Gwinnett County home and held a woman and her children at gunpoint. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports Roberson and Abdullah were trying to arrest a man on a misdemeanor traffic violation out of Tennessee.
The men were indicted on charges of kidnapping, home invasion, false imprisonment, aggravated assault and cruelty to children in 2015. They were later acquitted of all charges in 2016. Roberson spent 21 months in the Gwinnett County Jail, while Abdullah spent five months.
In 2019, they sued the county and two police officers in federal court alleging malicious prosecution. Read More.
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Chief: Fire that destroyed landmark Hartwell restaurant was electrical
The overnight fire that destroyed WillaDean’s Tavern in Hartwell recently has been ruled accidental.
“Our joint investigation included fire investigators from our department, the State Fire Marshal’s Office and the insurance company,” a statement from Fire Chief Alan Daniel issued Sunday reads. “The insurance company also brought in a third party investigator and an electrical engineer.”
Daniel had refrained from issuing a statement until all investigations were complete.
Because the fire happened overnight, it went undetected until it was too late to save the structure.
“The structure did not have a fire sprinkler system or a fire detection system and neither was required when the structure was built,” the statement reads. Read More.
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Forsyth County parents permitted to swear at school board meetings
A federal judge has ruled that school board meeting attendees can swear at meetings, as long as swear words are free of sexually explicit material.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that U.S. District Judge Richard W. Story ruled that Forsyth County Schools must stop enforcing some of its rules while the lawsuit plays out.
The lawsuit was filed by two Forsyth County parents, who call themselves the Mama Bears, after one of them was banned from school board meetings for reading offensive passages from a book that was in her son’s middle school library.
Alison Hair was banned in March from the meetings after reading the excerpt from the young adult novel in question. The school board said she would be allowed to attend meetings again if she followed their rules.
She and fellow parent Cindy Martin then sued the school system.
The school board previously had rules that prevented speakers from making loud or boisterous comments and using words deemed profane. Story’s order did not strike down these rules, but he ruled that Forsyth County Schools cannot enforce them. He did not determine what words are considered obscene.
The lawsuit is ongoing, but both parents will be able to attend the upcoming December school board meeting. Read More.
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Japanese delegation visits Forsyth County Schools to learn about esports program
The Forsyth County School District on Wednesday hosted a delegation of officials from Japan for an informative session about the district’s esports program.
The district was chosen by the North America Scholastic Esports Federation and Skillshot to host leaders invited by the US Consulate in Nagoya, Japan during a tour aimed at highlighting the growth of scholastic esports in Georgia.
Esports is short for electronic sports and is a form of organized competition held on various video games. The act of participating in esports is similar to more traditional, physical sports, with competitors training and being part of a team.
During the tour, the delegation visited Academies of Creative Education, Little Mill Middle School and Old Atlanta Recreation Center. The delegation observed several presentations from school officials about how esports was integrated into learning in Forsyth County Schools. They also witnessed a live gaming session from an esports team consisting of students from several high schools in the county. Read More.
