Crime

Man sentenced for stealing prisoners' identities

Submitted by Beth Sawicki, Where U Live Producer

Monday, March 10th, 2014, 12:44pm

ACWORTH, Ga. -- A Cobb County man will spend 10 years and one month in federal prison for stealing victims' identities and using them to collect millions of dollars in fraudulent tax refunds.

Bradford Thomas, 47, pleaded guilty last November to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. He must also spend three years on supervised release after getting out of prison and pay more than $1.6 million in restitution.

U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said Thomas submitted more than 1,200 phony tax returns to the IRS between January 2010 and May 2013. He used the names and Social Security numbers of several victims, most of whom were inmates.

Yates said the scheme netted Thomas about $5.5 million, more than $1.6 million of which was taxpayer money.

View Comments | Post a Comment

Submitted by Duffie Dixon, 11Alive Reporter

Monday, March 3rd, 2014, 9:31pm

Principal arrested in GBI child sex sting

DECATUR, Ga. -- An elementary school principal is among 14 people the Georgia Bureau of Investigation arrested in a sting operation targeting suspected child predators.

Dr. John McGill, principal of Mt. Carmel Elementary in Douglasville, is being held in the DeKalb County Jail. He has been suspended from his position. He is due in court for his first appearance Tuesday.

11Alive's Blayne Alexander reports that the Douglas County School System superintendent announced on Monday that Dr. Sandra Williams will serve as interim principal of the school effective March 10. Williams is a retired former principal of the school. The central office will handle administrative duties until Williams arrives.

PHOTOS | Mug Shots: See 'em to Believe 'em

View Comments | Post a Comment

Submitted by Beth Sawicki, Where U Live Producer

Monday, February 24th, 2014, 6:48am

Driver charged in deadly Acworth DUI crash

ACWORTH, Ga. -- An Acworth man was arrested after allegedly causing an accident that took the life of another driver.

PHOTOS | Mug Shots: See 'em to Believe 'em

It happened Saturday at around 12:40 a.m. on Mars Hill Road near Cobb Parkway.

Kenneth Chitwood, 48, was driving under the influence when he swerved out of his lane and hit a Ford F-150 pulling a single axle cargo trailer, according to police.

The F-150 was stopped in a lane transition area while its driver, 50-year-old James "Peyton" Underwood, placed advertising signs along the side of the road.

Cobb County Police Officer Mike Bowman said Underwood was standing next to his truck at the time of the accident. He was hit and knocked to the ground by Chitwood's Chevrolet Silverado.

Underwood was taken to WellStar Kennestone Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

View Comments | Post a Comment

Submitted by Beth Sawicki, Where U Live Producer

Wednesday, February 5th, 2014, 9:01am

Cherokee school board member to be in court

CHEROKEE COUNTY, Ga. -- Cherokee County School Board member Kelly Marlow will have a court hearing at 9 a.m. Wednesday.

PHOTOS | Mug Shots: See 'em to Believe 'em

Marlow was arrested last year when she accused superintendent Frank Petruzielo of threatening her and trying to run her over with his car after a board meeting. She and Petruzielo had been feuding for months about the way the school system is run.

A Cherokee County Grand Jury indicted Marlow in October on four counts of making false statements.

Two co-defendants -- Barbara Knowles and Robert Trim -- also face charges. They are accused of filing a false police report and making false statements when they alleged Petruzielo tried to run over Marlow.

View Comments | Post a Comment

Submitted by Beth Sawicki, Where U Live Producer

Wednesday, January 15th, 2014, 11:22am

Man caught burglarizing Woodstock Goodwill

WOODSTOCK, Ga. -- Woodstock police caught a burglary suspect in the act Wednesday morning.

The suspect, 24-year-old Karim Tawfik, was discovered at around 2:50 a.m., hiding in a clothing bin filled with purses inside the Goodwill on Highway 92.

PHOTOS | Mug Shots: See 'em to Believe 'em

Cherokee County police said two officers responded to an alarm at Goodwill. When they arrived, they spotted a bay door partially open. An Acworth K9 unit eventually found Tawfik inside the bin.

Tawfik was charged with burglary, criminal trespass, obstruction and possession of tools for the commission of a crime. He is being held in the Cherokee County Adult Detention Center.

View Comments | Post a Comment

Submitted by Beth Sawicki, Where U Live Producer

Thursday, January 9th, 2014, 10:49am

Mother arrested for locking sons in room all day

ACWORTH, Ga. -- A 22-year-old mother has been arrested for leaving her young children locked in a bedroom all day.

Angel Henderson has been charged with two counts of cruelty to children.

PHOTOS | Mug Shots: See 'em to Believe 'em

A maintenance worker responded to a water leak in Henderson's unit at the Walden Pond Apartments on Bells Ferry Road in Acworth at around 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.

While looking for the source of the leak, the worker found a 2- and a 3-year-old boy locked in a bedroom, according to Cherokee County Sheriff's Lt. Jay Baker.

The children had been playing in a sink, which is what caused the leak. Baker said both boys were unclothed and the room was filthy.

Henderson arrived home at around 8 p.m. and told police she'd only been away two hours. She later admitted that she left the apartment at 11 a.m.

View Comments | Post a Comment

Submitted by Kevin Rowson, 11Alive Reporter

Saturday, January 4th, 2014, 12:22am

Cobb police and resident get caught in Twitter hoax

ACWORTH, Ga -- Social media sites are a positive and important tool for law enforcement agencies that use them to reach out to the public for help solving crimes. But those social media networks can also be very dangerous and detrimental to police.

Police in Cobb County and Bowie, MD spent hours on New Year's Day tracking down a series of tweets that gave a blow by blow description of an apparent rape and murder.

It turned out to be a hoax that not only caught law enforcement off guard, but also got an Acworth homeowner caught up in the social media firestorm.

Early New Year's morning a tweeter with the handle "Lil Juan" tweeted out a photo of a passed out woman saying "Somebody put something in her drink...me and my brother bout to rape this b____"

View Comments | Post a Comment