A brief lockdown at Murdock Elementary School has resulted in extended voting time at the polling station located there in today’s runoff elections.
The extra time is only brief—11 minutes, to match the period of a Code Yellow lockdown, according to Cobb government spokesman Ross Cavitt.
He said Cobb County Senior Judge George Kreeger signed an order to keep the precinct open there longer this afternoon.
So if you vote at Murdock (2320 Murdock Road), that precinct will now close at 7:11 p.m. instead of the usual 7 p.m.
We’re seeking further information about the Murdock lockdown from the Cobb County School District.
It was the second such lockdown in Cobb schools today, and that also affected voting times.
Earlier this morning, Teasley Elementary School in Vinings was locked down for around 20 minutes after reports of a man with a gun in the vicinity of the school.
Those reports turned out to be false, but the polling station at Teasley will stay open until 7:20, also after Kreeger issued an order, according to Cavitt.
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Ron Gorman, who served as a volunteer coach with the Pope wrestling teams, pleaded guilty in Cobb Superior Court on Tuesday to two counts of child molestation.
Gorman, 53, was given a 25-year sentence by Judge Gregory Poole, with 20 to serve without parole, according to the Cobb District Attorney’s Office.
Gorman was to have gone on trial after being charged with abusing a 14-year-old boy in Cobb County in 2010, according to prosecutors, who said the victim disclosed the abuse last year to authorities in Monroe County, Pa.
That’s where Gorman had been sentenced to 20-40 years in February for sexually assaulting boys there, including the boy prosecutors said was also victimized in Cobb.
According to the Cobb DA’s office, Gorman was extradited to Cobb to face the charges here and will be returned to Pennsylvania, where he will serve his sentences concurrently.
“This is a prime example of how child predators can work their way into positions of trust and authority, and then turn that trust into a weapon against children,” said Chuck Boring, Cobb deputy chief assistant district attorney and head of the Cobb DA’s special victims unit.
Gorman moved to Cobb in 2009 and was a volunteer with Pope Junior Wrestling, which feeds into the highly successful Pope High School program, where he also was a parent volunteer. He also was a coach at Life College in Marietta.
Gorman was arrested at his East Cobb home in March 2017 and eventually was charged by Pennsylvania authorities with a total of 513 counts, including child rape and statutory sexual assault.
His accusers in Pennsylvania claimed Gorman subjected them to frequent and continuous assaults, sometimes on a weekly basis, for several years, including in Georgia.
News reports last March and earlier this year quoted a Cobb woman who became concerned about Gorman in 2011. That’s when she saw a crude, sexually themed Facebook message sent by him to her son, then 12, and a member of the Pope junior wrestling program.
She said she was told by then-Pope principal Rick Beaulieu not to go to law enforcement. Gorman was suspended from any involvement with Pope wrestling for a year, but it was six years later that he was charged.
Boring said in court Tuesday that there are no other charges that Gorman is facing in Cobb. In Pennsylvania, prosecutors heard allegations that Gorman abused minors dating back to the 1980s, but the statue of limitations had run out.
“Hopefully this conclusion gives his victims some sort of closure and justice, whether they have reported his abuse or not,” Boring said.
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Police need the public’s help locating a Sandy Plains Road bank robbery suspect who got away after a holdup on Halloween.
UPDATED, Nov. 20, 2:20 P.M.: Police say the suspect apparently shot himself this morning as they attempted to serve him with a search warrant.
On Friday Marietta Police released surveillance photos of the man they say held up the SunTrust Bank branch at 1840 Sandy Plains Road.
The robbery took place at 3:30 p.m. on Oct. 31, according to police, who said the man handed a teller a note demanding cash and saying he had a gun.
He left the bank with an undisclosed amount of cash, police said.
The suspect is described as a slender white male, between six feet and 6-foot-5, with police adding that he bears “unique physical features including birthmarks and his distinct chin structure.”
Police also said the circumstances of this robbery resemble a similar bank robbery at a Wells Fargo Bank at 2687 Sandy Plains Road on June 22.
Anyone with information about the Oct. 31 robbery is asked to contact Crime Stoppers Greater Atlanta at 404-577-TIPS or Marietta Detective Greene at 770-794-2365.
Call Cobb Police at 770-499-3945 with information about the June robbery.
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The Cobb Board of Commissioners on Tuesday approved an agreement to continue a joint school bus camera program with county courts and public schools for another five years.
The automated enforcement system issues citations to motorists who ignore school bus “stop arm” signs. The cameras, equipped on about 100 of nearly 1,000 buses in the Cobb County School District, take photos of the license plates of violating vehicles.
The agreement (agenda item here, formal agreement doc here) includes the Cobb County State Court Clerk, the camera manufacturer American Traffic Solutions and the Cobb Board of Education, which also must approve the agreement.
Cobb State Court judges had not been enforcing the violations for a time earlier this year, questioning their legality. Enforcement resumed in February, but the county said the burden of handling stop arm violations required additional staffing.
In September, commissioners approved the creation of three positions in Cobb State Court and two more in the Cobb Solicitors office to start with the fiscal year 2019 that began in October.
County officials estimate more than 8,000 such cases are generated annually. Each violation comes with a fine of $300.
The fine money, which exceeded $2 million in 2017, is split evenly between the county, Cobb schools and ATS, which provides the cameras at no charge.
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Cobb Police said a motorist was thrown from a pickup truck Monday morning in a collision with another vehicle at Canton Road and Piedmont Road.
Officer Sarah O’Hara, a spokeswoman for Cobb Police, said Patrick Bruce, 38, of Marietta, was driving a maroon 1998 Ford F-150 north on Canton Road when the truck left the road.
The truck struck a utility pole and a stone wall before returning to Canton Road, then hit a black 2007 Chevrolet Trailblazer SS, also heading north, according to police.
O’Hara said the Chevrolet driver was able to bring her vehicle to a stop at Canton and Old Piedmont Road, while Bruce was ejected during the collision.
O’Hara said Bruce was taken to WellStar Kennestone Hospital with serious injuries. The driver of the Chevrolet, Donna Kelley, 53, of Marietta, was not injured, police said.
O’Hara said the crash is still being investigated and that police expect to file charges. Anyone with information is asked to Cobb Police at 770-499-3987.
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It’s the week before Thanksgiving, and holiday-themed events are popping up on our East Cobb events calendar, including the Ecumenical Thanksgiving Celebration. on Thursday.
It’s the 14th annual service starting at at 7 p.m. at Temple Kol Emeth (1415 Old Canton Road), and this year’s theme is “Harmonizing the Voice of Humanity.” Representatives of Jewish, Christian, Muslim and other metro area faith communities will participate in readings, music and fellowship.
The public is invited to stay for dessert and is asked to bring canned food donations for Must Ministries and an offering for Give-a-Gobble. Overflow parking is at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 3155 Trickum Road.
The elections are over, but the League of Women Voters of Marietta-Cobb is delving into lingering political matters with a discussion Monday night about gerrymandering. It starts at 7 p.m. at WellStar East Cobb Health Park (3747 Roswell Road), and the guest speaker is Elizabeth McNamara, the former president of the League of Women Voters of the U.S.
Cobb Police are continuing their community outreach events with citizens on Tuesday. Cookies With a Cop goes from 6-8 p.m. at the Great American Cookies/Marble Slab Creamery in Providence Square Shopping Center (4101 Roswell Road). Bring your questions about crime and public safety for Precinct 4 community officers to answer in an informal setting.
Check our full calendar listings for more, including a number of public library book club and other events going on during this week, and beyond.
Did we miss anything? Do you have a calendar item you’d like to share with the community? Send it to us, and we’ll spread the word! E-mail: calendar@eastcobbnews.com, and you can include a photo or flyer if you like.
Whatever you’re doing this week, make it a great one! Enjoy!
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Back in August, Xi-Anna Graham, an East Cobb mother of four children, was found strangled to death at her home in the Merritt Road area. A man who lived there with them was arrested for her murder and last week he was indicted by a Cobb Grand Jury.
Christopher Gene Scarboro, 27, faces charges of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault and cruelty to children in the third degree. He was arrested for the killing of Xi-anna Graham after what Marietta Police said was on ongoing domestic dispute.
Graham, who was 24, had four children living with her and Scarboro at the home at 697 Bonnie Dell Drive. According to police, at least one of the children was home when Scarboro allegedly choked Graham around the neck with his bare hands, and then threw her onto the ground.
Police said they found Graham’s lifeless body when they made a welfare check early on the morning of Aug. 24.
Scarboro has been held without bond at the Cobb County Adult Detention Center since his arrest the same day.
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Cobb Police Tuesday released surveillance photos of a man they say is an East Cobb motel sexual assault in an attack that took place nearly a month ago.
The man is accused of attacking a victim on Oct. 7 at the Intown Suites located at 2030 Roswell Road, and police are asking for the public’s help in identifying him.
According to police, the victim and suspect were in contact through a mobile phone application.
Police said just a few minutes after that, the suspect arrived at the victim’s location at the motel. The victim was then allegedly overpowered and sexually assaulted, police said.
Police said the suspect is a black male between 26 and 30 years old. He has a medium to dark complexion and is around 5-foot-10 to six feet in height, weighing between 200-230 pounds.
Police said the suspect was wearing the clothing shown in the photo above, and that he had a full beard short in length.
Anyone with information regarding asked to call the Cobb Police Crimes Against Persons unit at 770-499-3945
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Law enforcement agencies in the county are getting out word that a Cobb robbery suspect who was taken to WellStar Kennestone Hospital for medical observation has escaped.
The man has been identified as Jules Jackson, 19, and the photo to the right was also released by Cobb Police and other agencies.
Police said Jackson slipped out of handcuffs and escaped out of a window at the hospital overnight on Friday morning. He was taken to Kennestone as a precaution after swallowing “a potentially dangerous amount” of narcotics before his arrest.
Police said “a large contingent” of officers from Cobb, Marietta and Powder Springs searched the area near the hospital, which was on a temporary lockdown but has since resumed regular operations.
Police also said there were no reported injuries and there is “no immediate cause for concern for the general public.”
Police said that on Thursday, Jackson and David Roberts, 26, were arrested for an armed robbery on Leland Drive, in an apartment complex off Windy Hill Road and near I-75.
Anyone with information about Jackson’s whereabout is asked to call 911 immediately.
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If you’re in the vicinity of SunTrust Park during early November and see a lot of law enforcement presence, there’s a reason for that. There will be Cobb Police active shooter training going on, and they’re sending out word about what you’ll notice:
Beginning November 1, 2018 the Cobb County Police Department will be conducting large scale training at SunTrust Park. This training will result in a large number of emergency vehicles and personnel in and around the Park. The training will be conducted November 1 and 2, 2018, and it will continue on November 5 through November 9. Passersby and residents may notice an increased police, fire, and emergency medical services presence in the afternoon hours and late into the evening
We are excited about our partnership with the Atlanta Braves and the opportunity to train in a real-world environment to better prepare our officers, firefighters, and emergency medical personnel to more effectively respond to and handle all emergencies in Cobb County.
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Police are sending out word that there’s going to be an East Cobb crime forum Thursday night to address a rash of burglaries affecting citizens of Asian and Indian descent.
The meeting starts at 7 p.m. at the East Cobb Senior Center (3322 Sandy Plains Road).
Here’s more from Lt. Nathan McCreary, head of the Cobb Police Precinct 4 Criminal Investigations Unit:
The forum will focus on the increase in burglaries targeting the Asian and Indian community in East Cobb County. All citizens are invited to attend and encouraged to participate. The presentation will include crime stats and methods for all citizens to use to decrease the potential of becoming a victim.
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Officer Phil Bradford was appointed to a new emergency management specialist role with the Cobb County School District police. (East Cobb News photo by Wendy Parker)
As they were rolling out a new website dedicated to safety issues, officials—as well as officers— from Cobb schools tried to reassure parents at an East Cobb town hall meeting Thursday that they were being proactive in dealing with a variety of threats to students, teachers and staff alike.
The new site, called Cobb Shield, includes much of the material presented to the audience of around 50 parents at the Lassiter Concert Hall.
Some of them had specific questions about threats of violence, accidents, assaults and bullying, but school officials said they couldn’t answer some of those questions in public.
One came from a Lassiter mother, who wanted more information about a report of bullet casings that were found in a classroom during the current school year.
John Adams, the Cobb schools deputy superintendent for human resources and operations, told her that a communication was sent to parents from the Lassiter administration. When she said she hadn’t received it, Adams said that he “couldn’t comment on an ongoing investigation.”
Adams said the matter “illustrates how . .. students have to be our eyes and ears” in reporting such incidents.
Being watchful was the watchword at the town hall, which featured leaders of the Cobb County School District Police force, which has 65 uniformed officers.
Many of them have years of previous law enforcement service, including Cobb Police. Capt. Wayne Pickett, a former Precinct 4 commander in East Cobb, is one of them, and he’s second-in-command to Chief Ron Storey, also a Cobb Police retiree.
Capt. Wayne Pickett of CCSD said that Code Red drills serve as “a way to surveil” how well schools are prepared for serious threats of violence.
The department average is 26 years of experience, according to Adams, and 12 officers have SWAT training. “We want mature officers who have some experience,” Storey said.
Pickett detailed how ongoing “Code Red” drills are working, especially at the high school level, which are supposed to have one each semester.
He said the unannounced drills are designed to train staff, teachers and students to be better prepared for suspicious persons activity. During the drills, a plain-clothes officer comes to the school and tries to go as far as possible before being noticed.
“The administration has no idea we’re coming,” Pickett said. They’re told “We’re in a Code Red right now. What are you going to do?”
More than anything, he added, school police want to gauge how prepared each school is, with a checklist of around 25 items to keep in mind.
“There’s no way to pre-plan such a stressful activity,” Pickett said. “It’s snapshot of what they do. Do they know the policies for Code Red?”
After a drill, school police meet with administrators to identify successes and improvements. If there are enough problems at a school, another drill may be ordered.
A report is sent up the administrative line at the district, all the way to the superintendent.
Pickett said “we haven’t had too many that are bad. Most are exceptionally good.”
The AlertPoint system, Ofc. Phil Bradford said, “empowers every member of the staff to take action” to ensure safety.
When a parent asked about inspecting Code Red drill reports, Adams said that’s also something that’s not available to the public, for security reasons.
Officer Phil Bradford, another Cobb Police veteran, heads up a newly created position with the school police as emergency management specialist. He updated the Lassiter audience about the AlertPoint emergency communications system that’s gradually being rolled out at every school in the district.
It’s a $5 million system that was begun in the wake of the Parkland, Fla., school shootings, and features a device issued to teachers and staff. The card-type device allows them to trigger an alert to designated first responders in case of any kind of emergency, from a suspicious person to a health issue.
“The badge identifies who you are and where you are,” Bradford said. “Most important, it leads to instant action.”
Flashing lights and beeper alarms are activated in the case of a Code Red alert and the entire school is notified of a lockdown.
High school classrooms are being issued AlertPoints now, to be followed by those at the middle school and then elementary school level.
An active-shooter training video has been shown to staff for more than a year. Bradford said a safety video has just been completed for elementary students, and another for high school students should be done soon.
Those videos, and other safety-related measures, will gradually be added to the Cobb Shield webpage, said Adams, a former Cobb Police officer. That page also will include a tip line, which is expected to be fully functional by the spring semester.
He encouraged parents to contact him with suggestions at: john.adams@cobbk12.org.
“This is the most important thing we do,” Adams said.
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The Cobb District Attorney’s Office said Friday that 23 people have been sentenced to long prison terms for a range of gang-related criminal offenses in the county in 2015 and 2016.
In a release, DA’s office spokeswoman Kim Isaza said that members of Get Money Squared, Wildlyfe and 2200, three criminal street gangs with roots in Cobb, pleaded guilty to drive-by shootings, drug offenses, thefts, car break-ins, assault, street-gang terrorism, criminal trespass, disrupting a public school and firearms violations.
One of the crimes tied to the defendants included a car break-in on Manning Road in the East Cobb area in January 2016.
Another case tied to the crime spree, according to prosecutors, was a drug sale at Windy Hill Road and Circle 75 Parkway in May 2016.
Isaza said Cobb Superior Court Judge Reuben Green handed down sentences ranging from 10 years to 20 years.
She said many of them were given first-offender status, which means that if they complete their custody and probation periods without further incidents, their records will be sealed.
Isaza said the defendants are between 20-27 years old and come from Cobb, Woodstock, Lawrenceville, Atlanta, and Dothan, Ala. The last of the defendants was sentenced last month, she added, and all of them pleaded guilty to racketeering.
Investigating the case were the Cobb Police Anti-Gang Enforcement Unit, Smyrna Police, Marietta Police and Cobb County School District Police.
“Members and associates of these gangs admitted that they sold drugs, broke into dozens of cars to commit thefts and committed acts of violence against people outside the gangs, all to increase their status within the criminal organization and further the gangs’ violent reputations,” said Cobb Senior Assistant District Attorney Jaret Usher, who prosecuted the case, in a statement.
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“There are a lot of people in District 2, especially in East Cobb, who don’t believe it,” said Commissioner Bob Ott, who devoted most of his town hall meeting on Monday to the subject.
Ott, who recently took part in a special White House conference on opioids, offered up some sobering numbers and speakers who attested to how Cobb is trying to address a situation that not only has spiraled rapidly, but suffers from common misconceptions.
One of them is identying a typical overdose victim. While some think it may be a young person, Dr. Christopher Gulledge, the Cobb County Medical Examiner, told told mostly middle-age and senior citizens at the Sewell Mill Library and Cultural Center that the opioids plague is striking people from all walks of life and all age groups across the county.
Still, of the 163 drug overdose deaths in Cobb last year, he said 67 percent were men, and 89 percent were white (see page 30 of the 2017 CCME’s annual report).
Some in the audience gasped when Gulledge noted that 47 overdose victims, or a little more than a quarter, were white males ages 50-59. Furthermore, 26 were in the 40-49 age group, and 32 more between 30-39. Another 18 deaths were in the 18-29 range.
Dr. Christopher Gulledge, the Cobb County Medical Examiner, said the rise in opioid overdose deaths in the county represents “exponential growth.”
“It ain’t the teenagers,” said Gulledge, who was hired by Cobb in 2015 after working for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. “It’s the parents.”
Topping the list were 62 deaths due to overdoses from fentanyl and other “designer” opioids. There were 37 deaths each from heroin and cocaine overdoses, 34 from methamphetamine, 33 from Alprazolam (trade name Xanax) and 30 from Oxycodone.
The opioid-related deaths in Cobb last year came to 128, and Gulledge said that 43 percent of those 163 deaths involved the use of heroin, fentanyl or both.
The opioid numbers have risen rapidly since the crisis began stoking concern in Georgia in 2015, and Gulledge said Cobb could be on pace to surpass last year’s total.
Gulledge said one reason for the spike in opioids deaths is that addicts of more familiar drugs may not be aware how much more potent they can become when blended with the likes of fentanyl.
“Long-term users have known their high,” he explained. “But they may no longer know their dose. They may or may not know if they’re lethal.”
Earlier this year, the GBI announced that Cobb led all counties in the state for the second year in a row in terms of the numbers of opioids cases it has investigated. A total of 79 cases were reported out of the county through May and 11 different types of fentanyl were tested at the state crime lab.
The opioids crisis originally grew out of the addictive use of commonly-prescribed painkillers. It has morphed far beyond that, spawning an illicit industry in which very potent and cheaply produced substances are cut into heroin, cocaine and other narcotics.
The high for addicts is higher, and so is the profit margin for manufacturers, Gulledge noted.
Cobb has been expanding the Medical Examiner’s Office with new positions and received a federal grant of nearly $900,000 to hire a judicial program manager and an investigator in the Cobb District Attorney’s Office.
The county this summer also joined a lawsuit seeking to recover damages from pharmaceutical manufacturers, similar to what was done by many states years ago against tobacco companies.
Ott said whatever money the county may receive would be used for recovery and treatment expenses.
There also will be a national medical drug disposal day next Saturday, Oct. 27, sponsored by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Cobb residents can drop off unused prescriptions at the following locations from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.:
Cobb Police Precinct 1 (2380 Cobb Parkway North);
Smyrna Police Department (2646 Atlanta Road);
Kennesaw Police Department (2782 Cobb Parkway North).
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The Cobb County Fire and Emergency Services is telling the public that there are people calling to solicit donations for a group called Firefighters Support Funds, but that this is a fraudulent activity.
The warning indicated that the group isn’t affiliated with any department or agency in Georgia, and that its purpose is “to scam funds.”
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Early this morning there was an officer-involved shooting at the Walton on the Chattahoochee apartments that resulted in the death of a man Cobb Police say was shooting in the parking lot.
The incident, which took place around 6 a.m., kept Akers Mill Road closed between Cumberland Boulevard and Powers Ferry Road until around 1:30 this afternoon, according to Cobb DOT.
When there’s an officer-involved shooting, the case is turned over to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Late this afternoon the GBI said the man who was killed was Matthew Chambers, age 34, address unspecified.
Police said a man began shooting in the parking lot and they were called to the scene by residents of the apartment complex, which is located at 6640 Akers Mill Road, near the intersection of Powers Ferry.
Police said the man was shooting at vehicles, and that officers found him at a bus stop on Akers Mill, and he pointed his gun at them. Police returned fire, according to the GBI, and the man later identified as Chambers was taken to WellStar Kennestone Hospital. Chambers was pronounced dead there, according to the GBI.
The GBI said no one else, including police, was injured during the incident, which remains under investigation.
After that is complete, the GBI report is forwarded to the Cobb District Attorney’s Office for a review.
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Just a little while ago Cobb government public information officer Ross Cavitt sent out the following message and video here of crews working in the Vinings area, related to county preparations for what we might get via Hurricane Michael:
Cobb County’s Emergency Management Agency participated in National Weather Service and GEMA briefings this afternoon. We expect some gusty winds and up to two inches of rain in this area. Much of this will happen after dark tonight.
Cobb County Department of Transportation crews spent much of the day clearing clogged storm drains and preparing their tree clearing equipment in anticipation of work tonight.
Cobb County Emergency Management Director Cassie Mazloom says the tornado threat in the Cobb area is low but still worth monitoring. The biggest concern remains downed trees and power outages, especially since we’ve been in a fairly dry period.
Just before the eye of the storm made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane earlier this afternoon, wind gusts of nearly 150 mph were measured at Tydall AFB near Panama City Beach, Fla., according to news reports there.
Yesterday Gov. Nathan Deal declared a state of emergency in 93 counties in central and south Georgia, which are expected to get a heavy brunt from Michael.
Today he expanded that area to 108 counties, many of which are now under a hurricane warning, according to the National Weather Service, with the threat of devastating amounts of heavy rain and hurricane-force winds, possibly in excess of 70 mph.
The storm is projected to sweep up part of the Middle Atlantic coast before crossing into the Atlantic Ocean.
In the video, the interview is with Gary Pongetti, Cobb DOT Drainage Division Maintenance Supervisor.
Earlier this morning, the Cobb County School District sent out this message:
We continue to remain in contact with the National Weather Service and are monitoring the track of Hurricane Michael. Our Operations and Transportation teams are ready to get every student to school and back home safely for the rest of the week!
High temperatures in Cobb are expected to cool, starting on Thursday, and not get out of the 70s for the rest of the week. Low temperatures are expected to drop into the 50s, with mostly sunny weather on the weekend after the chance of rain and showers on Thursday.
The National Hurricane Center said today that the only stronger storm on record to reach so far north on the Gulf Coast was Hurricane Camille, a Category 5 storm in 1969 that slammed into the Mississippi coast, killing more than 200 people and reaching winds of more than 170 mph.
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A woman who went on a crime spree that included the death of a pedestrian near Bells Ferry Road two years ago has been sentenced to prison.
The Cobb District Attorney’s Office said Tuesday that Kristie Renee Nesby, 45, of Fresno, Texas, has been sentenced to 55 years in prison, with 20 to serve and the rest on parole.
She pleaded guilty but mentally ill last week to several felony charges, including killing Luci Turner, 71, who was struck by a car driven by Nesby.
Prosecutors said that incident came at the end what the DA’s office called a “bizarre” string of crimes by Nesby in May 2016.
Nesby, who was to go on trial next week, pleaded guilty but mentally ill to 10 charges, including homicide by vehicle, armed robbery, hijacking a motor vehicle, hit and run, aggravated assault, and possessing a firearm during the commission of a felony.
Around 5 a.m. on May 11, 2016, they said Nesby robbed the owner of a Smyrna cleaning business, then hit another vehicle while speeding on Interstate 575. Prosecutors said Nesby fled the scene, drove the wrong way on an exit ramp and hit another car.
Shortly after 6 a.m., the DA’s office said Nesby was driving on Cobb Parkway near Bells Ferry Road when her car left the road and went on a sidewalk, hitting Turner, who was walking to her job at a nearby Burger King.
Turner, who had been a teacher and a volunteer at MUST Ministries, died of her injuries at WellStar Kennestone Hospital.
After that incident, prosecutors said Nesby hijacked a car driven by a female motorist on Bells Ferry Road and fled toward Interstate 75. She then hijacked a second car and robbed a woman of her cell phone, according to the DA’s office.
Prosecutors said that while driving to Atlanta Nesby called 911 and said she would take a hostage and kill the hostage and herself if police didn’t chase her with blue lights and stop her.
She crashed into several vehicles in Atlanta and tried to hijack another car before being arrested there, according to prosecutors, who said police found her in possession of two handguns.
Prosecutors said Nesby contended that among other things, a fast food employee put something in a soft drink she had ordered that caused her to hallucinate and commit the crimes.
The Cobb DA’s office enlisted the help of mental health experts who evaluated Nesby, and that prosecutors and Nesby’s attorney asked the court to find her mentally ill.
Cobb Superior Court Judge Stephen Schuster accepted Nesby’s plea before issuing the sentence, the Cobb DA’s office said.
Nesby, who has been in the Cobb County jail since her arrest, will receive credit for time served, according to the Cobb DA’s office, which said she also will receive mental health treatment in prison.
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In the wake of arrests made earlier this week in an attempted child abduction incident off Bells Ferry Road, some social media chatter centered on an individual spotted in some East Cobb neighborhoods, in particular around Holly Springs Road and the vicinity of Pope High School.
Cobb Police Lt. Nathan McCreary, who heads up criminal investigations for Precinct 4, has issued the following response to those citizens’ concerns:
The Cobb County Police Department is aware of the information that has been making rounds on social media platforms regarding a suspicious male in a black Nissan Maxima in the East Cobb area, specifically Holly Springs Road. Investigators have identified and spoken to the involved individual who was cooperative with the investigation. At this time, we have found no evidence of criminal activity associated with the vehicle or its driver.
We want to thank the citizens for their vigilance and encourage everyone to call 911 if they see a suspicious person or vehicles. Do not hesitate to use the emergency line to report any and all suspicious activity.
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A man found guilty last week of raping a 4-year-old girl at his Delk Road apartment was given two life sentences plus 120 years.
Frederick Wade Sherwood, 48, was convicted Friday by a Cobb Superior Court jury of all charges, including rape, aggravated sodomy and child molestation, according to the Cobb District Attorney’s Office.
The sentence was handed down by Cobb Superior Court Judge Grant Brantley.
Prosecutors said the attacks occurred between 2014 and 2015 in Sherwood’s Delk Road apartment (according to Cobb Sheriff’s Office, his home address is listed as 2650 Delk Road, the Stratford Ridge Apartments).
Prosecutors said the girl was four years old when the assaults began, and she disclosed the abuse to family members in early 2016.
During the trial, according to the DA’s office, she clutched a stuffed animal on the witness stand, saying she initially told no one about the abuse because she feared Sherwood would be mad at her.
A male witness testified during the trial to having been sexually abused by Sherwood years before in another city.
“Any time a small child has to face their abuser in court is particularly difficult,” Cobb assistant district attorney Katie Gropper, who prosecuted the case, said in a statement.
“We are always hopeful that the judicial process is an empowering step towards healing. While we can’t undo the harm the Defendant caused to this child, the jury’s verdict will help bring a sense of justice and closure and ensure that Mr. Sherwood can never harm another child in our community.”
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