Two Arrested for Racing Through Streets of Bethlehem – Barrow Patch Two unlicensed drivers were arrested on Oct. 28, 2012 when a Barrow County Officer, who was parked in the Bethlehem Chick-fil-A parking lot, observed a silver Infiniti turn onto Exchange Boulevard while traveling at a high rate of speed. According to the Barrow County police report, unlicensed drivers Miguel Ramirez-Bravo and Wilfredo Pineda-Franco were arrested and charged with racing and driving without a license. Ramirez-Bravo received an additional charge of passing in a no passing zone. Barrow Patch has additional …

Six-Year-Old Dunwoody Girl Recovering from Three-story Fall - Dunwoody Patch Youthful play turned dangerous Sunday night when a local girl fell out of a three-story window after jumping on her bed. The Dunwoody girl was quickly rushed to Scottish Rite hospital, where she was admitted with minor injuries. For more on this story, visit Dunwoody Patch. Atlanta Police Helicopter Crashes on Martin Luther King Dr., 2 Officers Dead - Cascade Patch In one of the most shocking police accidents of the year, an Atlanta Police helicopter lost control and fell out of the sky while clipping power lines at …

Bartow Authorities Seek Fugitive Following Car, Foot Chase - Cartersville Patch Bartow County sheriff's authorities are asking locals to be on the lookout for a "dangerous fugitive" last seen this morning near Red Top Mountain Road near Acworth and Cartersville. Sheriff Clark Millsap said in a release police are looking for Derrick Ramone Walker, 40, of Avondale Estates, GA, following an incident early this morning. See Cartersville Patch for more on this story.  Woodstock Woman Killed in Accident - Woodstock Patch Speed and alcohol could have been a contributing factor in an accident that …

iPhone Tracking Device Helps Nab Armed Robbery Suspect According to the Atlanta Police Department, a pair of men were arrested overnight after robbing several women in Midtown of purses and electronics, including an iPhone that had a tracking device that led authorities to the thieves. Shortly after 11 p.m. on Thursday evening, APD Zone 5 units responded to a pedestrian robbery call at The Biltmore, located at 817 West Peachtree Street. According to APD Officer Kim Jones, five female victims told the officers they had been robbed at gunpoint in the driveway of The Biltmore by two male …

New Drugs Have Cops' Attention A recent federal raid of a Smoke 911 shop in Sandy Springs highlights the rise in crimes related to synthetic marijuana and bath salts, but what are these drugs? According to DrugFree.org, bath salts are a synthetic compound of a chemical found in the Khat plant.  “We started hearing about bath salts around late 2009, early 2010,” Sandy Springs police Detective Joseph Lane said. “It really was the new kind of designer drug. Not many people knew what it would do to you.” Read more... Officers Cleared of Profiling Tyler Perry Two officers under investigation for …

Mother Charged in Connection with Missing Girl Cobb Police arrested and charged Keyonna Grant of Mableton with contributing to the delinquency of a minor resulting in serious injury, a misdemeanor, after her 5-year-old daughter, Taniya Gilbert, went missing on Friday around 11:30 p.m. Taniya was returned safely at 7:25 a.m. on Saturday by a man who discovered the girl sleeping soundly in his truck. According to Sgt. Dana Pierce, spokesman for the Cobb County Police, Grant instructed Taniya to go to sleep in the truck while she returned to a gathering of friends and family at Whisperwood …

Nude Mural in Chosewood Park Gets Temporary Reprieve The Chosewood Park mural that sparked a row in the neighborhood over its nude imagery, is not getting repainted after all. At least, not yet. 11Alive News reported the mural, painted by Argentinean artist Hyuro, will stay, pending the outcome of a Sept. 10 meeting of neighborhood residents. The mural, which was painted as part of the Living Walls Conference, was to have been repainted this weekend, after the owner of the former General Motors Lakewood Plant decided the attention and controversy was too much. Read more on East Atlanta Patch…

Elderly Woman Struck by SUV A woman who appears to be in her late 60s was flown to Grady Hospital in Atlanta after an SUV struck her in Canton's Great Sky subdivision. Cherokee County Fire and Emergency Servicesspokesman Tim Cavender said the agency, along with the Canton Fire Department, found the woman in the middle of 215 Towering Peaks. Read more at Canton-Sixes Patch. BCSO Remembers Fallen Officer Bartow County Sheriff’s Office authorities remember one of their own today—a brother law enforcement officer who made the ultimate sacrifice on this day in 1970. Special Deputy Samuel Boyd …

Heat, Drought Hurt Farmers' Crops, Sales Extreme heat and a drought this summer have affected crops throughout the country, and local farmers say crops in Bartow County are no exception. One man, who buys produce from farmers from Moultrie to Tennessee to resell at the Farmers Market in downtown Cartersville, said that his suppliers have had a hard summer with the heat, lack of rain and more bugs than usual, an effect of last year’s mild winter. “I have two providers up there, and they’ve lost all their crops,” he said. Read more at Cartersville Patch. Paulding Schools Insurance Hike Looming …

Austell Man Charged With Impersonating Doctor, Treating 500 Patients An Austell man pretended to be a visiting doctor in Columbia, SC, where he treated more than 500 senior patients, Lexington County deputies report. Authorities arrested Ernest Addo of Austell Friday and charged with unlawfully practicing medicine, Irmo Patch reported. He is being held at the Cobb County Detention Center. Read more on South Cobb Patch.  Small Fire Reported at Tyler Perry Studios for Second Time Local news helicopters took pictures of firefighters battling a small blaze at Tyler Perry Studios located in the …

Driver, 30, Dies in Canton Wreck One person died Tuesday night and four others were taken to WellStar Kennestone Hospital for various injuries after a head-on collision on Bells Ferry and Butterworth roads.  When crews from Cherokee County Fire and Emergency Services and the Canton Fire Department arrived on the scene shortly after 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, the 30-year-old driver of a Pontiac Grand Prix involved in the accident was trapped, two other male occupants had neck, hip and back pains, and one had a knot on his head, Cherokee Fire spokesman Tim Cavender said. Read more at Canton-Sixes …

Acworth Woman Struck by Car A 51-year-old Acworth woman was struck by a car and killed Monday night after she fell in the crosswalk of Georgia 92 and Wade Green Road. About 10:30 p.m. Monday, 51-year-old Melanie June Mayes was crossing Georgia 92 when she fell, Georgia State Patrol spokesman Gordy Wright said in a news release. Read more on Acworth Patch.  Cupid Tops Thompson in Commission Race Lisa Cupid will likely be the only new member of the Cobb Board of Commissioners after November's election, as well as its only Democrat. With all 35 precincts reporting 4,053 votes, the 35-year-old …

Former GSU Soccer Player Shot and Killed Atlanta police say they found the vehicle believed to be involved in an accident that resulted in the shooting death Sunday of a former Georgia State University soccer player. Ayokunle Lumpkin of Kennesaw, was shot during a confrontation on Milton Avenue in Chosewood Park. The incident occurred after Lumpkin followed a vehicle that had hit his girlfriend’s car during an incident the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. Read more on East Atlanta Patch.   Dive Teams Continue Searching for Lake Lanier Drowning Victim Divers from the Hall County Sheriff’…

ASO Says Lassiter, Walton Chorus: ‘Not Diverse Enough’ Two Cobb County high schools have been told they will not be performing with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (ASO) in the fall because they lack racial diversity. The choruses at Lassiter and Walton high schools have been barred from full participation in the ASO's joint holiday concert held in December. Both schools would still be allowed to send smaller contingents of chorus singers to the performance due to space restrictions. Read more on Northeast Cobb Patch.   Illegal Immigrants Under 30 Apply by Thousands for Work Permits Hundreds …

20 Years in Prison for Rome Nursing Home Operator Conditions at nursing homes in nearby Rome were so horrendous that residents were near starvation, the United States Attorney's Officesaid Monday after the operator, George D. Houser, 64, of Sandy Springs, was sentenced to federal prison. Houser, assisted by his wife—Rhonda Washington Houser, 49, also of Sandy Springs—operated the Mount Berry and Moran Lake nursing homes in Rome and a third home in Brunswick between July 2004 and July 2007. The two Rome nursing homes each housed about 100 residents. Read more at Cartersville Patch. Fired …

Charges Still Pending in Accident That Killed Smyrna Woman A representative from Georgia State Patrol said charges are still pending as officers continue to investigate a Douglas County car accident that killed a Smyrna woman and her Atlanta co-worker. Michelle Chinnis, 35, of Smyrna was driving her Nissan Sentra on a sales call with her co-worker Tracy Downer, 44, of Atlanta when the car was struck on the driver’s side by a tractor trailer. Some witnesses have reported that the driver of the tractor trailer, Robert Sansom, 64, of Colorado, was trying to beat a red light before the collision…

Six Flags Is Seeking (Bath Salt-Free) Zombies, South Cobb Patch Six Flags Over Georgia is looking for zombies! Hold the bath salts please. The Southeast's largest regional theme park is holding Fright Fest auditions starting Saturday, July 28. From zombies to vampires and sword swallowers to fire eaters, the park is looking for unique specialty acts and scare actors ready to make their debut in October. Singers, dancers, scare actors, technicians, costume designers and makeup artists can also auditon. For a complete list of available positions, audition dates and scheduled times, please visit…

Man Charged in East Cobb Murder A Cobb Police SWAT team traffic stop in Powder Springs on Tuesday netted the arrest of a man for the murder of an East Cobb resident last fall.  Cobb Police spokesman Sgt. Dana Pierce said Wednesday that Desmond Andre Brookins, 21, was detained without incident on Hopkins Road. The Cobb Sheriff's Office booking report listed his home address as being on nearby Hopkins Court. Read more on West Cobb Patch.  No Deportation for South Cobb Teen Jesus Cruz, an undocumented Pebblebrook graduate, can breathe a little easier now. He is no longer threatened by …

Woman Unhurt After Train Collided with Her Car An Austell woman was not injured after a train collided with the tail end of her car on Sunday. Gene Hale, a train enthusiast, was shooting video footage of the trains when one collided with the woman's car. The videos are attached here. Austell Police cited Geraldine Hunt, 90 of Austell, with running a railroad crossing and leaving the scene of an accident. Chief Bob Starrett said Hunt drove to her home after the train struck her car. Read more on South Cobb Patch. Man Carjacked in Little Five Points Atlanta police report that a man was …

Inmate Found Unresponsive, Dead An inmate at the Cobb County Adult Detention Facility has died and the case is being investigated. Jail staff found Robin Tracy Harrington unresponsive in his cell at 10:30 p.m. Sunday and began CPR on him, according to WSB-TV Harrington was taken to Kennestone Hospital where he was pronounced dead at about 11:30 p.m. Read more in Inmate Found Unresponsive, Dead on Marietta Patch. Cherokee Man Targeted Kids in 'Lewd' Acts at Cartersville Walmart A Walmart security worker captured video that authorities say shows a man masturbating in the presence of children …