East Cobb Courts & Trials

Cobb Drug Treatment Court celebrates 6 new graduates

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Cobb Drug Treatment Court celebrates 6 new graduates

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Judges, elected officials, community members, court staff, attorneys, family members, and friends packed the Cobb Superior Court Ceremonial Courtroom to congratulate the six newest Cobb County Drug Treatment Court graduates. The graduates, staff, family, and friends shared moments of tears and laughter as they detailed their journey.  The overriding theme was a sense of accomplishment, hope, and excitement for the next chapter of their lives. 

The Drug Treatment Court is an alternative to incarceration for individuals involved in the justice system with a substance use disorder. The 18-24-month program uses a combination of close supervision, individualized evidence-based treatment, and recovery support to hold offenders accountable for their actions and teach them to be productive members of the community. 

One of the graduates shared, “Drug court has changed my life because before the program, I did not think very much of the future. My only goal was to stay out of jail. Now, I feel like the sky is the limit. I have accomplished things that I have only dreamed of.”

Superior Court Judge Kimberly A. Childs presides over the Drug Treatment Court and the multi-disciplinary team administering the program. After the graduation ceremony, she reflected that “these graduates exemplify the need for and importance of an evidence-based recovery and treatment program in our criminal justice system. Our community should be proud of the commitment Cobb County has to helping those with substance use disorder transform their lives. Through the efforts of our dedicated team and with the continued support of our stakeholders, these six graduates are now sober, independent, and productive members of our society.”

For more information about Cobb County Drug Treatment Court, including how to become involved or support the program, please contact Porsha Middlebrook, DTC Coordinator, at 770.528.1933 or porsha.middlebrook@cobbcounty.org.

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Man gets life for killing friend at Delk Road apartments

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A Cobb judge this week sentenced a man to life without parole for shooting his friend to death at an apartment complex off Delk Road in 2020.

Man gets life for killing friend at Delk Road apartments
Kehari Yarber

The Cobb District Attorney’s Office said that Kehari Yarber, 26, was found guilty of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm in commission of a felony by a Cobb Superior Court jury last week.

Judge Robert D. Leonard sentenced him to life without the possibility of parole plus an additional five years to be served consecutively.

The DA’s office said in a release that police were called to an area between the Stratford Ridge complex and the Atrium at Bentley complex on Oct. 31, 2020, and found a male body in the woods.

The release said that Blake Porter, 20, was pronounced dead on the scene, and that detectives found surveillance footage showing him walking in that area with another male on the evening of Oct. 30.

According to the release, there was a muzzle flash that appeared on the video, followed by a second muzzle flash some seconds later.

The DA’s office didn’t indicate a possible motive for the shooting, but said in the release that family members described Yarber as a close friend of Porter, with some calling him his “twin.”

The DA’s office said Yarber was identified as the other man from footage at a nearby Shell station and confirmed by images from friends and social media. The release said Yarber completed a transaction at the gas station before leaving.

According to the release, Yarber was arrested in Clayton County on Dec. 15, 2020.

“I am grateful for the dedication of law enforcement and the thorough work of our prosecutors in securing justice for Blake Porter and his loved ones. Our office will continue to pursue justice for victims and hold those who commit such senseless acts of violence accountable,” Cobb DA Flynn D. Broady Jr. said in the release.

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East Side ES students experience ‘Courtroom to Classroom’ event

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East Side ES students experience 'Courtroom to Classroom' event

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On Friday, February 9th, 2024, the Cobb County Superior Court proudly hosted the first Courtroom to Classroom event of the new year, welcoming nearly 200 enthusiastic fourth graders from East Side Elementary School. The event aimed to educate students about the intricacies of the legal system through an engaging mock trial experience.

Under the guidance of Superior Court judges Jason D. Marbutt, Kellie S. Hill, and Henry R. Thompson, alongside State Court judge Jaret Usher, the young participants delved into a scripted mock trial to determine the guilt of “Jaime Joyride” in the alleged theft of bicycles from a local store. Judge Marbutt expressed his enthusiasm for educating children, noting, “I love having the opportunity to teach kids about our jury system and due process. I was impressed with how seriously the kid jurors took their job!”

Following the mock trial, the students had the privilege of engaging with representatives from the Cobb Sheriff’s Office’s Community Engagement Unit and meeting K-9 officers Rose and Boomer, along with their handlers, Angela and Deputy Jacob Long, respectively. These officers provided valuable insights into their roles within the community and showcased tools used to ensure public safety, including bicycle and trike patrol units. Judge Henry R. Thompson emphasized the importance of public servants participating in community outreach programs, stating, “I think it is the duty of all public servants to participate in community outreach programs whenever feasible.”

The Cobb County Superior Court looks forward to hosting more mock trials throughout the 2023-24 school year, providing valuable educational experiences for fourth- and fifth-grade groups.

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East Cobb investment adviser sentenced for Ponzi scheme

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Nearly a year after pleading guilty to wire fraud in a Ponzi scheme that defrauded several hundred of his clients, an East Cobb investment adviser was sentenced to federal prison this week. East Cobb investment adviser pleads guilty

John Woods, who’s been active in Walton High School sports and civic affairs in East Cobb, will serve seven-and-a-half years, plus three years on supervised probation, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for North Georgia.

That’s where federal prosecutors presented evidence that Woods victimized more than 400 investors, at a cost of more than $49 million, over 13 years.

In 2021, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission shut down the Ponzi scheme, run out of a fund called Horizon Private Equity, promising rates of return of six to seven percent.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a release Thursday that Horizon would invest the funds in government bonds, stocks, or small real estate projects, and that clients were assured the investments were safe “because Horizon maintained a diverse portfolio.”

But prosecutors said in court last year that those funds were used instead to repay other investors and that “Horizon was able to pay guaranteed returns to investors only by raising and using new investor money.”

The defrauded clients were sent monthly statements that did not disclose that their investments didn’t provide a return to cover the cost of interest.

“Although Woods did not use the money to live a lavish lifestyle, he diverted investor funds to pet projects not approved by the investors, such as purchasing an interest in a baseball team in his home town,” the release said.

Woods, a native of Chattanooga, was a minority owner of the Chattanooga Lookouts minor league baseball team.

Woods, 58, was formerly on the executive board of the Walton Touchdown Club and was a member of the original East Cobb Cityhood committee in 2019.

When the Ponzi scheme was shut down, the Securities and Exchange Commission estimated that Horizon investors were owed $110 million in principal payments.

The sentence handed down by U.S. District Court Judge Sarah E. Geraghty also requires Woods to pay restitution. A restitution hearing is scheduled for April 15.

“Woods abused the trust of his victims, including retirees, seniors, and military veterans, who lost their life savings and retirement accounts due to his greed,” U.S. Attorney Ryan Buchanan said in the release.

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Cobb State Court Clerk introduces QR codes to track cases

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Submitted information and photo:Cobb State Court Clerk introduces QR codes

Drivers who get traffic tickets in Cobb County will notice something new on their citations–a QR code. The little black-and-white checkered code that gained widespread usage during the COVID-19 pandemic has been added to the ticket to make it easier to find a case, access information, and determine the next steps.

The Georgia Department of Driver’s Services mandates police agencies use a uniform traffic citation template,  but agencies can customize the back side with local court information. After almost a year of development and testing, the Cobb State Court Clerk’s office implemented the QR code system-wide.

The old citations only included the clerk’s website, which contained basic court information on traffic fines and fees, court dates, and payment options. Users had to visit a different web page to locate their case.  The new QR code system will allow users to quickly find and monitor court dates, view docket updates, change their address, and, in allowable cases, pay fines online with one scan rather than visiting multiple sites.

“We are always looking for innovative ways to assist customers with locating case information, following and updating records, and making these records accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” said State Court Clerk Robin Bishop. While technology streamlines processes, the State Court Clerk reiterated, “We are still available by phone 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Monday – Friday, as well as in person at our public service counters at 12 E. Park Square, Marietta, to assist the public.”

The Clerk’s Office worked with several Cobb County agencies on this new tool, including the Cobb Police Records Management team, Cobb’s website team, and Information Technology Services team members.

QR codes will not only be on citations. The Clerk’s Office has duplicated this concept at the State Court building, with a “Follow Your Case” QR code visible when users come in for various criminal and civil hearings, interactive screens, and coming soon on some court notices. 

The Cobb State Court Clerk’s Office maintains the records of all court proceedings in the State Court of Cobb County, including all traffic offenses, misdemeanors, and civil actions.

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Cobb Family Advocacy Center opens for domestic violence victims

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Cobb Family Advocacy Center opens

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After years of planning and building, there is now a safe place for people to go to get the care they need when leaving destructive and abusive situations. Last week, officials and supporters cut the ribbon on the Cobb County Family Advocacy Center—a central location for crime victims to get assistance. The FAC is designed to address barriers faced by victims, by locating critical service providers under one roof with a coordinated intake process.

The FAC will meet the wide and varied needs of victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse, elder abuse, stalking, and human trafficking. Read more about the Cobb Family Advocacy Center at CobbFAC.org.

Read more about the Cobb Family Advocacy Center at CobbFAC.org.

Some more background information about the center, which operates out of the Cobb District Attorney’s Office, and is the first such center in the state of Georgia providing coordinated services:

The office was awarded a four-year grant worth up to $400,000 to create the advocacy center, which is partnering with LiveSAFE Resources, SafePath Children’s Advocacy Center, Inc., the Cobb Sheriff’s Office and Police Department, the Solicitor General’s Office, Legal Aid of Cobb County and other law enforcement and non-profit organizations.

“Make no mistake—there’s a problem with domestic violence in this county,” Cobb Chief Magisrate Court Judge Brendan Murphy said at the Dec. 15 ribbon-cutting ceremony.

“We came together to do something about it.”

Instead of having to go from government offices and courts “telling their story over and over,” Murphy said the center is designed as a single point of navigation for victims.

Cobb District Attorney Flynn Broady, who said he grew up in a home with domestic violence, said when he began to go public with his family’s story, others told him he was telling their story too.

“We knew we had to find a way to get people help,” he said. “Our vision is that we will provide a safe place for our community, especially for those who are most vulnerable.”

The facility is located at 277 Fairground Street, location of Cobb’s Department of Family and Children Services.

The hours are Monday-Friday from 9.m. to 4 p.m. Phone: 770-528-8121.

 

Teen gets life for gang killing at East Cobb apartment complex

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Teen gets life for gang killing at East Cobb apartment complex
Brayan Rivas

A teenager who was 15 years old when he was charged with the murder of another juvenile has been given a life sentence for the crime, the Cobb District Attorney’s Office said Thursday.

Brayan Rivas, now 18, was given a life sentence without parole plus 20 years by Cobb Superior Court Judge Kimberly Childs after he pleaded guilty in court to charges of malice murder and street gang terrorism, the DA’s office said in a release.

Rivas was indicted in January 2021 on 12 felony counts and was on trial for the April 8, 2020 murder 14-year-old of Janina Valenzuela.

She was riding her bicycle at the Arbors of East Cobb apartments, accompanied by her boyfriend, who was walking with her, according to testimony presented at the trial.

The DA’s office said Marietta Police concluded that they were confronted by a male juvenile, later identified as Rivas (and who is identified as Brayan Segura in court filings).

Janina Valenzuela

Prosecutors said Rivas threatened them both with a knife and tried to start a fight with the other boy. Valenzuela ran away on foot and her boyfriend used a bicycle to escape, according to the DA’s office, with Rivas in pursuit.

The DA’s office said investigators determined that the girl was chased into the woods behind the apartments and was stabbed to death by Rivas. Valenzuela’s body was found in a creek at the back of the complex, according to police.

After Rivas was arrested, he initially denied responsibility, but in a letter he mailed from jail that was obtained by law enforcement, he confessed to killing the girl as part of an initiation rite with the MS-13 criminal street gang, the DA’s office said.

Prosecutors also said that the knife that was used in the killing and that was found at Rivas’ residence was confirmed by the GBI as having the victim’s DNA.

“This was one of the most heinous and senseless murders that I have ever worked,” Cobb Assistant District Attorney Jay Winkler said. “I only hope that the family has some peace knowing that the man responsible will spend the rest of his days behind bars.”

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Cobb to create ‘stability court’ to address evictions issues

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Submitted information:Cobb to create 'stability court' to address evictions issues

Cobb County will break new ground with a revolutionary new accountability court targeting the eviction crisis. The Board of Commissioners approved a memorandum of understanding between the county’s Magistrate Court and a nonprofit to form the Housing Stability Court.

“We’re incredibly excited about the program. We’ve been charged with bridging the gap to the future,” said Cobb’s Chief Magistrate Brendan Murphy. “This will bring resources to bear so folks can lift their families to a better situation.”

The program will be funded from a $1.3 million federal Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) allocation, which can only be used for rental and mortgage assistance. The court wanted to wait until the ERA funds designated for direct assistance were exhausted before starting the program. The county received more than $23 million from the federal government for housing assistance during the pandemic.

The Magistrate Court will work with the Marietta-based Center for Family Resources to administer the program. Participants will be referred to the Housing Stability Court, and there is no mechanism for people to apply to the program directly.  The unique court program will help families avoid losing their homes by providing small monetary assistance combined with wrap-around services to work with landlords and tenants to avoid the eviction process.

The court will crank up in the coming weeks.

 

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Cobb Drug Treatment Court observes 20th anniversary

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Cobb Drug Treatment Court observes 20th anniversary

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For 20 years, Cobb’s Drug Treatment Court has led people out of the criminal justice system and into long-term recovery. To celebrate this milestone, on Thursday, October 26, 2023, Cobb Superior Court Judge Kimberly A. Childs led a large gathering of judges, court employees, community stakeholders, and many other supporters in celebration of two decades of changing lives through the County’s Drug Treatment Court program.

At the celebration, Judge Childs, who currently presides over the program, presented a special award to Senior Judge George H. Kreeger, the first Drug Court judge, for his many years of service to the program and the county.

“Today, we celebrate 20 years of creating paths to wellness. Drug Courts are saving lives, reuniting families, reducing crime, and saving money,” said Porsha Middlebrook, Program Coordinator. “Drug Courts work!”

Speakers at the event included Chief Assistant District Attorney John Pursley, who served as the prosecutor on the Drug Court team for several years, and Grady Moore, who served as a prosecutor and later as defense counsel for the Drug Court program for nearly 20 years.

Former DTC graduate Daniel Spinney spoke about his experience before and after participating in the program. Since then, he has been an integral part of the recovery community in Cobb County, including serving as the long-time Director of Program Services at The Zone in Marietta. “Drug Court is a major part of the person I am today. It gave me the tools to be a better son, father, and grandfather. I would not be where I am today without the Drug Court program,” Spinney said.

Judge Childs also awarded DTC community partner and certified sober living facility Four Winds Recovery for their continued partnership and services to the program and participants. The availability of quality sober living housing opportunities has been a mainstay of the DTC, enabling otherwise homeless individuals into the program by offering a stable residence in Cobb County.

Sherrod Jones, the Career and Training Coordinator with CobbWorks, was also recognized for his service as a team member in all the Cobb accountability courts for over eight years. Mr. Jones provides comprehensive services to DTC participants for employment and education. These services are pivotal to ensuring participants obtain stable jobs and achieve independence and sustainability during and after the program.

Hope the Comfort Dog also received recognition for her devotion to the participants of the Cobb DTC and for always providing a calming influence on participants each week in the court hearings. Hope comes to court for every accountability court session. Marietta’s Faith Lutheran Church and School sponsor the Lutheran Charities K-9 Comfort Dogs, and Judge Childs thanked the Church for supporting Cobb’s accountability court participants.

For more information about Cobb Drug Treatment Court, please contact Porsha Middlebrook, Program Coordinator, at 770-528-1933 or email CobbDTC@cobbcounty.org.

 

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Cobb Veterans Treatment Court graduates two participants

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Submitted information:Cobb Veterans Treatment Court graduates two participants

Judge Robert Leonard led a celebration Friday where the Cobb County Veterans Accountability and Treatment Court (VATC) graduated two veteran participants during a ceremony at the Cobb County Superior Court Building with over 100 in attendance. This was the 19th graduating class of successful veterans, bringing 60 local participants who had completed the 18-month intensive treatment program. The Cobb County VATC began June 13, 2014, joining a nationwide surge of accountability courts specifically tailored for veterans, addressing issues of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), substance abuse, and other mental health issues via counseling, job training, and additional needed services to achieve success.

The Veterans Accountability and Treatment Court’s mission is to increase public safety by reducing recidivism, alleviate the tax burden of incarcerating law-breaking veterans by assisting participants to become productive taxpayers versus inmates, provide intensive case management to address mental health issues and offer familiarity of structure and accountability, like what they encountered during military service.

An estimated 774,464 veterans reside in Georgia, with 47,000 living in Cobb County. Locally, 4,500 active duty/reservists are assigned to Dobbins Air Reserve Base. According to data collected from the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA), nationwide, over 39 veterans attempt to commit suicide daily, and 20 a day take their lives.  Approximately 70% of veterans who took their own lives did not access services provided by the VA, which could have possibly prevented a majority of these suicides.  The tragic daily deaths of 20 veterans is potentially a number that is under-reported since many of these veterans were embarrassed or unwilling to report their veteran status before ending their lives. 

Together with the Atlanta VA, Cobb County VATC participants receive alcohol and drug treatment in Decatur and are given additional treatment locally via a private counselor. When a participant is stable in their recovery and treatment, the assigned VTC team addresses other issues that hinder an enrollee’s success, such as unemployment, lack of stable housing, the need for continuing education, or the benefits of family counseling. 

One of the most unique aspects of the VATC is the Mentor Program. Each VATC participant is paired with a veteran who understands the challenges encountered by their assigned veteran to succeed in the program and graduate.  VATC mentors must be honorably discharged from military service, have no prior criminal record, and are willing to commit to the duration of assisting a minimum of one veteran for the entirety of their 18-month VTC program. 

Two veteran participants graduated from the VATC on August 25. With their mentors by their sides, these veterans turned what once seemed like a dismal path into a very bright future for themselves and their families.   

 

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Mother gets life for killing toddler found in Chattahoochee River

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A woman who pleaded guilty this week to killing her toddler son and leaving his body in the Chattahoochee River in 2021 has been sentenced to life in prison.

Mother gets life for killing toddler found in Chattahoochee
Breyanla Lachuan Cooper

The Cobb District Attorney’s Office said Thursday that Breyanla Lachuan Cooper, 29, of Stone Mountain, pleaded guilty in Cobb Superior Court to one count of malice murder, one count of aggravated assault and one count of concealing the death of another.

She was issued the sentence by Judge Kellie Hill.

Cooper was 27 when the body of her 19-month-old child, Faheem Cooper, was found by Cobb Fire and Emergency Services personnel in the Chattahoochee River near the Palisades Unit of the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area.

They were conducting a training session on July 1, 2021, when they noticed the child, who was deceased, floating in the water.

The Cobb DA’s office said after the news was released to the public, Cooper called the Cobb Fire non-emergency line to see if she could identify the body.

Cobb detectives investigating the death said Cooper told them that a man took her son because she owed him money, and that she was afraid to report it, according to the DA’s office, but police later determined there was no kidnapping.

Police also talked to Cooper’s mother, who described for them the details of her daughter’s car that was identified via GPS data at having been at the river on June 26, 2021, in the early evening hours. prosecutors said.

“It was during this time that she killed her child, leaving him in the river,” the Cobb DA’s office said, but didn’t elaborate on how the child died.

Cooper was arrested on July 2 and further interviews by police included the woman’s older child, “who disclosed that Cooper told her that their time with Faheem was done,” the DA’s office said.

At sentencing, Hill said that “it is unspeakable that a mother would do this to her own flesh and blood. There’s just nothing the court can say or do to make this any better for anybody.”

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Cobb assistant DA in Arbery trial named top Ga. prosecutor

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Cobb Assistant DA named top Ga. prosecutor

Linda Dunikoski, a senior assistant Cobb District Attorney who prosecuted three men in the Ahmaud Arbery murder trial, has been named the Georgia prosecutor of the year by the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia.

Cobb District Attorney Flynn Broady presented Dunikoski the award recently at the organization’s summer meeting for her work getting convictions for Travis McMichael, Greg McMichael and William R. Bryan.

They were found guilty by a Glynn County jury in the 2020 shooting death of Arbery in a case that gained national attention.

Arbery was a black man jogging down a residential street in Brunswick when he was pursued by a vehicle with the McMichaels and Bryan, who are all white.

The Cobb DA’s office was assigned the case when the Glynn County district attorney declined to bring charges, citing Georgia’s citizen arrest law. She later was indicted for her handling of the case.

“I am so honored to be recognized by the District Attorneys’ Association of Georgia for my 21 years of service to the citizens of Georgia and for our team’s work on the Ahmaud Arbery case,” Dunikowski said in a statement issued by the Cobb DA’s office.

“Our trial team, including Paul Camarillo and Larissa Ollivierre, could not have achieved justice for the family of Ahmaud without the support of Cobb DA Flynn Broady.”

In the same statement, Broady said that “the eyes of the world were upon the team led by Linda. The trial team showed that we as prosecutors will fight for victims and their families, despite the hardships inherent in a prosecution of this magnitude. Not only did she deliver justice, she brought back the legitimacy of our system of justice to many. We are very proud of the work by these men and women in our office.”

Dunikoski currently is the managing attorney of the Appeals Division of the Cobb County District Attorney’s Office.

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Cobb won’t retry Justin Ross Harris in son’s ‘hot car’ death

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Justin Ross Harris conviction overturned
Justin Ross Harris is serving a 12-year-sentence for exchanging sexually explicit messages with minor girls.

Cobb District Attorney Flynn Broady said Thursday his office will not retry a man sentenced to serve life in prison in the “hot car” death of his son in 2014 but whose conviction was overturned last year.

In a 6-3 vote last June, the Supreme Court of Georgia overturned the conviction against Justin Ross Harris, whose 22-month-old son Cooper died of hypothermia being left all day at his father’s workplace in Vinings in a vehicle that was nearly nearly 100 degrees inside.

The high court ruled that evidence presented by prosecutors at Harris’ trial about his extramarital activities and sexually lewd activities and communications with girls and women was prejudicial and should have been separated from the murder indictment.

Harris continues to serve a 12-year sentence in the Georgia prison system for criminal attempt to commit sexual exploitation of a minor and distributing harmful materials to minors.

But Broady said in a release Thursday that his office is closing the murder case on Harris after a nearly year-long review, concluding that “crucial motive evidence that was admitted at the first trial in 2016 is no longer available to the State due to the majority decision of the Supreme Court.”

Broady said he disagrees with the Supreme Court ruling, which was also based on now-retired Cobb Superior Court Judge Mary Staley Clark’s denial of objections by Harris’ attorneys to introduce that evidence, and that she didn’t give “limiting” instructions to the jury.

Staley Clark, who retired last May, right before the Supreme Court ruling, also denied a motion by Harris’ attorney last year for a new murder trial.

The Cobb DA’s office—then led by Vic Reynolds, now a Cobb Superior Court judge—prosecuted the case in Glynn County, on the Georgia coast, due to pretrial publicity, claiming that Harris’ motive was to kill his son to get out of his marriage.

Harris, who was 33 at the time of his son’s death, was a web developer working for Home Depot.

On the morning of June 18, 2014, he was to have dropped off his son at Home Depot’s day care center before going to his office. Father and son had eaten breakfast at Chick-fil-A, but Harris was late for work, and left the boy inside his Hyundai Tucson, prosecutors said at the trial.

According to trial evidence, while Cooper remained inside a hot vehicle, Harris was at work in his office, where he sent lewd messages to women.

The evidence showed that Harris returned to his car after 4 p.m., and found Cooper unconscious in a car seat in the back of the SUV with the windows rolled up.

According to trial records, Harris removed the boy from the SUV and placed him on the pavement, and, according to witnesses, yelled “What have I done?”

Even though Harris said he simply forgot about his son in the vehicle, a jury found him guilty of murder and sentenced him to life without parole.

A dissenting Supreme Court opinion argued last year that there was “no abuse of the court trial’s discretion” in deciding that severing the cases against Harris was unnecessary, and that introducing evidence about his sexual desires was not improper.

“Although we disagree with the outcome of the majority opinion and agree with the reasoning set forth by the dissenting justices, we are bound by the majority’s decision,” Broady said Thursday.

He thanked law enforcement and prosecutors “who worked tirelessly for years to obtain justice for Cooper. Cooper will always be remembered by this Office and those who fought for him.”

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Ex-Cobb Police officer sentenced for assault, child cruelty

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A former Cobb Police officer assigned to patrol duties in Precinct 4 in East Cobb was sentenced to six years in prison and 14 more years on probation Monday for a 2018 assault on a woman.Ex-Cobb Police officer sentenced for assault

According to the Cobb District Attorney’s Office, Robert New, now 51, pleaded guilty to that felony charge, as well as to another felony count of cruelty to children in the first degree.

A release issued by the DA’s office Tuesday said New was sentenced as a first offender in a non-negotiated hearing before Cobb Superior Court Judge James Bodiford.

New was charged with aggravated assault in June 2018 stemming from an off-duty incident with a woman who accused him of choking and slapping him during a sexual encounter at his home off Hawkins Store Road.

The DA’s office said police were alerted to the incident by a “good Samaritan” who said the woman had cognitive disabilities.

Police conducted a forensic interview with the the woman, who was 44 years old at the time, and concluded that due to a traumatic brain injury that occurred during childhood, she had the mental capacity of a 10-14-year-old child.

An internal affairs investigation determined that New met the woman online, and while the encounter was consensual, police said “the actions that took place during the encounter brought us to take out warrants against Officer New.”

The DA’s office said Tuesday that during a sexual encounter in May 2018, “the victim stated that New became violent during sex and choked her to the point of her not being able to breathe.”

Prosecutors said that in an interview with the victim, she said New wanted her to bring her juvenile niece and involve her in sexual activity. Police conducted a forensic analysis of New’s phone and arrested him, the DA’s office said, and he resigned a few days later.

Cobb Superior Court Judge Kellie Hill accepted New’s guilty plea in April, according to the DA’s office.

New was hired by Cobb Police in February 2005 and was assigned to Precinct 4 in East Cobb. He later served on the department’s DUI Task Force before returning to Precinct 4.

He was a police officer for a total of 27 years before his arrest, the DA’s office said.

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East Cobb man sentenced for shooting at neighbors, police

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An East Cobb man who engaged with a standoff with police and shot at officers and neighbors in a 2020 incident was given a 35-year sentence, the Cobb District Attorney’s office said Tuesday.East Cobb man sentenced shooting at police

The DA’s office said Donald Terry Welborn, Jr., must serve the first 18 of those years in prison in a sentence handed down by Cobb Superior Court Judge Ann Harris.

In a news release, the DA’s office said Welborn, now 60, pleaded guilty to nine counts of aggravated assault on police officers, three counts of aggravated assault on civilians and one count of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.

Welborn was arrested by Cobb Police on Sept. 22, 2020, at a home on Kingsley Drive in the New Castle neighborhood off Post Oak Tritt Road after a standoff lasting several hours.

According to police, Welborn’s wife and daughter reported that Welborn began shooting inside the home around 5:30 a.m., saying he was intoxicated, and struck a ceiling fan and a ceiling.

Police arrived and closed off the neighborhood. They said said the women escaped the home unharmed, but Welborn remained inside, firing at two nearby homes.

When police reached the home, according to the DA’s office, officers tried to talk him into coming outside, but he initially refused, and began shooting at them “with multiple firearms over a short period of time.

“Officers had to duck behind vehicles as projectiles whizzed by their heads, striking treetops, the asphalt roadway, and houses,” the DA’s office release said.

The Cobb Police SWAT team took over the scene and Welborn surrendered peacefully after several hours.

The DA’s office said the investigation also determined that one of neighbors, a family with two parents and two children, “hid in a closet, terrified, for hours during the standoff.

“One bullet from a high-powered rifle struck their aquarium located in their living room, killing the fish and flooding the area. In total, detectives located 68 spent shell casings of various calibers, 32 guns and thousands of rounds of ammunition.”

Welborn was indicted in May 2021 by a Cobb grand jury after his attorney unsuccessfully tried to get him transferred to a mental health court.

Cobb court records indicate that one of the women, Susan Welborn, was Welborn’s wife, but they had been separated. She filed for divorce in Cobb Superior Court on the same day of the shootings.

Court records show that those proceedings are continuing.

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Atlanta man gets life sentence for raping Cobb woman in 2020

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An Atlanta man was given a life sentence this week after a Cobb Superior Court jury found him guilty of raping a woman in her apartment in the East Cobb area.Cobb rapist gets life sentence

The Cobb District Attorney’s office said that Cam Melikoglu, 34, must serve 25 years in prison and will be on probation for the rest of his life following the sentencing by Judge Julie Adams Jacobs.

According to the DA’s office, Melikoglu was at a home on Aug. 3, 2020, for drinks and dinner with friends that included two women who are sisters.

Prosecutors said that the victim became heavily intoxicated and her sister took her to her apartment off Wylie Road.

The victim’s sister and Melikoglu messaged each other on Instagram, with Melikoglu saying he wanted to check on them “due to some tension between others at the party,” the DA’s office said.

Melikoglu arrived at the victim’s apartment and her sister let him stay there overnight because it was late, the DA’s office said.

According to his arrest warrant, the attack took place around 3 a.m.

Prosecutors said sometime during the night Melikoglu went into the victim’s bedroom and raped her while she was passed out, and when she woke up he was still in her bed.

The DA’s office said her injuries were “consistent with sexual assault” and his DNA was present. After an investigation by the Marietta Police Department, Melikoglu was charged with rape and was indicted on that felony count.

At the trial, the victim, now 30, testified, according to the DA’s office, as did her sister and others at the party. The jury returned a guilty verdict earlier this week.

“This defendant is a predator. He saw an opportunity and he took it,” Cobb assistant District Attorney Lindsey McClure-So said in a statement. “He thought because the victim was unconscious when he raped her that she wouldn’t say anything. The victim should be commended for her bravery to come forward with what happened to her and to give testimony in front of her rapist.”

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Man sentenced to 15 years in stalking at Indian Hills home

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A Dunwoody man has been given a 15-year sentence, with seven years to serve in prison, after pleading guilty this week to aggravated stalking and other charges stemming from an incident last May at a home in Indian Hills.Man sentenced stalking Indian Hills home

The Cobb District Attorney’s Office Friday said that Cobb Superior Court Judge Jason Marbut handed down the sentence to Anthony Merriwether, 66, after a negotiated plea on a number of felony counts.

Those included discharge of a gun near highway or street, reckless conduct, criminal damage to property in the first and second degrees, possession of cocaine, possession of firearm during commission of a felony, terroristic threats, criminal attempt to commit theft by extortion, and possession of firearm by a convicted felon.

Merriwether was to have gone on trial this week, according to Cobb Superior Court Clerk’s Office records.

Prosecutors said Merriwether was an ex-boyfriend of the victim’s deceased sister, and they had been in a dispute over the latter’s estate.

In a news release Friday, the DA’s office said that Cobb Police were called to the scene of a home on May 6, 2022, by a woman who reported an armed man in her front yard.

Prosecutors said that a window and interior walls of the home had been shattered by bullets, and that a man was shown on a Ring video camera driving to the home, stepping out of the car and making verbal threats for money.

According to an arrest warrant, the camera footage showed Merriwether pulling up in the driveway in a Porsche and he was in possession of two guns at the home on Indian Hills Parkway.

The victim was home at the time of the incident, the warrant said.

Merriwether had been given a portion of his former girlfriend’s estate, according to prosecutors, who said he believed he was entitled to the entire estate.

According to the release, Merriwether was arrested at a traffic stop on Johnson Ferry Road near Columns Drive shortly after the incident and was was found with two firearms and cocaine in his vehicle.

After his release, however, according to the DA’s office, Merriwether continued to contact the victim, despite a “no-contact” provision of his bond.

Another warrant taken out on Nov. 14 states that Merriwether used his deceased girlfriend’s e-mail address between Oct. 24 and Oct. 26 to send several messages “which contained threats of death, violence and intimidating statements” toward the same victim.

On Nov. 17, Merriwether was arrested on the aggravated stalking charge for violating bond conditions, and he has been detained ever since at the Cobb County Adult Detention Center, according to Cobb Sheriff’s Office records.

He was denied bond in December after a probable cause hearing, according to Cobb Superior Court Clerk’s office records.

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East Cobb investment advisor pleads guilty to Ponzi scheme

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An East Cobb investment advisor whom federal authorities say defrauded clients out of more than $25 million has pleaded guilty.East Cobb investment adviser pleads guilty

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia in Atlanta, John Woods, 58, pleaded guilty to a single charge of wire fraud and he awaits sentencing.

Woods has been active high school sports and civic affairs in East Cobb.

In 2021, Woods was accused by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission of operating a Ponzi scheme through his former company, Southport Capital Risk Management.

U.S. Attorney Ryan Buchanan said in a release that Woods solicited investors to invest in a fund called Horizon Private Equity, promising rates of return of six to seven percent.

He told investors their funds would be invested in government bonds, stocks and small real estate projects, according to the release, which said Woods assured investors would be safe because Horizon had a diverse portfolio.

But the U.S. Attorney’s Office said the investments were used to repay other investors, saying that Woods misled clients “by failing to disclose that the Horizon investments had not generated a positive percentage of return sufficient to cover the interest.”

More than $110 million was invested in the Horizon fund, from 400 investors in more than 20 states, federal prosecutors said.

“Losses are still being calculated, but investors have lost more than $25 million because of Woods’s scheme to defraud,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

“Investors should respond with caution to financial offers that sound too good to be true and are cloaked in the promise of low risk and high rates of return,” Buchanan said in the release.

Woods was formerly on the executive board of the Walton Touchdown Club and was a member of the original East Cobb Cityhood committee in 2019.

He was a minority owner of the Chattanooga Lookouts baseball team, in his Tennessee hometown, and also has been the head of the Friends of Chastain Park Foundation in Atlanta.

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Suspect in murders of Cobb sheriff’s deputies pleads guilty

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Christopher Golden, Cobb Sheriff's Deputies murders
Christopher Golden

Three months to the day that two Cobb Sheriff’s deputies were shot to death, the man charged with their murders pleaded guilty.

Christopher Patrick Golden accepted a plea deal Thursday in Cobb Superior Court and was sentenced to two life terms plus 55 years, without the possibility of parole, by Judge Julie A. Jacobs.

According to Cobb District Attorney Flynn Broady, that’s the maximum sentence possible in Georgia short of the death penalty.

His office declared it would be seeking the death penalty against Golden, whom Cobb Police said shot deputies Marshall Ervin and John Koleski with a rifle on Sept. 8.

The deputies were serving a warrant to Christopher Cook, a resident at a home in West Cobb, in the Cheatham Hill area, when gunfire broke out. Ervin, 38, and Koleski, 42, were pronounced dead on the scene.

After a standoff, Golden and Cook were arrested.

Golden was charged with two counts of felony murder and two counts of aggravated assault. Cook was charged with eight counts of theft by deception and theft by receiving stolen property.

Golden was to have had an arraignment hearing on Thursday. But at a press conference after the plea deal, Broady said Golden’s attorneys approached his office about considering life without parole in lieu of seeking capital punishment.

As part of his plea, Golden waived all post-conviction relief, including parole, clemency, or pardon, according to the Cobb DA’s office.

Broady said his office met with the families of Ervin and Koleski and that after lengthy discussions, “we made the mutual decision” to agree to the plea deal.

Cobb District Attorney Flynn Broady
Cobb District Attorney Flynn Broady

“Although nothing will ever replace the lives of Marshall and John, this plea today will allow their families to put the case behind them and focus on healing,” he said.

When asked about the reason Golden’s attorneys sought the plea deal, Broady deferred to his deputy chief assistant DA, Jason Sabila, who was assigned to prosecute the case.

Sabila said that based on a second interview with Cobb detectives, Golden “was very cognizant that this was a death penalty case. He referenced it repeatedly . . .

“We certainly don’t know for sure, but my assumption is that he knew where this was headed . . . and what this community was going to do.”

Broady declined to speculate on the motive for the shootings, since Cook still faces charges. Golden said nothing during the plea proceedings in court Thursday.

Cobb Sheriff Craig Owens read a prepared statement at the press conference.

“Today a man was brought to justice for the terror that he brought to our community,” Owens said. “He robbed two women of their loving husbands, and denied two beautiful daughters of having their father play catch, play softball after school.

“That evildoer has stood before God today and acknowledged what he did. Our hearts are still hurting, But tonight we will sleep a little softer knowing this case is behind us.”

Of the slain deputies, the first in Cobb to die in the line of duty in nearly 30 years, Owens said “their memories will be a blessing to us all. We will continue to honor them each and every day when we put on this uniform and serve the people of Cobb County.”

Cobb Sheriff's deputies killed
Deputies Jonathan Koleski, left, and Marshall Erwin Jr. were veterans of the Cobb Sheriff’s Office

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Retiring Cobb Solicitor General named Magistrate Court judge

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Retiring Cobb Solicitor named Magistrate Court judge
Barry Morgan

On Tuesday, Barry Morgan was honored by the Cobb Board of Commissioners for his many years of service as the Cobb Solicitor General.

On Wednesday, he was one of five people appointed to fill judicial vacancies in Cobb Magistrate Court.

Chief Magistrate Judge Brendan Murphy said the positions are part-time and they were filled after an open application and interview process.

Magistrate Court is open 24/7/365 handling a variety of civil and criminal caseloads, including cases involving self-represented litigants, and is the court of first hearings for most criminal cases.

Morgan is retiring as Cobb Solicitor General, an office he has held since 1999. In that role, he has been the county’s chief prosecutor for a variety of misdemeanor, traffic and ordinance cases.

He will begin his new post in January, as will Magistrate Judge-designate Che A. Karega II, a Marietta attorney in private practice.

Jana J. Edmonson-Cooper has been chosen to succeed Sonia Brown, who was recently elected Cobb Superior Court judge.

Two other magistrate judges-designate will be sworn in next week. They are Lauren Boone, an in-house corporate counsel for a major insurance firm and a former prosecutor in Fulton County, and Ronna Woodruff, a bankruptcy and family law attorney in Marietta.

“We’re excited to add Lauren, Ronna, Che, and Barry to the People’s Court family. Collectively, they bring over 80 years of diverse legal experience to the bench,” Murphy said in a statement issued by Cobb government.

“Working in shifts around the clock for a fraction of the hourly rate they can earn in private practice, our part-time judges are the backbone of the Court, providing true community service.”

In Tuesday’s elections, Marietta attorney Makia Metzger was elected to succeed Morgan as Solicitor General. Her term will start in January.

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