Crime

Mo. teens charged with stealing truck

Submitted by Beth Sawicki, Where U Live Producer

Tuesday, July 8th, 2014, 6:52am

ACWORTH, Ga. -- Acworth Police have charged two Missouri teenagers with stealing a truck at gunpoint.

The victim told investigators his GMC truck was taken July 1 at around 1:30 a.m. in the 5000 block of Cherokee Street, just north of Logan Farm Park. He described the suspects as two young white men.

Police later found the GMC's license plate in a trash can, then later located the truck outside Acworth city limits.

They also found an abandoned Volkswagen Beetle without a license plate on Collins Circle. Acworth Police Capt. Mark Cheatham said investigators ran the Beetle's VIN and determined it had been reported stolen in Missouri.

Evidence in both cases led police to 17-year-old Cody Michael Kelley Gains and a 16-year-old suspect. Cheatham said both teens were being investigated by the Jefferson County (Mo.) Sheriff's Office for a number of armed robberies, including that of the Beetle.

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Submitted by Beth Sawicki, Where U Live Producer

Wednesday, July 2nd, 2014, 1:10pm

Speech therapy provider sentenced for Medicaid fraud

ACWORTH, Ga. -- The owner and operator of a Cobb County speech therapy clinic has been sentenced to two years in prison for defrauding Georgia Medicaid.

Timothy Robinson pleaded guilty in April to one count of Medicaid fraud. He will also spend eight years on probation after getting out of prison.

Robinson owned Acworth-based Robinson Rehabilitation Services, which employed four speech therapists. Prosecutors said Robinson used the employees' provider numbers to bill Georgia Medicaid for services not provided, even after the therapists no longer worked for him. The scheme netted him more than half a million dollars.

As part of his sentence, Robinson must pay $582,484.71 in restitution to the Georgia Department of Community Health.

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Submitted by Beth Sawicki, Where U Live Producer

Friday, June 6th, 2014, 6:31am

Realtor admits to stealing from homes for sale

COBB COUNTY, Ga. -- A Florida man has pleaded guilty to entering homes for sale and stealing from them while working as a real estate agent in Cobb County.

Ray Glen Greene, 49, admitted in court that he used his agent keycode to access the homes and take jewelry and other items. He was convicted of eight counts each of burglary and theft by taking, and was sentenced to 20 years, with eight to serve in custody.

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Several of Greene's victims attended his trial. Greene apologized to them and admitted he lost count of the number of houses he burglarized. He told the court that he did not sell a single home in more than a year and supported himself by pawning the stolen jewelry.

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Submitted by Beth Sawicki, Where U Live Producer

Tuesday, April 29th, 2014, 4:31am

5 men indicted in 2 Kennesaw gang shootings

KENNESAW, Ga. -- Five Cobb County men have been indicted in two gang-related shootings in Kennesaw.

The defendants include Christopher Davis, 17, of Acworth; Alexander Market, 18, of Acworth; Brian McCary, 20, of Kennesaw; Timothy Reddie, 21, of Marietta; and Kristian Williams, 18, of Austell. They have been charged with aggravated assault, criminal property damage, firearm possession and violating Georgia's Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act.

All five men are believed to be involved in two shootings in Kennesaw's Legacy Park neighborhood. Kennesaw Police said the shootings occurred in November 2013 and January 2014, and no one was hurt in them.

Prosecutors said the defendants are members of the Piru Bloods gang, and that the shootings were a response to a young man's decision to leave the gang.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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