Newspaper Page Text
The Champion, Thursday, Feb. 19 - 25, 2015
LOCAL NEWS
Page 14A
CRIME BRIEF
Man indicted for DeKalb murders
A Aeman Pre
sley has been in
dicted by a DeKalb
County grand jury
for the murders of
a hairstylist Karen
Pearce and Calvin
Gholston. Presley,
Presley 34, is charged with
multiple felony
counts, including malice murder,
felony murder, armed robbery and ag
gravated assault related to the murder
of Pearce.
Pearce, 44, was killed Dec. 6 by a
gunshot wound while walking in an
area adjacent to where her vehicle was
parked after leaving a Decatur restau
rant. The indictment states that Pre
sley shot and killed Pearce and took
her wallet. Pearce was found dead
near a parking area in the 100 block of
East Ponce de Leon Avenue.
In a second indictment, Presley
faces malice murder, felony murder
and aggravated assault charges for the
murder of Gholston, who was residing
in the Memorial Drive area.
The indictment states that Presley
fatally shot Gholston in the head and
torso on Sept. 27.
“These are two very senseless acts
of violence that ended in the tragic
loss of two lives,” said DeKalb County
District Attorney Robert James.
Presley also has been charged with
the deaths of Dorian Jenkins, 42, and
Tommy Mims, 68, by Atlanta Police
Department. No arraignment dates
have been scheduled.
Detectives seek information in
Stone Mountain homicide
DeKalb County
Police detectives and
Crime Stoppers of
Greater Atlanta are
asking for informa
tion on a homicide.
On Oct. 23,
2012, at approxi
mately 10 p.m.
Vanessa Malone
was shot to death during a home inva
sion armed robbery that took place at
6902 Tree Mountain Parkway in Stone
Mountain.
A reward of up to $10,000 is being
offered for information leading to the
arrest and indictment of the person or
persons responsible. The family of the
victim has donated money in this case
and wants to increase the reward for
all potential information leading to
the capture of Malone’s killer(s).
Information on the case can be
submitted anonymously to the Crime
Stoppers Atlanta tip line at (404) 577-
TIPS (8477), online www.crimestop-
persatlanta.org or by texting “CSA”
and the tip to CRIMES (274637).
Persons do not have to give their
names or any identifying information
to be eligible for the reward of up to
$10,000.
County solicitor-general to
prosecute recorders court cases
The Solicitor General’s Office
began prosecuting DeKalb County
Recorder’s Court cases on Feb. 9.
Five prosecutors from the Solicitor
General’s Office are now located at
Recorder’s Court at 3630 Camp Circle,
Decatur.
“We are excited about this oppor
tunity to expand our services to the
public and look forward to making
this an efficient transition,” said So
licitor General Sherry Boston.
Residents who need to pay a ticket
or appear in court for a traffic cita
tion also can find information on the
solicitor general’s website, www.dekal-
bsolicitorgeneral.org.
The Solicitor General’s Office
currently prosecutes approximately
13,000 misdemeanor cases in DeKalb
County State Court each year at the
DeKalb County Courthouse located
at 556 N. McDonough Street, Decatur.
The new court will add approximately
130,000 traffic citations to be handled
by the Solicitor General’s Office.
Recorders Court cases were previ
ously handled by the DeKalb County
District Attorney’s Office which with
drew from the court in November
2014. The DeKalb County Solicitor
General’s Office was waiting for fund
ing and approval from the DeKalb
County Board of Commissioners
since then to begin prosecuting Re
corders Court cases.
Malone
NEWS BRIEFS
Doraville targets human trafficking
in annexed areas
The city of Doraville is targeting
human trafficking, illegal gambling
and the sale of illegal drugs in newly
annexed areas.
“The Doraville Police Department
is currently working with the busi
nesses in the newly annexed areas of
Doraville to eradicate the illegitimate
businesses that have operated in the
shadows for far too long,” according to
a news release from the city.
This issue came to light Jan. 15
when Doraville Police responded to a
call of a “person down.” When police
and EMS arrived at the scene, they
found a woman who had died of natu
ral causes, according to a news release.
Police also found evidence of illegal
gambling on the premises.
“The entire place had been
converted to a gambling hall,” said
Doraville Police Chief John King.
“There were also makeshift beds
throughout the space indicating that
more than just gambling was going
on.
Before Jan. 1, these businesses
had been operating in unincorporated
DeKalb County, but now are under
Doraville’s jurisdiction.
“The city of Doraville places a
high value on supporting legitimate
businesses and that is why Doraville
has begun aggressively working to
eradicate dangerous and illegal busi
nesses,” said Mayor Donna Pittman.
“Ignoring the problem of human traf
ficking will not make it go away. We
know that what we have discovered so
far is just the tip of the iceberg.”
Superior court, state court judge
nominees narrowed to eight
A list of nominees to fill two
DeKalb County judge vacancies has
been narrowed to eight lawyers, ac
cording to the Daily Report.
A commission charged with nar
rowing down the list has submitted
eight nominees to Gov. Nathan Deal.
Superior Court Judge Cynthia
Becker will vacate her seat in March,
and a State Court seat became vacant
with the appointment of Judge Elea
nor Ross to the federal bench.
According to the Daily Report,
the judicial nominating commission’s
shortlist includes: Jean-Paul Boulee,
a partner with Jones Day in Atlanta;
Tony DelCampo, a plaintiff’s attorney
with DelCampo, Weber & Grayson
and a former DeKalb County State
Court judge; Ronnie Dixon, a Fulton
County deputy district attorney; Ni
cole M. Golden, chief assistant district
attorney for DeKalb County; Mike
Jacobs, a Republican member of the
state House of Representatives and
a solo practitioner; Rebecca Crum-
rine Rieder, a partner at Hedgepeth,
Heredia, Crumrine & Morrison with
a domestic law practice; V. Natasha
Perdew Silas, a longtime federal pub
lic defender and former Obama Ad
ministration nominee to the federal
bench; and Jeffrey W. Stump, a senior
assistant attorney general with the
state Department of Law.
After the judicial nominating
commission posted the two vacancies
in December, it received 72 nomina
tions, 56 of whom submitted required
applications. The commission mem
bers elected to interview 25 of them.
City of Decatur advances its
commitment to sustainability
The city of Decatur recently was
one of seven local governments to be
recognized by the Atlanta Regional
Commission (ARC) for leadership
in implementing policies and prac
tices that contribute to efficient and
sustainable use of resources in metro
Atlanta.
The city became the first juris
diction in the 10-county region to
achieve Platinum level as a Certified
Green Community, the highest cer
tification level. Representatives from
the city received its award at ARC’s
January board meeting. ARC rec
ognized the City of Decatur, along
with two other cities - Alpharetta and
Sandy Springs, and Cherokee, DeKalb,
Fulton and Gwinnett counties, which
either renewed or upgraded certifi
cation in ARC’s five-year-old Green
Communities program.
The city of Decatur first achieved
the Green Communities certification
at the Bronze level in 2009, and was
upgraded to the Gold level in 2010.
Some of the actions Decatur took
to become certified include:
•Developing an environmental
sustainability plan as direct response
to a charge from residents seeking to
become even more environmentally
responsible.
•Expanding the Safe Routes to
School program to include all eligible
elementary and middle schools in the
Decatur City Schools system along
with College Heights Preschool and
two private schools. An average of
55 percent of students participate in
International Walk and Roll to School
Day each year.
•Committing to building LEED
certified facilities, the latest of which,
Fire Station No. 1, is on course to
obtain LEED Platinum. Sustainable
technologies include high efficiency
equipment and lighting, green roof
garden, a geothermal vertical-closed
loop heat pump system, solar water
heating, rainwater harvesting and
greywater reclamation. The building
is designed to achieve a 33 percent re
duction in energy consumption and in
water usage.
•Supporting several community
gardens with financial and in-kind
support. At Decatur’s Kitchen Garden,
more than 30 refugee families grow
hundreds of pounds of fresh food each
season, combating hunger that their
families and neighbors face. The pro
duce is also sold at the Decatur Farm
ers Market and a number of Decatur
restaurants.