East Cobb woman doesn’t feel like ‘hero’ for reporting arson

East Cobb citizen arson award
Megan Bode is flanked by Cobb Fire investigator Brian Beaty (in black shirt) and Cobb Fire Chief Randy Crider, and Cobb Fire Department officials at Station 21 on Lower Roswell Road. Ken LeCroy (in suit) of the Georgia Arson Control Board presented her with a check for $8,500. (ECN photo by Wendy Parker)

It was 3:40 in the morning on Jan. 4, 2017, when Megan Bode got text messages from her estranged husband.

She was staying with her parents when the photos he texted her showed racing fuel on the floor of the garage of their Indian Hills condo and of him holding a butane lighter.

She previously received a call from him and feared he might kill himself, and was on the phone with a 911 dispatcher when she got the photos.

“I tried to talk him down, but he hung up,” Bode says now, remembering how at first her mother didn’t want her to go to the condo on Audobon Drive, but then drove her to the scene.

When they arrived, Bode’s home and several others at the Pinecrest at Indian Hills condominiums were engulfed in flames. Three units, including the condo Bode had shared with Matthew Olson—and from whom she had been separated—were destroyed.

Crews from Cobb Fire Station 21 on Lower Roswell Road were sent to an address in the 4000 block of Audobon Drive after someone there called 911 threatening suicide. They ended up working a devastating fire that broke out as people were sleeping.

Although nobody was injured, 21 trucks and emergency vehicles had battled the blaze that lit up the East Cobb sky.

“What he did was terrible,” Bode said of Olson, now her ex-husband, who was arrested that day. “He could have hurt people.”

East Cobb arson fire
Firefighters trying to put out a fire at the Pinecrest at Indian Hills condominiums on Jan. 4, 2017. Matthew Olson pleaded guilty to first-degree arson and was sentenced to six years in prison. (Cobb FD photo)

Olson, now 34, was charged with first-degree arson and more than a dozen other offenses. This June, after pleading guilty to arson, he received a 20-year sentence with six years to serve, and was ordered to pay $6,653 in restitution to Bode.

Olson also was sentenced to serve five years for attempting to elude a police officer, three years for possession of a controlled substance and 12 months for DUI, according to Cobb Superior Court Clerk’s Office records.

He pleaded guilty in June to those charges, stemming from his arrest in a vehicle on Johnson Ferry Road near Woodlawn Drive a few hours after the fire. The sentences are to run concurrently, and Olson is being credited with time served, according to the court records.

Cracking a tough type of crime

For giving investigators the photos and telling them of Olson’s stated intent to start the fire, Bode helped them solve what they say is one of the hardest crimes to prove.

“It’s because the evidence is being destroyed,” said Jimmy Taylor, Cobb deputy fire chief. “We rely a lot on what citizens can tell us.”

East Cobb condo fire
Megan Bode got a photo of racing fuel in the condo garage from Matthew Olson on the morning of the fire, and turned it over to investigators.(Cobb FD photo)

On Friday, Bode received an $8,500 check from the Georgia Arson Control Board at Station 21, and at the behest of Cobb fire investigator Brian Beaty, who investigated the fire that left her home an ashen rubble.

“I don’t feel like I was a hero,” said Bode, who got divorced, rebuilt the condo and lives there today while running 3-D Physiques, a fitness studio at Parkaire Landing Shopping Center.

“I was not expecting this at all.”

Beaty, currently Cobb’s chief fire investigator, said getting the photos made their case a lot easier.

“Usually, you don’t get photos” demonstrating such an intent to commit arson, he said.

To effectively fight crime, Cobb fire chief Randy Crider said, “it has to be a community effort. . . . Any cooperation we get from the citizens of Cobb County is greatly appreciated.”

Ken LeCroy, a consultant for the Georgia Arson Control Board, said the organization hands out around 10 rewards every year. The funding comes from the insurance industry.

He said the reward program is designed to encourage citizens to report arson without fear of retribution. Similar to Crimestoppers, they can offer tips anonymously. This case was different.

East Cobb condo fire
Another photo Matthew Olson texted to Megan Bode before the fire broke out. (Cobb FD photo)

“Ms. Bode did this because it was the right thing to do,” LeCroy said.

Rebuilding and moving on

Bode said that losing her home at the hands of her then-spouse was emotional, but she went to her job the day after the fire.

“It was a matter of sink or swim,” she said.

On July 11, Olson was moved to the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson, according to the Georgia Department of Corrections, and his sentence has a maximum release date of January 2023.

His mother, Juli Olson, was grateful that her son was granted first-offender status with the consent of the victims. She wrote a letter in July to Cobb Superior Court Judge Mary Staley that’s included in court records expressing “my complete and genuine thankfulness . . . for giving my son a second chance at a better and new future when he is released.”

Olson’s mother wrote “I can only imagine what Megan and those families went through those first excruciating hours and in the days, weeks, months and years following. My heart can believe it was hell on earth. The extreme emotional trauma and pain and the devastation of losing everything they had, is beyond words.”

Bode said that Matthew Olson, her former husband, “has been battling a lot of demons,” mainly addiction.

“I forgave him a long time ago,” she said. “I hope he can rebuild his life.”

 

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Woman arrested in attempted Powers Ferry Road bank robbery

Powers Ferry Road bank robbed, Wells Fargo

Cobb Police said a woman was arrested Wednesday after an attempted robbery of a Wells Fargo Bank branch on Powers Ferry Road.

Police said Sandra Daniel, 66, was found in her vehicle near Delk Road and Bentley Way not long after the incident. That’s near the Wells Fargo branch at 1547 Powers Ferry Road, at Wildwood Parkway, where they said the attempted robbery occurred Wednesday afternoon.

Police said a female suspect handed a bank teller with a note saying she had a bomb, and demanded an undisclosed amount of cash.

A short time later, police said Daniel was taken into custody without incident.

Police have not provided further information.

 

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East Cobb man indicted for drug-related pharmacy robberies

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

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 traffic alert: Roswell Road eastbound at Old Canton reopens after crash

Roswell Road Old Canton Road crash

That’s the scene from a Georgia 511 camera at Roswell Road and Old Canton Road about 2:55 Friday, as Cobb Police and Cobb Fire are investigating a crash in a busy intersection that’s blocking eastbound traffic on Roswell.

UPDATED 3:40 PM: Cobb Police say all lanes of traffic are now open.

Police are urging motorists heading east on Roswell (the traffic in the right of the photo) to find an alternate route; there’s no word as yet on injuries.

We’ll update this story when more details are available.

 

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East Cobb traffic alert: Piedmont Road reopens after car crash knocks out power

Piedmont Road closed

UPDATED 4:36 p.m.: Piedmont Road has reopened after an East Cobb car crash earlier this afternoon.

Shortly before 2 p.m. Thursday Cobb Police said Piedmont Road is closed at Sprayberry Drive due to a single-car crash that took down power poles and knocked out electricity in the area (that’s just west of the Piedmont-Sandy Plains intersection and Sprayberry High School).

The car overturned and the crash prompted several small fires, according to police, who said the driver suffered minor injuries.

Will update this story with more information when we get it.

Piedmont Road closed

 

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Cobb 2020 budget proposal is $474.8M with public safety raises

Cobb commissioners on Monday heard an overview of a fiscal year 2020 budget proposal that comes in at $474.8 million and includes a seven-percent salary increase for certified and sworn public safety employees.Cobb County logo, Cobb 2017 elections

Other county employees would receive a pay hike of four percent, according to the briefing that took place at an afternoon work session.

Those raises would cost more than $12 million. Also included in the outline is a proposal for the county to contribute to a supplemental public safety pension plan, which will be an item on Tuesday night’s commissioners’ regular meeting agenda for approval (Meeting agenda can be found here).

Another part of the “retention and recruitment” plan to address public safety concerns includes offering a $5,000 bonus for certified officers (those who have been trained and are experienced elsewhere).

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The $474.8 million proposal represents a 4.8 percent increase from the current fiscal year 2019 budget of $454 million, Cobb finance chief Bill Volckmann told commissioners.

The budget proposal would not include a millage rate increase for the general fund, and assumes tax digest growth of 3.4 percent. Last year, commissioners approved a millage rate increase of 1.7 mills to 8.46 mills for the general fund.

Personnel expenses would increase by $6 million from the current fiscal year (see chart below presented at the work session), with operating costs up $11 million. The contingency projection of $18.5 million reflects an increase of nearly $4 million in the reallocation Cobb receives from the state in title ad valorem tax (TAVT) revenues, following a formula change.

The revised budget draft would also reduce by one percent ($2.2 million) the amount of funding the county borrows from water system revenues for the general fund budget. Currently Cobb borrows around 10 percent (or $22 million) each year, but plans are to gradually reduce that amount by one percent a year.

Also missing from the budget proposal is $850,000 in non-profit funding, which is slated to be eliminated completely.

In addition, the county will eliminate fees for use of senior centers that were imposed last year.

During the commissioners’ discussion, some expressed a desire to approve the seven-percent raise for public safety employees this year, and then take initial steps to implement a step-and-grade plan for fiscal 2021.

That’s a sentiment expressed by new Cobb public safety director Mike Register. But commissioner Bob Ott of East Cobb, who’s said often that a pay-and-class system is “broken,” wants to start with step-and-grade first.

Commission Chairman Mike Boyce is expected to unveil a formal, more detailed budget on July 8. Commissioners will hold three public hearings on the budget starting July 9.

 

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New Cobb public safety director: We have to make profession ‘cool again’

Mike Register, Cobb public safety director

A few weeks into his tenure as the Cobb public safety director, Mike Register was blunt about one of the biggest obstacles his department faces, perhaps as much as the salary and retention concerns that have been expressed in recent months.

Perceptions do matter, and they matter a lot, Register said in remarks earlier this week to the East Cobb Business Association.

“Somehow, we have got to make public safety cool again to our young people,” he said.

Part of the reference was to salaries and benefits, as Cobb salaries lag other jurisdictions in metro Atlanta and the county struggles to fill openings.

But he also mentioned a social media environment rife with critical comments about those in law enforcement, in particular after police shootings.

“The whole is being vilified for the sake of the few,” Register said. “Those in uniform are committed. Somehow we have to communicate that.”

He was drawn to a law enforcement career after being kidnapped as a teenager in Macon. The police officers who worked to free him kept in touch after his release.

“They checked on me, they worried about me,” Register said. “Today is a different time,” a reference to trends he’s seeing that “less and less of our young people want to be in law enforcement.”

Formerly the Cobb Police Chief, Register has taken on an expanded role overseeing police, fire, emergency management, 911 and animal services in a department with around 2,000 employees.

Much of that time has been spent hearing out those who have been vocal in urging Cobb commissioners to pay and support them better.

Last month, commissioners approved a one-time bonus of $1,475 for selected police, fire and sheriff’s employees with good performance evaluations.

The move was considered a first step toward a more comprehensive approach to hiring, keeping and encouraging public safety employees.

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Steven Gaynor, head of the Cobb Fraternal Order of Police, said he’s glad Register is “fighting for us” and especially since he now has a direct line to commissioners.

Chairman Mike Boyce has proposed a seven-percent pay raise for public safety employees, but Gaynor said he’ll feel better when he “sees a plan” for a step-and-grade hiring and pay raise program—similar to what teachers get in Cobb County schools—that he thinks will go a long way toward solving lingering problems.

Register said “it’s no secret in Cobb that we’ve been struggling” to bring up salaries and address retention and benefits concerns. He said he’s hopeful commissioners will address the salary boost this year, and then the step-and-grade program for the 2021 fiscal year budget.

Gaynor said it’s “made a big difference” for citizens to speak out on issues that he and others have been raising for years.

One of them is Susan Hampton, who coordinates Cobb public safety appreciation dinners put on by the East Cobb Business Association. In comments before commissioners this spring, she had been asking for a 10-percent pay raise and step-and-grade in the upcoming 2020 budget.

She acknowledges the seven-percent raise this year and step-and-grade for next year is a more realistic scenario.

Hampton also said after Tuesday’s ECBA luncheon she was encouraged by Register’s appointment, as he is a “common voice” for public safety employees. “He’s got their backs.”

 

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More than 100 hands-free citations given near Big Chicken intersection

Big Chicken traffic citations

For a couple of hours this morning, a few dozen police officers (some posing undercover as road workers) cracked down on distracted drivers around the Big Chicken, the intersection of Roswell Road and Cobb Parkway, and gave out between 100 and 150 citations.

That area includes the Roswell Road access point for the Northwest Corridor managed lanes, and the number of citations is an estimate that is expected to rise.

Marietta Police said the undertook the planned enforcement detail because in recent months they’ve seen an increase in the number of accidents caused by distracted drivers.

Officers from Marietta and Cobb Police and the Georgia State Patrol worked in 40 marked vehicles, and the “goal was to re-educate drivers about the importance of safe driving, specifically seat belt use” as well as the Georgia hands free law (the do’s and don’ts are here) that went into effect a year ago.

Here’s more from Officer Chuck McPhilamy, the Marietta PD’s public information officer, and sent out on social media this afternoon, including information on how the court process works if you get a citation:

1. Driving is a PRIVILEGE not a RIGHT. When we sign for our driver’s license we agree to abide by the rules and regulations of the road as established by our elected government officials.

2. The tickets for distracted driving, according to the law, can ALL be waived the first time if you appear in court and show evidence that you have a blue tooth device in your vehicle now, after that the first fine is $50 and (1) point, then it climbs in increments of $50 and one point for each additional violation.

3. The goal is to make the roads safe, these tickets are the government’s way of trying to get people to obey the law.

4. EVERYONE can simply pull over into a parking space and use their phone any way they like. The law only prohibits the use of an electronic device while also operating a vehicle.

5. If we had even more marked vehicles available, even more violators would have been issued citations – this is clearly a law being violated.

Regardless of your stance, know that we all went out this morning with the goal of making your ability to drive in Marietta as safe as possible. 

 

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Hit-and-run at Bells Ferry and Shallowford seriously injures motorcyclist

Bells Ferry-Shallowford hit-and-run

Cobb Police say a motorcyclist stopped at the Bells Ferry Road and Shallowford Road intersection Thursday night was hit by two vehicles, including one in a hit-and-run fashion, and was hospitalized with critical injuries.

Officer Neil Penirelli said in a release that Dylan J. Threewitt, 25, of Canton, pulled over in a left northbound lane of Bells Ferry around 9:30 p.m. Thursday when his red 1999 Harley Davidson XL1200 became disabled.

Threewit was struck from behind by a silver 2005 Toyota Sienna, police said. and the collision ejected Threewit from his bike.

Another vehicle heading northbound on Bells Ferry then hit Threewit, causing serious injuries, according to police.

Police said the second vehicle stopped momentarily and left the scene.

Threewit was taken to WellStar Kennestone Hospital with critical injuries. Kayli G. McGaha, 25, of Marietta, a motorcycle passenger, was also taken there for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries, Penirelli said.

He said the driver of the Toyota, Rye Pak, 58, of Acworth, was not injured.

Police said witnesses said the SUV is a small model and has a dark color, but had no other description. Anyone with information is asked to call the Cobb Police S.T.E.P. Unit at 770-499-3987.

 

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Northeast Cobb Business Association 5K9 run marks 5th year

For the fifth year the Northeast Cobb Business Association is holding what it’s called a 5K9 run.

The event, which includes a shorter “puppy” trot for kids eight and under, takes place Saturday at 8 a.m. at Piedmont Church (570 Piedmont Road).Northeast Cobb Business Association 5K9 run

It’s one of the main fundraising events of the year for the NCBA, and each year the proceeds have gone for the purchase and training of a dog for local law enforcement and public safety agencies.

This year, the race will go toward the purchase of a specially trained comfort dog, for victims who go through the Cobb District Attorney’s Office Children and Elderly Abuse Court.

Registration is open through racetime, with same-day sign-up beginning at 7 a.m. Saturday onsite. The cost is $10-$25

Participants can bring their dogs along if they like, but are asked to clean up after their pets.

For information and to register online click here.

 

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Elderly woman robbed near supermarket; Cobb Police seeking suspect

Cobb Police are looking for a man they say punched an elderly woman in the face before stealing her purse this week at a grocery store parking lot.

Police said the woman, 84, was robbed in the parking lot of a Publix store at 2451 Cumberland Parkway on Tuesday morning, then got away in a 2005 Toyota Camry in the photo above.

The car has extensive damage on the rear-side passenger door and has dealer drive-out tags, according to police, who did not have a physical description of the male suspect.

Police said anyone with information is asked to call the Cobb Police Crimes Against Persons Unit at 770-499-3945.

 

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Cobb ‘Cops on Donut Shops’ event to benefit Special Olympics

Cobb Police will be at selected Dunkin’ Donuts locations on Friday to accept donations on behalf of Special Olympics. It’s called “Cops on Donut Shops on what the marketing world has dubbed National Donut Day. Northeast Cobb car crash, Cops on Donut Shops

The Precinct 4 community officer, Natalie Jegg, will be on hand at the Dunkin’ Donuts at 2765 Sandy Plains Road, from 5 a.m. to 11 a.m.

Officer Rasean Stoney of Precinct 3 will be at the Dunkin’ Donuts at 2022 Powers Ferry Road during the same hours.

The proceeds will be turned over to the Georgia Special Olympics.

 

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East Cobb man indicted for murder of home contractor

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.

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Delk Road T-Mobile store robbery suspect remains at-large

Delk Road T-mobile store robbery suspect

Cobb Police have released security camera photos of a man they said robbed a T-Mobile store on Delk Road earlier this month and they’re asking for the public’s help in identifying and finding him.

Sgt. Neil Penirelli, a Cobb Police spokesman, said a man came into the store at the Delk Road Spectrum Shopping Center (2900 Delk Road, at Powers Ferry Road) on May 18 at 10:21 a.m., armed with a gun.

Police said the man approached sales employees and demanded they take him to a safe, and ordered them to give them their phones and other accessories.

The employees then were told to remain in a backroom as the suspect left the store, police said, adding that he stepped into an awaiting car.

The car is described as a newer model black Nissan Virsa.

Penirelli said T-Mobile is offering a reward through Crime Stoppers, and anyone with information can submit it anonymously at 404-577-TIPS (8477).

 

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Convicted Windy Hill Road restaurant killers receive life sentences

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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Cobb public safety bonus approved; new police chief appointed

Cobb Police Chief Tim Cox, Cobb public safety bonus
New Cobb Police Chief Tim Cox served as commander of Precinct 4 in East Cobb. (Cobb Co. photo)

Selected sworn public safety employees in Cobb County will be getting a one-time bonus, but they’ll have to wait a couple of months to get it.

The Cobb Board of Commissioners voted 5-0 Tuesday to approve the $1,475 bonuses, which have been promised as a “first step” by county officials to address concerns in recent months about salaries and retention.

The bonuses won’t take effect until Aug. 2, due to a 60-day pension public notification required by state law.

By a 4-1 vote, commissioners also appointed Tim Cox, currently interim chief, to be the new Cobb Police Chief. He succeeds Mike Register, who was recently named the Cobb Public Safety Director, and his appointment is effective immediately.

The bonuses will go to police officers, firefighters and sheriff’s deputies who received satisfactory or better job performance reviews in 2018.

“This is the very first step a multi-step approach” to recruiting, keeping and better-compensating sworn public safety personnel, Cobb Commission Chairman Mike Boyce said.

For several months some public safety employees and their representatives and private citizens have been lobbying commissioners, saying current staffing and salary levels are at a “crisis.”

Before the vote, some of those strong critics thanked the commissioners and urged them to work for long-term goals, including a step-and-grade compensation system.

Among them was East Cobb resident Lance LoRusso, a former county police officer who now represents police with the Cobb Fraternal Order of Police.

He said the bonuses are “a gesture of faith and not a commitment. . . . They’re looking for a commitment from you.” LoRusso asked commissioners to “fix it for years to come . . . now is the time to act,” with the ultimate goal to make Cobb “the best and most sought-after county to work in.”

Boyce has proposed pay raises for public safety employees totaling seven percent for the upcoming fiscal year 2020 budget.

“We will do something that we can be proud of,” he said after the vote.

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In the item after the bonuses, the commissioners confirmed Cox as the new police chief. The vote wasn’t unanimous; South Cobb commissioner Lisa Cupid said she wasn’t opposed to Cox but an appointment process that “didn’t provide the public [the chance] to vet what is a significant role.”

Cox, who’s a county native, has been with Cobb Police for his entire 30-year career, and had been contemplating retirement.

His assignments have including serving as Precinct 4 commander on Lower Roswell Road, noted by East Cobb commissioner Bob Ott.

“I can think of no better person,” Ott said. “He is a stabilizing force. He is the go-to person no matter the position.”

That’s what Register cited in his recommendation of Cox, saying he provides “an air of stability” for a police department facing numerous challenges, including the salary and retention issues.

Cox has been deputy chief under Register, who’s implemented a number of community policing initiatives. Cox has said he will be willing to stay on three more years.

“This is the only police department I’ve ever wanted to work for,” he said after the vote. “But this is not about me. It’s about the department.

 

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UPDATE: Boy missing in Allgood Road area found safe

UPDATED, 2:47 P.M.: Police said Elijah Jones was spotted in Smyrna, and is with Cobb County Police. Marietta Police will be reuniting him with his family.

ORIGINAL POST:

Marietta Police say a 12-year-old boy went missing on Sunday, and he was last seen in the Allgood Road area, near Morningside Road. Elijah Jones, missing boy Allgood Road

Elijah Jones is around 4-foot-11, weighs around 95 pounds and has a scar on his chin, according to police.

He is believed to be wearing gray sweatpants, gray and white shirt and yellow Nike shoes.

Anyone with information about his whereabouts, especially since Sunday afternoon, is asked to call 911.

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One-time bonus proposed for Cobb public safety employees

Those pushing for better pay, benefits and retention for Cobb public safety workers haven’t been optimistic their issues will be addressed before the fiscal year 2020 budget takes effect in October.

Cobb budget town hall, Mike Boyce, Cobb public safety bonus
Mike Boyce has proposed a 5-percent pay raise for public safety employees that some think doesn’t go far enough. (ECN file)

They’ve been lobbying Cobb commissioners for weeks to take some immediate steps, and on Tuesday the county chairman’s office announced a proposal for a one-time bonus for police, firefighters and sheriff’s deputies to be voted on next week.

The bonuses come to more than $2.7 million in all, with the money coming from the county’s general fund and fire fund budgets, according to figures provided by Cobb government spokesman Ross Cavitt.

The bonus, which would be a flat amount of $1,475 per person, “is the first of a multi-phase approach” to addressing public safety salary and retention matters, Chairman Mike Boyce said in a statement, adding that commissioners “will be considering other measures in the weeks ahead.”

He didn’t specify what those may be. The next commission meeting is a week from today, on May 28.

The bonus is considered a merit-based payment, and will go to employees in the police, fire and sheriff’s departments who scored satisfactory or higher job performance ratings last year.

Cavitt said the current county budget for police and fire should accommodate the bonuses, but that the sheriff’s department would need an additional $694,964.

The police and sheriff’s departments are funded through the county’s general fund. Cavitt said the raises for police personnel comes to $1,004,844.

The firefighters bonuses would come from a surplus in personnel services funds and would cost $1,048,253, Cavitt said.

Susan Hampton of East Cobb, a citizen leading the effort for better pay, has been handing out flyers (see above and below) detailing what she and other citizens and public safety staffers have been calling a crisis.

Earlier this spring Boyce said he would be asking commissioners for a three-percent merit-based pay raise for all county employees, and another two percent for public safety. 

Hampton has said that’s not enough, saying that a “five-percent pay raise will not make Cobb competitive” with other jurisdictions in metro Atlanta.

She says the money is there to address staffing shortages and pay and retention problems now, due to the growth in the county tax digest.

The Cobb Fraternal Order of Police has asked for a 10-percent pay raise.

The proposed bonuses come shortly after former Cobb Police Chief Mike Register was named the county’s public safety director.

In the county release, Register issued a statement saying that “I’m optimistic there are more options being considered by the Board of Commissioners who I believe are committed to addressing the ongoing problem.”

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East Cobb businesses pass alcohol compliance checks

Rosa's Pizza, East Cobb businesses alcohol compliance checks

Cobb Police on Thursday visited nearly a dozen East Cobb businesses to see if they would serve alcohol to anyone under 21. All of them passed their compliance checks, meaning they did not sell to underage volunteers. Those businesses are:

  • Kroger, 2960 Shallowford Road
  • Wing Zone, 3052 Shallowford Road
  • BP Food Mart, 2951 Shallowford Road
  • Food Mart, 3065 Shallowford Road
  • Avenue Spirits and Wine, 4400 Roswell Road
  • Citgo Food Mart, 4360 Roswell Road
  • BN Food Mart, 4267 Roswell Road
  • Publix 4401 Shallowford Road
  • Yeero Village, 4751 Sandy Plains Road
  • Rosa’s Pizza, 3605 Sandy Plains Road
  • Good Times Package Store, 4771 Alabama Road.

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