The Cobb County School District said two students were injured in a stabbing incident during an altercation Tuesday at J.J. Daniell Middle School in East Cobb.
The district media office told East Cobb News that the victim was stabbed along with the student, who could be facing charges.
The media office added that no one else was hurt but did not indicate detail the extent of the injuries.
“Earlier today, an altercation occurred at a middle school where a student caused injury to both the victim and themselves,” the district said in a statement. “This situation is being handled according to state law and district policies, including discipline and criminal charges. Students and staff are safe.
“As this is an ongoing investigation, we are unable to provide further details at this time.”
In an e-mail to Daniell school families, principal Amy Stump said the fight took place during lunch.
“One of our students made a terrible choice during an altercation with another student. The student attacked another student and caused injury to both the victim and themselves.”
She said that emergency services personnel responded immediately, but she also didn’t disclose the details about the injuries.
Stump added that “this kind of event can cause anxiety and fear in students and adults alike. If you feel that your child would benefit from talking with one of our school counselors, please reach out to your child’s counselor and share with us what you need. If your student needs more immediate assistance, please call our front office and let us know.
“We encourage students, staff and parents to visit http://www.cobbshield.com to see what Cobb Schools is doing to keep Daniell Middle School safe, and feel free to report any safety concerns to the District’s Tipline via call, text or email.”
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Marietta Police said license-plate reader technology helped identify the suspect of a kidnapping and carjacking last week at a grocery store in the Delk-Powers Ferry area of East Cobb.
Randy Harmon, 34, of Meadowlawn Lane off Powers Ferry Road, was arrested Dec. 6 after police said he used a gun to force a woman into her vehicle shortly after 9 a.m. that day at the Kroger at 1120 Powers Ferry Road after she had been shopping there.
According to an arrest warrant, Harmon pushed Tomeka Harris into the front passenger seat of her Nissan Sentra. She fought him for the gun as he tried to speed away from the Kroger, driving her car.
The warrant said that Harris then managed to open the passenger door and was thrown from the car, suffering injuries to both of her knees.
Police began searching for the stolen vehicle, and Cobb officers later found the Sentra parked in a subdivision with Harris’ belongings still inside, according to a statement Wednesday issued by Marietta Police.
(The Kroger, which will be replaced by a Kroger Superstore at the MarketPlace at Terrell Mill center, is located in Marietta city limits.)
A few hours later on Dec. 6, at around 2:30 p.m., Cobb officers found another stolen vehicle in the Cumberland Mall area and arrested the driver, identified as Harmon, for possession of a stolen vehicle and other traffic offenses, according to a separate warrant.
According to his booking report at the Cobb County Adult Detention Center, Harmon was arrested at 3101 Cobb Parkway SE. The arrest warrant said the vehicle he was driving, a 2016 Hyundai Accent, was the same vehicle he drove to the Kroger store that morning.
He has been charged with kidnapping, hijacking a motor vehicle, aggravated assault and for firearms violations, as well as for driving without a license or insurance.
Harmon also is facing charges of receiving stolen property, financial transaction card theft and failure to appear in court.
He is being held without bond, according to the booking report.
Marietta Police Chief Martin Ferrell praised Harris “for her determination, courage, and resilience in the face of danger” and said he was grateful she’s safe and that her property was recovered.
“The interagency collaboration as well as investment the city and surrounding jurisdictions have made in LPR cameras definitely aided in our ability to hold this criminal accountable!” he said.
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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
“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.”
Deputies Jonathan Koleski, left, and Marshall Erwin Jr. were veterans of the Cobb Sheriff’s Office
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Cobb Fire officials said they’re looking for two women they’ve identified as suspects in a September car fire on Canton Road that’s being investigated for arson.
In releases Wednesday afternoon, Cobb Fire Chief Investigator Brian Beaty said Jazzmin Nicole Davis, 25, and Khadijah Jakalay Courtney, 24, remain at-large.
Davis is wanted on felony charges of second-degree arson and fraudulent insurance claims and a misdemeanor charge of false reporting of a fire. Courtney has been charged with second-degree arson and a false report.
Cobb Fire said in the release that a passenger vehicle fire was reported on Sept. 6 at 4:26 a.m. at 3010 Canton Road, the address of a McDonald’s.
Beaty said in the release that when firefighters arrived on the scene, they “identified multiple points of origin. The fire cause was determined to be incendiary.”
Cobb Fire is asking anyone with information to call 770-499-3869.
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A man wanted for the July murder of another man at a Smyrna apartment complex was arrested Wednesday in the Delk-Powers Ferry Road area.
Cobb Police said in a statement that they were acting on a tip from the Cobb Sheriff’s Office Fugitive Task Force when Tavis Crankfield, 20, of Decatur, was located around 4:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Crankfield is a suspect in the July 17 shooting death of Jason Escoffrey at a swimming pool at the Village West Apartments in Smyrna.
The statement said that Crankfield was apprehended after a brief foot chase.
He was charged with two counts of felony murder, one count of malice murder, one count of aggravated assault and other felony charges and is being held without bond at the Cobb County Adult Detention Center, according to Cobb Sheriff’s Office booking reports.
Smyrna police have been asking for the public’s help in finding the suspect in Escoffrey’s killing. Escoffrey, 21, who had been living in Opelika, Ala., was found shot multiple times, police said.
According to police, Crankfield left the scene at the Smyrna apartment complex after law enforcement arrived, and Escoffrey died after being taken to Wellstar Kennestone Hospital.
Police said that witness statements and Crime Stopper tips identified Crankfield as the suspect.
Jail booking reports indicate that in addition to the murder warrant, three other warrants were taken out against Crankfield on Wednesday, including obstructing a law enforcement officer, a probation violation and failure to appear.
Crankfield also is wanted in Forsyth County for an April 2020 police chase in which he was one of four teens arrested for speeding on Georgia 400 to elude a traffic stop.
In October of last year, Crankfield was sentenced to five years probation after being found guilty of violating the Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act for a June 2019 incident.
Police said he was one of several members of the Mucho Gang, based in the South Cobb area, who attacked two people attending a birthday party in Smyrna. Crankfield also was charged with misdemeanor battery but that was dropped, according to court records.
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A Cobb Superior Court grand jury has indicted an East Cobb woman who’s been charged with assaulting and strangling her mother to death with a robe belt.
An eight-count indictment was handed down Thursday against Gretchen Fortney, 52, who was arrested on Sept. 30 for murder and aggravated assault.
She was indicted on one count of malice murder, three counts of felony murder, three counts of family violence-related aggravated assault and another count of aggravated sexual battery.
An arrest warrant said that Martha Fortney, 78, was assaulted with “an unknown object or objects” by Gretchen Fortney on the morning of Sept. 30 at the residence they shared in the Loch Highland subdivision, resulting in multiple injuries to the older woman’s torso and head.
The warrant states that the victim “was observed with what appeared to be the belt from her robe tied or looped around her neck” and there was a “visable ligature mark which resulted in her death.”
The indictment states that Gretchen Fortney caused the death “by blunt force trauma and strangulation” first by striking her mother with a hard object, then by tying a cloth belt around her neck. The assault damaged Martha Fortney’s left eye, right elbow and ribs and sternum, according to the indictment.
Gretchen Fortney also is accused of penetrating her mother’s sex organ with an unknown object, prompting the count of aggravated sexual battery.
Martha Fortney, who was listed as the owner of the home on Loch Highland Pass, was involved in Bible studies at Johnson Ferry Baptist Church and the Daughters of the American Revolution, according to an obituary.
Gretchen Fortney remains in the Cobb County Adult Detention Center without bond.
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The suspect has been identified as Durrell Harris, 34 or 35, of Green Bay, Wis., whom Marietta Police said has numerous outstanding warrants in Wisconsin.
Marietta Police Public Information Officer Chuck McPhilamy said he did not know what the warrants for Harris are in Wisconsin.
Harris has been booked in the Cobb County Adult Detention Center on felony charges of false imprisonment, possession of cocaine and possession of a controlled substance, and misdemeanor charges of willful obstruction of a law enforcement officer and marijuana possession.
Harris is being held without bond, according to Cobb Sheriff’s Office booking reports.
McPhilamy said police received text messages Thursday afternoon from someone asking for help from a unit at The Falls at Sope Creek apartments, saying the suspect had threatened the individual and children and that there were weapons in the unit.
An arrest warrant states that police were dispatched to the complex at 1950 Roswell Road at at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, giving “multiple verbal commands . . . . loudly,” including from a patrol car’s public address system for the suspect to come out the apartment.
Another texter also said that the man in the apartment had multiple weapons and had his seven-year-old daughter with him, and had installed several surveillance cameras in the apartment, according to McPhilamy.
McPhilamy said that texter told police the man, later identified as Harris and a resident of the unit, has “multiple warrants from two other states.”
The arrest warrant states that the suspect refused to let a female inside the apartment leave, and he ordered her to barricade the door. According to the warrant, she was told to sit on the couch and not to get up and was not able to leave until police rammed open the door.
McPhilamy said a search warrant was executed by the Marietta Police Crime Interdiction Unit at 8:20 p.m. and two females—a seven-year-old girl and a 19-year-old woman—escaped.
Police said the girl is the suspect’s daughter and the woman, Anayaa Tate, from Ohio, “is a recent acquaintance of the suspect and has cooperated with investigators.”
The standoff continued for nearly four more hours, and McPhilamy said nearby residents were evacuated. He said once police gained entry to the apartment, they found the suspect in a “safe room” he had constructed inside a closet in the apartment (see below), but he would not come out and was tazed.
The warrant states that Harris was taken into custody at 12:45 a.m. and that no weapons were found in the apartment.
McPhilamy said that after Harris faces charges in Georgia, he will be extradited to Wisconsin.
Marietta Police said they found Durrell Harris inside a “safe space” he constructed inside the closet of his apartment on Roswell Road.
Updated, 12:45 a.m. Friday:
Police said the suspect was taken into custody without injuries, and more information will be released later Friday.
Original Report:
Marietta Police said a suspect was barricaded in a Roswell Road apartment complex Thursday night, prompting a heavy law enforcement response.
Numerous police vehicles surrounded a building at The Falls at Sope Creek (1950 Roswell Road), and a SWAT response also has been called, according to Marietta Police.
Social media postings did not indicate the reason the suspect has been barricaded. There was a police officer on the stairwell apparently speaking to the suspect.
At 10:18 p.m., Marietta Police said two females were released from the apartment “but the suspect remains inside. Please pray for a peaceful resolution!”
Among the vehicles lined up in front of the building in question is a van from Cobb County Animal Control.
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A woman was arrested and charged with murder Friday in the strangulation death of an elderly woman at a home in the Loch Highland subdivision of Northeast Cobb.
A warrant taken out by Cobb Police against Gretchen Fortney, 52, of a Loch Highland Pass address, indicates she has been charged with murder in the commission of a felony and two felony counts of aggravated assault, including one involving strangulation.
She is being held without bond at the Cobb County Adult Detention Center, according to Cobb Sheriff’s Office booking reports.
The arrest warrant said that Martha Fortney, 78, was assaulted with “an unknown object or objects” by Gretchen Fortney shortly after 5 a.m. Friday at the residence, resulting in multiple injuries to the older woman’s torso and head.
The warrant states that the victim “was observed with what appeared to be the belt from her robe tied or looped around her neck” and there was a “visable ligature mark which resulted in her death.”
The warrant doesn’t indicate the relationship between the two women. Cobb property records show that Martha Fortney was the homeowner of the Loch Highland Pass residence.
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Cobb Police have arrested a man after he allegedly threatened to kill another man with a knife at an East Cobb Wendy’s restaurant Monday night.
Anthony O’Bryant Brown, 30, whose booking report says he is homeless, has been charged with one felony count of aggravated assault after the incident at the Wendy’s at 2238 Roswell Road, according to his arrest warrant.
The warrant states that Brown and another man were arguing outside the restaurant between 7:35 and 9:10 p.m. Monday. Brown said in the warrant the other man called him a “crack head,” angering him, and Brown then went inside and got a knife from the kitchen.
The warrant said that Brown said he “bucked” at the victim with the knife in his hand. The victim told police that Brown wanted to kill him, and that three Wendy’s employees heard him making that threat, according to the warrant.
Police were called to the scene and Brown was arrested, according to the warrant, which lists his home address as Elizabeth Porter Park in Marietta.
According to jail records, Brown is being held on a $22,000 bond at the Cobb County Adult Detention Center.
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Slain deputies Jonathan Koleski, left, and Marshall Ervin Jr. Photos: Cobb Sheriff’s Office
The day after two of his deputies were shot and killed trying to serve a warrant, Cobb Sheriff Craig Owens said his department remains heartbroken by the tragedy.
At a press conference Friday afternoon, Owens identified the two slain deputies as Jonathan Koleski, 42, and Marshall Ervin Jr., 38, the latter of whom was the father of two children.
Their identities were revealed after two suspects arrested at a West Cobb home following a standoff with law enforcement had their first hearings in Cobb Magistrate Court.
Christopher Golden, 30, is being held without bond after being charged Friday with two counts of felony murder and two counts of aggravated assault.
Christopher Cook 32, has been charged with eight counts of theft. He also is being denied bond after his original bail was set at $1.230.
They were apprehended late Thursday night after the deputies attempted to serve Cook a warrant for failing to appear on a theft by deception charge.
Instead, Golden emerged from the home on Hampton Glen Court, in the Cheatham Hill area, and fired on the deputies, according to police.
“This has broken the hearts of my deputies,” Owens said at the press conference at the Cobb Sheriff’s Office, which was attended by various law enforcement officials and Cobb Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid.
“It hurts all of us.”
He said he’s spoken with the wives of both deputies, and pleaded with the media to give the families “the personal space they need” to grieve.
Cobb Police Chief Stuart VanHoozer, whose department is leading the investigation, provided limited details about the shootings, both because the evidence is still forthcoming, and out of fairness.
He said that at 7:45 p.m. Thursday, Koleski and Ervin were attempting to serve a warrant and take Cook into custody in the driveway.
VanHoozer said Golden came out of the house with a weapon and was given “clear” verbal commands to drop it, but did not. Gunfire was exchanged between Golden and the deputies, both of whom, VanHoozer said, “succumbed to their wounds.”
VanHoozer said there were no other people in the home during the incident. He did not provide a description of the weapon used to shoot the deputies.
Cobb District Attorney Flynn Broady issued a statement saying that “We extend our sincere condolences and prayers to the families of the two sheriff’s deputies killed in the line of duty, the Cobb Sheriff’s Office, and the Cobb law enforcement community.”
But he refrained from further comment due to the pending investigation.
Cobb Sheriff Craig Owens speaks, joined by (from left) Cobb Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid, Cobb Police Chief Stuart VanHoozer, GBI Director Mike Register and other law enforcement staff.
An individual named Stacy Cook is listed in Cobb tax records as the owner of the home, and Golden is listed in jail records as living at the same address.
According to court records, Cook was sentenced in 2015 to 10 years probation after pleading guilty to burglary and theft charges that were pressed in 2012.
VanHoozer declined to comment on previous incidents when asked by a reporter.
Law enforcement officers, VanHoozer added, “do this job knowing that they may have to give their lives for this job.”
They do it “to seek justice and to prevent incidents like this from happening.”
VanHoozer and Owens thanked not only other law enforcement agencies for their support, but also from citizens in the larger Cobb community and throughout the country.
“What we saw was not just a law enforcement community come together, but we saw the community come together,” VanHoozer said, noting such responses at the shooting scene and when he later went to Wellstar Kennestone Hospital.
“The sense of gratitude we saw from the community was amazing,” VanHoozer said.
Koleski joined the Cobb Sheriff’s Office in 2007, and Ervin in 2012.
According to the Officers Down Memorial Page, the Cobb Sheriff’s Office has had only one officer killed in the line of duty previously. That was Deputy Donald Terry Garrison, who died on Aug. 27, 1990 when his patrol car was struck by a speeding vehicle.
The Cobb Sheriff’s Foundation, a non-profit organization founded last year that serves Sheriff’s Office personnel and their families, has set up a donate button for its Fallen Officer Fund on its website.
“The funds that we will get will go to those families,” Foundation founder and executive director Robert Haley said at the press conference.
That includes setting up a scholarship fund for Ervin’s children, but also direct and immediate resources, including attorneys’ services.
“We are prepared to provide them with funding right now for their immediate needs,” Haley said. “We are ready to respond to this terrible, terrible tragedy.”
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Three young adults from Florida were arrested last week near the Sope Creek parking lot of the Chattahoochee National Recreation Area on loiter prowling charges after Cobb Police said they were committing car break-ins.
Arrest warrants for Manuel Orellana, Diego Rivera and Yanara Riveros, all of Kissimmee, Fla., indicate they have been charged with loiter prowling, a misdemeanor, and possession of tools for the commission of a crime, a felony.
They are all in their late 20s and were arrested on Aug. 29, the warrants state. They remain in the Cobb County Adult Detention Center on $10,000 bonds, according to Cobb Sheriff’s Office records.
The warrants stated that between 1-1:30 p.m. on Aug. 29, the three suspects were sitting in a vehicle in the Sope Creek parking lot of the Chattahoochee NRA (3726 Paper Mill Road).
The officer who took out the warrant was in a patrol car in the parking lot, and wrote that the accused were “in a place at a time or in a manner not usual for law-abiding individuals under circumstances that warranted a justifiable and reasonable alarm or immediate concern for the safety of persons and property in the vicinity.”
The vehicle the suspects were riding in began to back out of a parking space, and someone noticed the patrol car, according to the warrants.
The vehicle, identified in the warrants as a GMC Terrain with Florida plates, then pulled into a parking spot, and the individuals went for a walk, the warrants allege.
Upon returning from the walk, the Terrain left the park but was pulled over due to what police said was a failure to maintain a lane of traffic, according to the warrants.
The Sheriff’s Office booking reports indicate the arrests were made in the Paper Mill/Terrell Mill Road area.
The warrants further states that the officer searched the vehicle after detecting a marijuana odor, and found marijuana and THC vaping cartridges.
The officer also said in the warrants that screwdrivers were found in the Terrain, as was a cylinder from a vehicle door lock.
Also discovered during the search were four gift cards, “common proceeds from entering autos,” according to the warrants.
The warrants state that the suspects gave conflicting stories on where the gift cards came from and how the tools got there, but that all three said they were in the area visiting local parks and sports arenas for “tourism.”
The warrants said that one of the suspects told police they broke into a car at another park, and also had done so in Florida before coming to Georgia.
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The Cobb Sheriff’s Office said Friday afternoon that the two men arrested after the shooting deaths of two deputies Thursday night will have first hearings Friday afternoon.
Officer Jeremy Blake identified the suspects as Christopher Cook and Christopher Golden, and said their hearings will be at 4 p.m. Friday in Cobb Magistrate Court.
Golden, 30, has been charged with two counts of felony murder and two counts of aggravated assault and is being held without bond, according to the Cobb Sheriff’s Office.
Cook, 32, is being booked on at least eight charges of theft by deception and theft by receiving stolen property and is being held on a bond of $1,320.
Blake said Cobb Sheriff’s Office, Cobb Police and Georgia Bureau of Investigation officials will have a press conference after the hearing to provide more details.
The names of the two deputies have not been made public as of 2 p.m. Friday.
They were shot while serving a warrant at a home on Hampton Glen Court in West Cobb Thursday evening.
Deputies were trying to serve a warrant for failure to appear on a charge of theft by deception, but no one was home, according to the Cobb Sheriff’s Office.
A vehicle then pulled into the driveway and shots were fired, the Sheriff’s Office said. An hours-long standoff ended after midnight Friday as two men peacefully surrendered.
The deputies were only the second and third from Cobb to die in the line of duty.
Cobb tax assessor’s office records show that Cook is the owner of the Hampton Glen Court home. Golden’s home address is listed at the same location, according to jail records.
UPDATED FRIDAY 1:15 A.M.:
Cobb Sheriff Craig Owens said two suspects he said “ambushed” two of his deputies Thursday were taken into custody after an hours-long standoff at a West Cobb home.
The names of the deputies have not been released pending notification of family, and the identities of the suspects also have not been revealed.
Owens said the deputies were trying to serve a warrant for failure to appear on a charge of theft by deception at a residence on Hampton Glen Drive, but no one was home.
A vehicle pulled into the driveway and gunfire ensued, according to Owens, who said the deputies were able to call for help.
One of the suspects was arrested shortly after the shootings, he said, and the other was arrested after a standoff.
Owens held a press conference shortly after midnight Friday at the Cobb Sheriff’s Office headquarters with heads of other law enforcement agencies standing by.
Cobb Police is leading the investigation.
More to come later Friday.
ORIGINAL REPORT:
The Cobb County Sheriff’s Office announced Thursday night that two of its deputies have been killed in the line of duty.
In a social media posting at 9 p.m., the Sheriff’s Office said the deputies were at a residence serving a warrant when they died. The message said a saw suspect is being barricaded and that Cobb Police SWAT and Fugitive Apprehension Support Team personnel are on the scene.
The location is on Hampton Glen Drive, a residential street west of Marietta in the Cheatham Hill area.
It’s off Irwin Road near John Ward Road, and law enforcement from multiple agencies are responding.
“We will release additional information, including the names of the fallen deputies, as it becomes available,” the Sheriff’s Office message said.
According to the Officers Down Memorial Page, the Cobb Sheriff’s Office has had only one officer killed in the line of duty previously. That was Deputy Donald Terry Garrison, who died on Aug. 27, 1990 when his patrol car was struck by a speeding vehicle on Roswell Street in Marietta.
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An East Cobb man was sentenced last week on child sexual exploitation charges after pleading guilty in Cobb Superior Court.
Steven D. Porter, 65, was given a 10-year sentence by Judge Gregory Poole and ordered to serve two years in prison, according to Cobb Superior Court records.
The Cobb District Attorney’s office said a jury trial call was scheduled for Porter’s case last Tuesday, Aug. 23, but he entered a guilty plea instead.
Porter was taken into custody in the courtroom and was held at the Cobb County Adult Detention Center before being transferred to the Georgia state prison system Thursday afternoon, according to Cobb Sheriff’s Office records.
Porter was charged in April 2021 after Cobb Police executed a search warrant at his home and found on a thumb drive more than 300 photos and videos of children performing sexually explicit acts, according to his arrest warrant.
According to the arrest warrant, police sought the search warrant after someone uploaded sexually abusive material involving children to an IP address connected to a residence on Snowchase Way, located off Freeman Road near Johnson Ferry Road, between Aug. 2, 2016 and April 1, 2021.
Porter was released in April 2021 after posting an $11,200 bond, according to court records.
He was indicted on 10 counts of child sexual exploitation in October. According to the indictments, the photos and videos found at his home depicted children between the ages of 6 and 12, some posing nude, engaging in acts of intercourse and sodomy with adult males.
In Porter’s sentencing, all 10 counts were merged together, according to court records. Terms of his probation include no contact with minors, except for supervised visits with his biological grandchildren in the presence of adult family members.
In December, Porter requested a bond modification to allow for visitation with his seven grandchildren, who range in age from 3 to 10, according to court records.
Poole allowed Porter to have in-person and virtual visitations that required his wife and the children’s parents to be present at all times. His wife also was required to record the virtual calls with his grandchildren, the court records show.
After his release, Porter also will not be allowed to possess or subscribe to sexually oriented material and he cannot utilize a 900 phone number or rent a post office box or drop box without approval of a probation officer.
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Cobb Fire investigators say three 14-year-old boys have been charged with third-degree arson in connection with a fire that was set to the gazebo of the Chimney Lakes subdivision in East Cobb.
Chief investigator Brian Beaty said in a release Thursday that delinquency complaints were filed with the Juvenile Court of Cobb County on Wednesday.
He said that Cobb Fire and Emergency crews responded to an outdoor fire on July 7 around 5:38 p.m. at a residential address on Johnson Ferry Road near Chimney Lake Drive.
According to fire investigators, Cobb Fire staffers found the lakeside gazebo “involved by fire” and that preliminary findings indicated that the three males deliberately set the structure on fire.
Beaty said that anyone with information about the incident is asked to call Cobb Fire and Emergency Services at 770-499-3869.
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Cobb Police have arrested a man they say committed a home burglary in an affluent neighborhood in East Cobb last week, and as they and Marietta Police continue to investigate similar incidents.
Armando Casa-Rojas, of Argentina, has been charged with first-degree burglary following a burglary at a home off Old Canton Road near Roswell Road last Friday, according to an arrest warrant.
The warrant states that last Friday, May 6, around 9:30 p.m., Casa-Rojas broke into a home by breaking a window in the back, then locating and breaking open a safe.
The warrant also said that the suspect had four pry bars, a flashlight, a head lamp, a window punch and a pair of gloves inside a back pack.
Police were called to the scene and Casa-Rojas tried to get away, but he was apprehended by the police, according to the warrant.
He also has been charged with felony possession of tools for the commission of a crime and willful obstruction of a law enforcement officer.
According to Cobb Sheriff’s Office records, Casa-Rojas was booked in the Cobb County Adult Detention Center and remains there without bond.
Police have said they are investigating seven other similar burglaries, where homes are broken into at night and with no one home, targeting expensive homes and seeking items in safes, cash, jewelry and weapons.
They’ve said an organized, sophisticated burglary crew or crews have been operating in metro Atlanta in recent months. No other arrests have been made.
The arrest warrant for Casa-Rojas doesn’t state what items were taken from the home in East Cobb.
Cobb Police are encouraging homeowners to observe the following safety tips:
Lock your doors, including the one from the garage into the home.
Keep garage doors closed.
Use motion-sensor-activated exterior lighting.
Use surveillance cameras (they can be registered with the Cobb Police camera registry.
Turn on your audible alarm system if you have one.
Report suspicious persons and vehicles in your neighborhood.
Precinct 4 in East Cobb has a criminal investigations unit that investigates thefts and burglaries. For information call 770-499-4184.
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!
A driver who slammed into another vehicle near Mountain View Elementary School more than two years ago, killing an elderly man, was sentenced to five years in prison this week.
John James Hamm, now 45, also will serve 10 years on probation when he is released, according to filings in Cobb Superior Court.
He pleaded guilty on Monday to one charge vehicular homicide, after three other similar charges were merged into one. The sentence was handed down by Judge Lark Ingram.
According to his indictment, Hamm was driving an Infiniti on Sandy Plains Road near Davis Road on Feb. 23, 2020, when it struck a Mazda truck driven by John Spadafora, 91.
Cobb Police said at the time that Spadafora died after being taken to WellStar Kennestone Hospital.
The indictment stated that as Spadafora was heading south on Sandy Plains, attempting to make a left turn onto Davis Road, he was hit by Hamm’s vehicle, heading north, that was weaving and traveling 20 miles over the posted speed limit of 45 mph,
Hamm also did not apply the brakes before the crash, according to the indictment, also states that Hamm was well over the legal alcohol limit. He was taken to Kennestone but had no life-threatening injuries.
Cobb Sheriff’s Office records indicate that Hamm was taken into custody Monday at the Cobb County Adult Detention Center.
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!
A 2015 Pierce Arrow XT engine at Cobb Fire Station 21, one of two stations in the proposed City of East Cobb.
As voters in the proposed City of East Cobb vote on a referendum that would create a city with public safety services, Cobb County Government is tooting its own horn about its fire department.
The county has launched a special portal called “World Class Cobb Fire,” which explains how the Cobb Fire and Emergency Services Department is organized, including details of each major piece of equipment, a map of all stations and testimonials from personnel.
The portal’s homepage includes videos of firefighters and emergency staffers on the job, including a “day in the life” profile of a recruit coming off his first shift.
The reason for the splash page: the Cobb Fire Department is observing its 50th anniversary this year, and recently was reaccredited through 2027 by Commission on Fire Accreditation International.
Cobb also has has a top rating of 1 from the Insurance Services Office.
The ISO-1 designation is a rare one, and has been the subject of discussion in the run-up to the East Cobb Cityhood referendum on May 24.
East Cobb is the only of four proposed cities that would be providing police, fire and 911 services. Leaders of the cityhood effort said that although they weren’t proposed in legislation introduced last year, public safety services “continued to come up in various ways” when they began meeting with the public.
Cityhood opponents have claimed insurance rates would rise, saying a new city fire department would be unlikely to get an ISO-1 rating.
And county fire officials have said in town hall meetings that response times would likely increase inside a proposed City of East Cobb, which would be covered by current Cobb stations 21 (4400 Lower Roswell Road) and 15 (3892 Oak Lane).
While Cobb officials have said fire services in the proposed City of East Cobb would cost $12 million a year, a financial feasibility study conducted for the Commitee for East Cobb Cityhood estimates the annual expenses would come to $5.7 million.
Cobb has ignored those calls, saying its Cityhood Resource Center is an objective response to public questions about the referendums.
The East Cobb Cityhood group has responded to some the Cobb Fire claims, saying residents of the proposed city are charged two to three times more for fire services than elsewhere in the county.
The cityhood supporters also said that in looking through Cobb Fire’s Strategic Plan, no capital improvements are included for stations 15 and 21. “Under funded and overcharged,” the cityhood group said. “Time for things to change.”
The World Class Cobb Fire portal indicates that Station 21 has a 2015 Pierce Arrow XT engine, a 2016 Pierce ladder truck, and a 2020 Ford F-450 Freedom Fire rescue truck.
Station 15 is equipped with a 2020 Pierce Enforcer engine.
In a flyer aimed at senior citizens, the cityhood group also says that “the city will have the ability to make targeted fire station improvements, which as of now Cobb County has no plans to improve. These benefits are extremely important for the safety and well-being of our seniors.”
The flyer also says a City of East Cobb would provide “improved ambulance transport times,” but doesn’t elaborate.
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!
The Cobb County District Attorney’s Office is taking part in National Crime Victims’ Week (April 24-30) with several events designed to raise awareness about the issues and rights of crime victims.
The DA’s Victim Witness Unit will commemorate the advancement of victims’ rights with the presentation of a homicide memorial, a social media campaign and an office-wide virtual 5K walk.
Local non-profits agencies that provide support services to victims also will be recognized, including LiveSafe Resources, Inc. and Safepath Children’s Advocacy Center.
LiveSafe Resources provides the only emergency shelter for victims of domestic violence in Cobb County.
For more information about National Crime Victims’ Week visit the DA’s website; contact the DA’s Victim Witness Unit at 770-528-3042 to assist with crime victims.
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!
A former bakery owner charged with plotting the murder of his former roommate and business partner in East Cobb more than eight years ago was sentenced this week to 20 years in prison.
Ross Byrne, 58, pleaded guilty in Cobb Superior Court on April 8 to charges of violating the RICO Act, conspiracy to commit concealing a death, conspiracy to commit hindering apprehension of a suspect, and criminal solicitation to commit murder, according to the Cobb District Attorney’s Office.
The Cobb DA said in a release Tuesday that the sentence was handed down by Judge Mary Staley Clark.
Byrne was arrested in 2018 for his role in the death of Jerry Moore, who was found stabbed to death 32 times in his home off Holly Springs Road in January 2014.
They were partners in The Best Dang Bakery Around in Woodstock and both lived together for a time at Moore’s East Cobb home.
Byrne was charged two weeks after Johnathan Wheeler, an employee at the bakery, was convicted of killing Moore and sentenced to two consecutive life terms without parole.
According to Byrne’s indictment and testimony presented in court, Byrne—who had since moved elsewhere—helped clean blood from Wheeler’s clothes after the murder and kept items stolen from Moore’s home.
Prosecutors said after the murder, Byrne became the sole owner of the bakery, which opened on Highway 92 in Woodstock in 2008.
Byrne had denied knowing anything about the murder, but prosecutors claimed in court that after Wheeler’s trial, Byrne asked an inmate to kill Wheeler, fearful he would testify against him.
The DA’s office said that in entering his guilty plea, Byrne admitted his roles in both plotting Moore’s murder and in wanting Wheeler killed.
“Despite having introduced Jerry Moore to his killer, this defendant showed absolutely no remorse for Johnathan Wheeler’s vicious killing,” said Cobb Senior Assistant District Attorney Stephanie Green said in the statement, who prosecuted the Wheeler and Byrne cases.
Wheeler is serving his sentences at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison in Jackson, according to the Georgia Department of Corrections.
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!
