East Cobb Courts & Trials Archives

East Cobb ‘grandfather figure’ sentenced for sexual abuse

September 17, 2019 2:43 PMSeptember 17, 2019 11:12 AM by Wendy Parker

An East Cobb man received a 20-year sentence after being convicted last week of sexually abusing a girl over several years. East Cobb grandfather sentenced

The Cobb District Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday that Gary Charles Hufstetler Sr., now 70, was found guilty by a Cobb Superior Court jury and was sentenced by Judge Reuben Green, with eight years to serve.

According to testimony introduced at the trial, Hufstetler began abusing the girl—who was not related but regarded him as what prosecutors described as a “grandfather figure”—when she was six years old, and it continued until she was 11.

According to prosecutors, Hufstetler knew the girl through his long-time live-in girlfriend, and the abuse progressed over time, beginning with such activities as watching Popeye cartoons together. The victim didn’t tell anyone until “a triggering event” prompted her to tell a therapist and police, according to a statement from the Cobb DA’s office.

Spokeswoman Kim Isaza said in the statement that Hufstetler had been investigated previously for allegations involving other children in his family, but no charges were filed.

Hufstetler’s home address is listed on Smithwood Drive, off Allgood Road near East Piedmont Road, according to Cobb court records, which also show that Hufstetler previously lived on Chestatee Drive in East Cobb and in Acworth.

According to Cobb assistant DA Meredith Florio, “this predator took care in grooming and selecting a child that he thought would never tell. However, this young woman, now 17 years old, showed incredible strength by facing her fears and this defendant in describing to the jury the abuse she suffered at such a young age.”

Hufstetler was indicted in Aug. 2017, according to Cobb Superior Court Clerk’s records. According to the Cobb Sheriff’s Office, he was taken into custody at the Cobb County Adult Detention Center on Friday, the day he was convicted.

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Former Wheeler student indicted for battery against teacher

August 9, 2019 2:46 PMAugust 9, 2019 11:29 AM by Wendy Parker

Wheeler STEM program

A former Wheeler High School student charged with striking a teacher at the school in February has been indicted.

Last Friday, a Cobb Superior Court grand jury handed down an indictment of battery upon school personnel, a felony, against Dante Jaquawn Walker, 19, according to the Cobb District Attorney’s Office.

In the indictment, Walker is alleged to have struck a teacher in the face on Feb. 4. He was arrested by Cobb County School District Police and later was released on a bond of $8,470, according to Cobb Sheriff’s Office records.

Court records indicate that Walker was rearrested on July 4 on a felony marijuana charge and a misdemeanor charge of willful obstruction of a police officer. As a result, his bond was revoked on July 17 for 90 days. He remains in the Cobb County Adult Detention Center, according to the Cobb Sheriff’s Office.

Walker’s home address in jail and court records is listed at Penny Lane, which is an apartment community off Wylie Road.

The court records further indicate that Walker must complete a drug and alcohol evaluation and enroll in a program to receive a General Education Diploma, among other pretrial conditions imposed in the July 17 order by Judge Kellie Hill.

WSB-TV reported in March that the father of another Wheeler student alleged the teacher struck his son in a gym class, and that Walker hit the teacher in response.

Roy Clayton, the teacher identified in the indictment as Walker’s victim, was not listed on the Wheeler faculty roster for the school year that just began.

East Cobb News contacted the Cobb school district seeking information on whether the teacher had been investigated, placed on leave or disciplined in connection with the Feb. 4 incident.

A district spokeswoman would say only that “Mr. Clayton is still employed by the Cobb County School District. The student referenced is not enrolled in a Cobb County school.”

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East Cobb assisted living worker sentenced for elder neglect

August 2, 2019 11:15 PMAugust 2, 2019 6:13 PM by Wendy Parker

An East Cobb assisted living worker who last month was found not guilty of murder in the death of a resident there has been sentenced to 10 years for elder neglect. Landon Terrell, East Cobb assisted living worker sentenced

Landon Terrel, a caregiver at the Sunrise at East Cobb facility on Johnson Ferry Road, was found guilty of that charge and was sentenced Friday by Cobb Superior Court Judge Lark Ingram.

He was ordered to serve five years in prison and the rest on probation, according to a statement issued by the Cobb District Attorney’s Office.

Terrel could have been facing a maximum of 20 years.

On July 17, Terrel was found not guilty of murder and two counts of elder abuse in the death of Adam Bennett, 91, a Sunrise resident who died after being found injured in his room in August 2017.

Jurors could not reach a unanimous verdict against Terrel for murder based on neglect and a mistrial was declared.

According to the DA’s office, Terrel was the only caregiver on the overnight shift at Sunrise of Aug. 15, 2017 when Bennett later complained to a daytime staffer that he had been punched by Terrel. According to testimony at the trial, Bennett motioned to his face, chest and groin and became unresponsive.

He was rushed to WellStar Kennestone Hospital but never regained consciousness and died three days later. The Cobb Medical Examiner’s office ruled the death was caused by blunt force trauma due to an assault.

During the trial, Terrel admitted he used “bad judgment” by ignoring Bennett’s cries that he was in pain. He denied that he struck Bennett, and said earlier in the evening he assisted the elderly man after he fell out of his bed and hit his chest on the bed.

The DA’s office said that two of Terrel’s coworkers testified during the sentencing hearing that other Sunrise residents had complained about him. Ingram also heard that Terrel had been fired from other caregiving jobs for neglecting patients.

“Adam Bennett died from painful injuries. He suffered, and the person responsible for easing that suffering did nothing,” Cobb senior assistant district attorney Jason Marbutt said before the sentencing.

Bennett’s son Doug Bennett said in a victim-impact statement that “my dad was a strong guy who had a strong heart. This man knows what he did. He took my father away.”

Terrel, now 35, of Powder Springs, has been in the Cobb County Adult Detention Center since his arrest on Aug. 16, 2017. He will be credited for time served as he completes his sentence.

Ingram also ordered that Terrel will not be allowed to care for elderly patients during probation.

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East Cobb man indicted for drug-related pharmacy robberies

July 18, 2019 2:24 PMJuly 18, 2019 1:50 PM by Wendy Parker

An East Cobb man who is charged with the robbery and attempted robbery of three pharmacies, including two in East Cobb in early April, has been indicted on those charges.

According to the Cobb District Attorney’s Office, Matthew Colozzi, 40, of a Sandstone Place address, was indicted by a Cobb Superior Court grand jury on June 27 of seven counts relating to the robbery spree:

robbery by intimidation
criminal attempt to commit a felony
aggravated assault
possession of a knife during the commission of a robbery
possession of a controlled substance
obstruction of police officers

He remains without bond at the Cobb County Adult Detention Center, where he was taken into custody on April 14, according to Cobb Sheriff’s Office records.

That’s the date of the last of three robberies Cobb Police say Colozzi committed or tried to commit in a one-week span, as he demanded oxycontin and other prescription drugs.

According to the indictment, Colozzi entered the CVS on Cobb Parkway in the City of Kennesaw on April 7, brandished a knife at a store employee and demanded OxyContin, although he left without any drugs.

Four days later, on April 11, he is accused of going to a CVS in the 3900 block of Shallowford Road, near Lassiter Road, handing a note to an employee and saying he had a gun or knife and demanding oxycodone and Alprazolam. Police said Colozzi left with those substances and some Xanax.

Colozzi was arrested on April 14 at the Walgreens at 2580 Sandy Plains Road after he made a similar demand to an employee there. When police arrived at the scene, Colozzi tried to get away, but was tased, and officers found him in possession of narcotics.

Also indicted last week is Mazda Massieh Davoudi, 19, of a Trickum Road address, on two counts of aggravated assault, and one count each of hit and run and criminal trespass.

According to the indictment, Davoudi was driving a Honda Accord on Feb. 18 on Bentwood Drive, near Old Canton Road, when he intentionally hit and injured Ryan Smith, a pedestrian, and did not stop after the collision.

Davoudi was arrested on April 9 and has been held without bond since then at the Cobb County Adult Detention Center, according to Cobb Sheriff’s Office records.

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East Cobb assisted living worker convicted of neglect, but not murder

August 2, 2019 6:31 PMJuly 18, 2019 10:00 AM by Wendy Parker

UPDATE: Terrel has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for the neglect conviction.

A worker at an East Cobb assisted living facility is facing up to 20 years in prison after being convicted this week for elder abuse in the death of a 91-year-old resident there in 2017. Landon Terrell, East Cobb assisted living worker

But Landon Terrel, 35, of Powder Springs, was found not guilty of murder and two counts of elder abuse in the death of Adam Bennett at the Sunrise at East Cobb facility, according to the Cobb District Attorney’s office.

A mistrial was declared in the murder case after a Cobb Superior Court jury failed on Wednesday to reach a unanimous verdict, after three days of deliberations.

“Too often we think of justice as a result, instead of a process,” Cobb senior assistant district attorney Jason Marbutt said in a statement. “This was a tough case, with tough facts. We respect the verdict delivered by the jury.”

Terrel was arrested and charged with elder abuse, neglect and murder after Bennett was found injured in his room at Sunrise at East Cobb (1551 Johnson Ferry Road), on Aug. 15, 2017.

Terrel had been an overnight caregiver at Sunrise on that date. Around 7:30 a.m., Bennett was found with facial bruising, fractured ribs and a punctured lung. He was rushed to WellStar Kennestone Hospital, but never regained consciousness and died three days later.

The Cobb Medical Examiner’s office ruled the death was caused by blunt force trauma due to an assault.

According to a release from the Cobb DA’s office, Bennett had apparently told another caregiver that Terrel had punched him. That claim was introduced during the trial last week. Terrel denied that, telling police he caught Bennett earlier that evening after he fell out of bed, and said that the elderly man’s chest struck the bed.

Terrel said he checked on Bennett the remainder of the night and admitted to having “poor judgment” by ignoring Bennett’s complaints about being in pain.

Terrel’s sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 19 before Cobb Superior Court Judge Lark Ingram.

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East Cobb stockbroker sentenced for defrauding clients of $1.4M

June 15, 2019 1:18 PMJune 15, 2019 10:37 AM by Wendy Parker

A former stockbroker and investment adviser who touted his East Cobb community ties to clients has been sentenced to serve five years in prison for defrauding them of $1.4 million. Roswell Road kidnapping, East Cobb stockbroker sentenced

Sean Kelly, 50, pleaded guilty in January to federal charges of wire fraud and securities fraud. According to his sentence, which was announced Friday by Byung J. Pak, U.S. Attorney in Atlanta, Kelly also will be ordered to pay back the $1.4 million in restitution and will be on three years of supervised release when he leaves prison.

Kelly operated several businesses with the “Lions Share” name in office space on Roswell Road that offered brokerage, investment, tax and insurance services.

In a civil complaint filed by by the Securities and Exchange Commission last October, Kelly was the sole proprietor of Lion’s Share & Associates, Inc., Lion’s Share Tax Services, LLC, and Lion’s Share Financial of East Cobb, Inc.

Kelly also was associated with Capital Financial Services in a Marietta branch office from 2012-17, and with Marietta-based Center Street Securities in 2017-18.

After the SEC filing, the Federal Bureau of Investigation obtained a warrant and arrested Kelly.

Federal prosecutors allege that from January 2014 to October 2018, Kelly fraudulently accrued more than $1 million from 12 investors.

Instead of investing those funds as they directed, Kelly deposited investor’s checks in bank accounts he controlled, and spent the money on himself: For mortgage payments, Super Bowl tickets, vacations, and major cash withdrawals.

Prosecutors said those investors included elderly people, veterans and the disabled, and the SEC filing alleged that Kelly “treats Lion’s Share as his personal piggy bank.”

On a website aimed at Baby Boom-age investors, Kelly’s page asserted that his company and “the Kelly family support several community initiatives” that included being a coach for East Side Baseball and a past member of the parish council at Holy Family Catholic Church.

“Kelly never intended to fulfill his fiduciary responsibility to his clients, which included elderly citizens and veterans,” Pak said in a statement.

Said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta: The FBI is hopeful that Kelly’s sentence will send a strong message to anyone who would try to take advantage of unsuspecting clients for their own personal greed.”

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New Cobb District Attorney appointed by Gov. Kemp

June 12, 2019 5:29 PM by Wendy Parker

Current Cobb Chief Magistrate Judge Joyette Holmes has been appointed by Gov. Brian Kemp as the new Cobb District Attorney. Joyette Holmes, Cobb District Attorney

She succeeds Vic Reynolds, now the director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, and will serve out the remainder of his term, which ends in December 2020.

Holmes, a Republican, is the first woman and the first African-American to serve as Cobb DA. She is a former Assistant District Attorney in Cobb County, and also served in the Cobb Solicitor’s Office.

She has been the Chief Magistrate for the last four years and also has been in private law practice in Marietta.

A native of Valdosta, Holmes earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Georgia and a law degree from the University of Baltimore.

At a press conference, Kemp said that Holmes “is able and ready to lead” the Cobb DA’s office. “She is certainly one of our best and brightest in Georgia.”

John Melvin, who has been the acting Cobb DA since Reynolds’ departure, is expected to join him soon at the GBI.

The DA’s office said this afternoon that the transition may take another couple of weeks because Holmes’ swearing-in has not been scheduled.

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East Cobb man indicted for murder of home contractor

May 31, 2019 6:39 PM by Wendy Parker

Jake Horne, East Cobb shooting victim, East Cobb man indicted murder

An East Cobb man charged in March with shooting two home contractors—one of them fatally—was indicted Thursday for murder and aggravated assault.

A Cobb Superior Court grand jury returned indictments of malice murder, felony murder, two counts of aggravated assault and two counts of possessing a firearm while committing a felony against Larry Epstein, according to the Cobb District Attorney’s Office.

Epstein, 69, has been held without bond at the Cobb County Adult Detention Center since his March 6 arrest for the shootings. Jake Horne, 21, of Kennesaw (in photo) died from gunshot wounds sustained at the Epstein’s Wellington Lane home, according to Cobb Police.

Gordon Montcalm, 37, of Buchanan, Ga., also was shot at the home, police said, and he has been undergoing what family members have said is a long recovery.

Police said Horne and Montcalm were finishing up their workday on a contracting project at Epstein’s home, located in a quiet neighborhood off Johnson Ferry Road, when gunfire erupted.

Neighbors reported an active shooter situation to police, who urged them to go inside, as SWAT and other emergency units arrived and blocked off the street.

About a half-hour after the heavy law enforcement presence came to the scene, Epstein surrendered peacefully, according to police.

Horne died later that day after being rushed to WellStar Kennestone Hospital, after family members said he was taken off life support.

Epstein’s wife filed for divorce after separating from her husband of 48 years the day after the shootings, according to Cobb court documents.

Convicted Windy Hill Road restaurant killers receive life sentences

May 31, 2019 6:49 PMMay 31, 2019 10:23 AM by Wendy Parker

Windy Hill Road restaurant killers

Two men convicted earlier this month of killing a man outside a Windy Hill Road restaurant and wounding his wife in 2016 were handed life sentences on Thursday.

The sentences issued by Cobb Superior Court Judge Ann Harris to Demarious Kevauh Greene, 23 (left), and Dylan Marquis Ledbetter, 25 (right).

On May 16, they were found guilty of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, armed robbery, and firearms-possession charges stemming from a robbery and shootings of a Kennesaw couple outside the Pappadeaux restaurant Oct. 7, 2016.

Ledbetter, who also was found guilty of aggravated assault on a police officer, was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole, as well as another consecutive life sentence with a minimum of 10 years to serve. Greene got life with the possibility of parole for murder and three consecutive life sentences for the other charges.

Anthony Welch and his wife Cynthia were leaving the restaurant after having their birthday dinner when they were robbed by two men, police said.

According to trial testimony, the men took a necklace from Cynthia Welch (later revealed to be costume jewelry valued at only $5) after shooting both victims with a .38-caliber weapon.

Anthony Welch died from his wounds and Cynthia Welch survived.

The suspects were stopped on Oct. 15 at a gas station on Delk Road for a traffic violation. Greene and Ledbetter, who are both from Broward County, Fla., had been connected to another robbery in Woodstock for which they have received life sentences.

Ledbetter also is facing murder charges in Broward for shooting a man in the head. That victim, as well as the Woodstock victim, testified in the trial for the Pappadeaux shootings.

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Two men convicted in 2016 fatal shooting at Windy Hill Road restaurant

May 16, 2019 4:14 PMMay 16, 2019 2:01 PM by Wendy Parker

Windy Hill Road restaurant shooting — *Anthony and Cynthia Welch were shot after celebrating her birthday at dinner at Pappadeaux. (Photo: Cobb District Attorney’s office)*

A Cobb Superior Court jury has convicted two men from Florida for killing a man and shooting his wife in 2016 in the parking lot of a Windy Hill Road restaurant.

The Cobb District Attorney’s office said Demarious Kevauh Greene, now 23, and Dylan Marquis Ledbetter, now 25, were found guilty of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, armed robbery, and firearms-possession charges. Ledbetter was also found guilty of aggravated assault on a police officer.

Their victims are Anthony and Cynthia Welch, a Kennesaw couple leaving the Pappadeaux restaurant on Oct. 7, 2016, after celebrating her birthday. Prosecutors said they were attacked as they reached their car, and when Anthony Welch stepped in front of his wife to shield her from the men, he was shot in the heart with a .380-caliber bullet.

Cynthia Welch also was shot, in the arm and the chest, and one of the men took a necklace from her neck before they fled the scene by car, according to the DA’s office.

Anthony Welch died a short time later, and Cynthia Welch survived. They were married nearly 25 years.

During the trial, prosecutors said police linked the Welch shootings with a robbery in the parking lot at a store in Woodstock four days later. On Oct. 15, police spotted a vehicle from the Woodstock incident parked at a Red Roof motel near the Pappadeaux restaurant, and followed it as it left the parking lot.

During a traffic stop, prosecutors said the vehicle pulled into a gas station, trying to get away, and hit a Cobb Police officer, then another car. According to police, Greene and Ledbetter jumped out of the car, with Ledbetter being shot three times by a plainclothes officer.

The DA’s office said a man still in the car surrendered to police, who executed a search warrant for items in the vehicle and discovered a .380 handgun that GBI ballistics experts later matched to the bullets in the Welch shootings.

Prosecutors said other evidence corrobrated the presence of Greene and Ledbetter at the crime scenes.

In his closing arguments, Cobb assistant district attorney Jesse Evans said, “this murder was cold-blooded. Senseless. It didn’t have to happen. Cynthia and Anthony Welch did not deserve this.”

Greene and Ledbetter will be sentenced on May 30, and could be facing life in prison without parole. They’ve been convicted in the Woodstock robbery and received life sentences.

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East Cobb rape suspect indicted by Cobb grand jury

May 9, 2019 5:21 PMMay 9, 2019 2:08 PM by Wendy Parker

An East Cobb man charged with raping a woman at her home in the Johnson Ferry Road area in February has been indicted.

Kendal Guerin Chaves, 34, of Lerose Court, was indicted by a Cobb grand jury last week on one count of aggravated sodomy, one count of aggravated assault, one count of first degree burglary and one count of battery.

He was charged by Cobb Police on Feb. 10, two days after a woman living on Colony Drive, off Little Willeo Road, said a man knocked on a window in the morning and attacked her after she answered the door.

According to the indictment, Chaves gained unlawful entry into the home, committed anal rape against the victim, choked her and caused bruises to her neck, face and arms.

Chaves was booked into the Cobb County Adult Detention Center without bond, according to jail records.

He also was charged with DUI, a misdemeanor, at the same time. Chaves pleaded guilty in late January to a cocaine possession charge and had been sentenced to three years’ probation, according to court records.

The court records further show that his probation was revoked due to the DUI charge, and on March 26, Chaves was resentenced to serve two years.

According to Cobb jail records, Chaves was released to the custody of the Georgia Department of Corrections on April 11.

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East Cobb shooting suspect remains in jail; wife files for divorce

March 27, 2019 12:19 PM by Wendy Parker

Larry Joel Epstein, charged in the March 6 shootings of two electrical contractors working at his East Cobb home, remains in the Cobb County Adult Detention Center without bond after a probable cause hearing on Tuesday. East Cobb shooting suspect, Larry Epstein

Epstein, 69, was arrested after a heavy police presence stemming from the shootings on Wellington Lane, off Johnson Ferry Road.

One of the contractors, Jake Horne, 21, of Kennesaw, died after being shot in the head.

The other worker, Gordon Montcalm, 37, of Buchanan, Ga., was taken to WellStar Kennestone Hospital after being shot five times and is facing a long recovery, according to family members.

Epstein was charged with one count of felony murder, two counts of aggravated assault and two counts of aggravated battery. He has been held at the jail without bond since his arrest, according to Cobb Sheriff’s Office records.

Cobb Police have not indicated a motive for the shootings.

According to Cobb Magistrate Court records, Epstein’s court-appointed attorneys did not pursue a bond request.

Kim Isaza, public information officer for the Cobb District Attorney’s Office, said the next step is to present the case to a grand jury, ideally within a 90-day period.

The quiet neighborhood street in the Kensington subdivision was blocked off by police, including SWAT units and the Cobb Police mobile command unit, after a resident called 911 to report an active shooter.

Other neighbors were asked to stay inside after the shootings, which took place around 2:30 p.m., and as the contractors were wrapping up their work day at Epstein’s home. Police said Epstein was peacefully taken into custody shortly after 3 p.m.

East Cobb News does not publish photographs of crime suspects before their cases have gone through the legal system, and then only if they are convicted or plead guilty and are sentenced.

On Monday, Bonnie Irlyn Epstein, Epstein’s wife since 1971, filed for divorce in Cobb Superior Court, saying the marriage “is irretrievably broken.”

Court documents indicate that Bonnie Epstein separated from her husband on March 7, the day after the shootings, and that her divorce complaint was to be served to him at the jail.

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Man who kidnapped woman at Roswell Road workplace gets prison sentence

March 21, 2019 4:39 PMMarch 21, 2019 3:43 PM by Wendy Parker

A Cartersville man who was convicted of abducting a woman from her workplace on Roswell Road in Marietta last year was given a 20-year prison sentence by a Cobb judge on Thursday. Roswell Road kidnapping

Antoine Latroy Williams, 40, must serve at least 18 years behind bars, according to the Cobb District Attorney’s office, with the remainder on probation.

The sentence was handed down by Cobb Superior Court Judge Stephen Schuster after Williams was convicted of kidnapping, sexual battery, and three counts of simple battery on Wednesday.

According to prosecutors, Williams met the woman, who is in her early 20s, on Feb. 25, 2018 and offered her a job. The following day he went to her place of business on Roswell Road in the city of Marietta five times and waited for her in the parking lot.

She drove away and he followed her, and a short time later she pulled over to the side of the road, according to prosecutors, who said Williams then forced the woman into his car.

The DA’s office said Williams drove her around Cobb County in his car before traveling to Cartersville and threatened to hurt her if she tried to escape. He also put his hand on her thigh, grabbed her hair, and slapped her hand, prosecutors said.

They also said Willliams threatened to hurt her if she tried to escape, and he groped her on the thigh, pulled her hair and struck her hand.

After Williams stopped at a QuickTrip in Cartersville, prosecutors said the woman managed to escape.

At the trial, prosecutors alleged that Williams has a history of violence toward women. A woman testified that he sexually assaulted her in Los Angeles in 2011.

“Every shiny object you dangled in front of this girl: a Mercedes, cash, a phone and a job was just to lure her into your control. I don’t see these as tokens of your affection, you were grooming her, pure and simple,” Schuster said at the sentencing. “I see you as nothing more than a predator.”

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Lyft driver sentenced to 35 years for raping female passenger in Cobb

March 12, 2019 2:12 PM by Wendy Parker

Jerome Booze, Lyft driver sentenced Cobb rape — Jerome Antonio Booze

A Cobb Superior Court Judge sentenced a Lyft driver to 35 years in prison Tuesday for raping a female passenger near her apartment in Cobb County in late 2016.

The Cobb District Attorney’s office said Jerome Antonio Booze, 40, of Decatur, was convicted by a Cobb Superior Court jury on Monday. Kim Isaza, a spokeswoman for the DA’s office, said the sentence was handed down by Judge Ann Harris.

Booze was charged in January 2917 after driving a female college student from a night of drinking at a bar in Atlanta to her Vinings apartment on Dec. 10, 2016. According to testimony at the trial, the woman’s friends called for a Lyft around 4 a.m. because she had become intoxicated and they didn’t want her driving home. They had been celebrating a friend’s 21st birthday.

According to prosecutors, the woman said she had flashbacks the next morning of having sex with someone, but said she had no memory of the Lyft ride or of getting home. She told her parents she had been raped and went to Grady Memorial Hospital for medical treatment before filing charges with Atlanta Police, who transferred the case to Cobb Police.

The attack occurred in the back seat of Booze’s car near her apartment building, according to prosecutors. Booze was indicted in February 2017.

Prosecutors said Booze initially told Cobb Police that he denied he had sex with the woman, then later said he did have sex with her but said she initiated it and that he didn’t know she was intoxicated.

During the trial, Booze testified that the woman held down his arm and climbed on him and reiterated that he didn’t know she was drunk.

That didn’t convince the jury, which convicted him on the sole charge of felony rape, Isaza said. Harris told Booze before sentencing that trial evidence showed the woman was incapable of giving consent.

“This predator exploited a position of trust and targeted a vulnerable, intoxicated female. This verdict demonstrates that those who prey on women who do not have the capacity to consent will be held accountable,” said Courtney Veal, Cobb assistant district attorney.

After his release from prison, Booze will serve the rest of his life on probation as a registered sex offender, Isaza said.

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Child psychologist gets 20 years in prison for molesting Cobb girl

February 15, 2019 3:26 PM by Wendy Parker

An Atlanta child psychologist who worked out of an office in East Cobb has been sentenced to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to molestation and exploitation charges, including posting a photo online of a girl he victimized in Cobb County in 2017. Jonathan Gersh, Cobb child molestation

The Cobb District Attorney’s Office on Friday said that Jonathan Gersh, 38, pleaded guilty to six counts of child molestation and four counts of sexual exploitation of children.

Cobb Superior Court Judge Stephen Schuster ordered Gersh to serve 20 years in prison and 20 more on probation, according to the Cobb DA’s office.

Prosecutors said the acts took place at the victim’s home at an unincorporated Marietta address. She was eight years old at the time.

Gersh was associated with Intown Psychological Associates, which had several offices in metro Atlanta, including one at 1744 Roswell Road in East Cobb.

A woman psychologist who had been dating Gersh told the court she had been “manipulated” into a relationship with him so he could have access to her daughter, and she called him a “selfish, perverted, manipulative sociopath,” according to the DA’s office.

Gersh was arrested Feb. 14, 2018, after Cobb authorities were alerted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which had gotten a tip from Australian law enforcement of an IP address which contained graphic images of child pornography, according to prosecutors.

The DA’s office said Cobb Police got a search warrant on Gersh’s mobile phone, and found more photos of what was termed “child erotica,” including images of children in bathing suits in public places.

“He is an opportunist. He is a child molester. And, he’s an exploiter of children in the worst way,” Cobb Deputy Chief Assistant District Attorney Chuck Boring said.

“These pictures are not baseball cards to be traded. This is pure and simple sex trafficking,” Schuster said in court.

Gersh, who has been in the Cobb County Adult Detention Center since his arrest, will be given sex offender status following his release from prison, the Cobb DA’s office said.

“Aside from this conduct, he’s led an exemplary life,” Gersh’s attorney, Richard Grossman, told the court.

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Former Kell teacher sentenced for sexual assault of student

January 24, 2019 2:43 PM by Wendy Parker

A former Kell High School teacher who pleaded guilty last week to sexually assaulting a student on campus will serve five years in prison. Spencer Herron

That’s the sentence that was handed down to Spencer Herron by Cobb Superior Court Judge Robert Flournoy, who also gave the former video production instructor 15 years on probation.

Court records show that Herron, 49, who was arrested on June 1, 2018, pleaded guilty last Friday to five counts of sexual assault on a student on the Kell campus.

They involved multiple sexual encounters with a female student that started in 2016, and continued through the 2017-18 school year, according to his indictment in August.

According to his sentencing document, Herron was given sex offender status by Flournoy. As a first-time offender, Herron could have his criminal record cleared if he meets the terms of his probation.

After his release from prison, he is not allowed to have any contact with minors, take up a residence with minors or contact with the victim. He also must abide by other restrictions while on probation.

Herron was a teacher at Kell for 16 years and was the school’s teacher of the year in 2016. In what turned out to be his final year as a teacher, Herron was a member of the Cobb County School District’s Superintendent’s Teacher Advisory Council.

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East Cobb man convicted on drug charges gets long prison sentence

January 23, 2019 12:43 PMJanuary 23, 2019 9:41 AM by Wendy Parker

An East Cobb man initially suspected of human trafficking in a 2016 search of a home on Little Willeo Road has been sentenced on multiple drug convictions, according to the Cobb District Attorney’s Office. East Cobb man convicted

Solomon Santana Noellin, 42, was convicted on Thursday by a Cobb Superior Court jury of possession of methamphetamines with intent to distribute, possession of methadone with intent to distribute, and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, as well as possession of cocaine and Alprazolam, according to DA spokeswoman Kim Isaza.

She said Noellin was given a 30-year sentence by Superior Court Judge Joyette Holmes, with eight years to serve and the rest on probation.

According to Cobb prosecutors, law enforcement executed a search warrant at a rented home on Little Willeo Road in East Cobb on Aug. 9, 2016, based on allegations that sex trafficking activities were taking place there.

When they entered the home, police found cocaine, methamphetamines and other controlled substances and executed a second search warrant, Isaza said.

She said that agents from the Marietta-Cobb-Smyrna Organized Crime Unit confiscated 61 grams of a mixture containing methamphetamines; three grams of cocaine; 49 methadone pills; more than 350 grams of marijuana; and one bar of Alprazolam at the Little Willeo Road home.

Isaza said two women who were at the scene during the first search warrant denied they were there for trafficking purposes.

According to Cobb Sheriff’s Office records, Noellin’s home address is listed as being on Canton Road.

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Windy Hill Road motel sued in sex trafficking case by Cobb DA’s office

January 9, 2019 11:58 AMJanuary 4, 2019 4:44 PM by Wendy Parker

The Masters Inn, Windy Hill Road motel sued — *Source: OpenStreetMap*

Cobb District Attorney Vic Reynolds said Friday his office has filed a lawsuit to force a Windy Hill Road motel to address sex trafficking and drug activity on its premises or be subject to forfeiting its property.

A release by the DA’s office said the “public nuisance” measure was being applied to The Masters Inn, 2682 Windy Hill Road, located near the Windy Hill Hospital, the junction of Interstate 75 and SunTrust Park.

UPDATED, Wed., Jan. 9, 11:55 a.m.: The AJC is reporting the motel has closed temporarily for renovations, and that the owner has reached an agreement with the DA’s office to address the crime issues.

ORIGINAL STORY CONTINUES:

Authorities say the motel has been a haven for drug and sex trafficking and was the scene of a deadly shooting in 2015. In late 2017 Cobb Police arrested a man there on felony drug charges and discovered he had been holding a female against her well and using her for sex trafficking, according to the release.

The DA’s office said it was approached earlier last year by a lawyers’ group, Civil Lawyers Against World Sex Slavery, and along with Cobb Police compiled data on hotels in the county with high levels of arrests, especially for drugs, prostitution and trafficking.

Two East Cobb events to address sex trafficking

According to the lawsuit, filed in Cobb Superior Court, The Masters Inn was known to police as “notorious hotbed of criminal activity that has been the subject of countless investigations.”

The release said The Masters Inn ownership must take the following steps:

contact and cooperate with police about suspected criminal activity;
require valid photo identification of all guests;
maintain complete guest rosters and a list of those previously arrested there;
require staff training to recognize and prevent human trafficking;
hire a licensed and armed security guard;
install outdoor lighting, video surveillance and fencing;
ban loitering.

According to the release, the first of several compliance hearings will be held before Cobb Superior Court Judge Kimberly Childs on March 14.

The DA’s office said the suit is believed to be one of the first in Georgia aimed at curbing sex trafficking activity.

The announcement of the lawsuit comes at the end of a week of public events in the state about sex trafficking. Georgia is regarded as one of the busiest states in the nation for sex trafficking, and January is National Sex Trafficking Awareness Month.

Earlier this week, dozens of school buses formed a caravan to reflect the estimated 3,600 children authorities say are used for sex trafficking in Georgia.

Among those taking part were Attorney General Chris Carr and Governor-elect Brian Kemp. The faith-based group Street Grace also has been leading the charge.

The upcoming session of the Georgia General Assembly is expected to include sex trafficking legislation, and efforts are underway to crack down on sex trafficking ahead of the Super Bowl, which takes place in Atlanta in early February.

Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!

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Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!

Canadian man who tried to lure Cobb teenage girl into sex gets 16 years

January 7, 2019 1:29 PMDecember 13, 2018 12:56 PM by Wendy Parker

A Canadian man who had flown to Atlanta to have sex with a Cobb teenage girl last year has been sentenced by a federal judge. Cobb teenage girl, Kell High School teacher indicted

Yves Joseph Legault, 54, from Toronto, will serve 16 years in prison for a variety of sexual exploitation charges that include his attempt to meet a 13-year-old Cobb County girl last year. He also will be on supervised release for life and will be deported to Canada upon his release from prison, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Atlanta.

Legault pleaded guilty in September to several charges, including coercing and enticing the production of child sexual exploitation images over the Internet. Federal prosecutors said he preyed on victims in Georgia and Mississippi at the same time.

He was arrested last August at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport after getting off a plane for what federal prosecutors was a trip to have sex with the Marietta girl, whom he met via Omegle, an anonymous online text and video chat tool.

During Legault’s trial, prosecutors said Legault and the girl moved their chats to Google Hangouts, where he asked her to perform sex acts for him on a live video stream. Later, he arranged to travel to Georgia to meet her for in-person sex acts.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office said the girl’s mother alerted the FBI after her daughter received a package from Canada, and after intercepting messages between Legault and the girl.

While Legault was facing charges in Georgia, prosecutors also said he had engaged in similar behavior with an eight-year-old girl in Pascagoula, Miss. He was charged there with one count of coercing and enticing the production of child pornography, and also pleaded guilty to that charge in federal court in Atlanta.

“Predators like Legault are always lurking on line, and a threat to our children. Hopefully his sentencing will serve as a warning to all parents to monitor what their children are doing on the internet and on their cell phones,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta, said in a statement.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office said both the Georgia and Mississippi cases are part of the U.S. Justice Department’s Project Safe Childhood initiative to protect children from online exploitation and abuse.

Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!

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