About The Braselton news. (Jefferson, Ga) 2006-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 21, 2022)
Wednesday, December 21, 2022 The Braselton News Page 5A Public Safety Braselton PD Men arrested after returning stolen merchandise to Braselton business Two Snellville men were recently arrested after re turning merchandize they’d reportedly stolen from a Braselton business location on Lewis Braselton Blvd. Alonzo Gonzales, 23, 2715 Van Ct., Snellville; and Ismael E. Garcia Ma drid, 26, 2705 Van Ct., Snellville; were both booked on charges of felony theft, according to an arrest report filed by Braselton po lice. The manager of the busi ness told police he had vid eo footage and a written statement from Gonzales saying he’d taken between $30,000 to $40,000 from the establishment between Nov. 18 and Dec. 8. The manager also said Madrid was seen in the video help ing load the stolen items. The two men were then arrested when they report edly returned to the store to drop off some of the stolen merchandise. ARRESTS Other recent arrests re ported by Braselton police include: •Dalton Edward Wheeler, 27, 50 Jackson Meadows Dr., Hoschton — driving under the influence of al cohol. reckless driving and duty upon striking fixture. Wheeler was approached by police after reportedly backing into a light pole in a parking lot on Hwy. 211 and arrested after reportedly failing a field sobriety test. •Erica Rachel Bergelt, 42, 625 Piedmont Ave., Atlanta — battery. Bergelt was ar rested after reportedly hit ting her boyfriend multiple times in a hotel after ques tioning him about where he had been. Her boyfriend had visible scratch marks on the right side of his neck from what appeared to be finger nails and a large scratch on his chest and stomach area, according to the arrest re port. Police responded to the scene when Bergelt called law enforcement, alleging her boyfriend had kicked her. Her boyfriend said he used his foot to push her off of him because he was tired of being hit. •Justin Everett Niefer, 41, 2950 New Columbia Ct., Cumming — possession of marijuana (greater than one ounce), criminal damage, burglary and open container violation. Neifer was arrest ed after reportedly kicking in his ex-girlfriend’s front door and destroying the door frame. An open con tainer and bag of a leafy substance were reportedly found in Niefer’s vehicle. He reportedly admitted to kicking in the door. Niefer also reportedly took a Geor gia Bulldog statue from an other address, but the owner declined to press charges. INCIDENTS Recent incidents reported to Braselton Police include: •domestic disturbance on Wayside Terrace where a woman said her husband grabbed her and drug her by the hair while she was changing her son. •domestic disturbance on Alderbrook Terrace where a man and a woman who'd re cently broken up reportedly got into a dispute over the man’s laptop. The man said he thought the woman had hidden it in her vehicle, and he blocked her from leav ing. The woman said she thought the man was “up to something shady” and checked the laptop for text messages before placing it behind a couch cushion. •domestic dispute on Bald Cypress Dr. where a woman and her son report edly got into an altercation over knives missing from the kitchen and her asking him to clean his room. The woman said her son pushed her during the dispute, but he said he bumped her. The son reportedly left the scene despite being told to stop by officers. He was eventually detained. He was then taken to Northeast Georgia Medi cal Center in Braselton after reportedly telling officers he no longer wanted to live. •suspicious activity on Sparta Way where a woman said a man who appeared homeless was reportedly hanging around a business. The man was later located and told police that he was not homeless and had cut through the property while walking until his girlfriend picked him up. •theft on Spout Springs Rd. where a man said his iPhone was stolen at a bank. •simple assault on Hwy. 53 where a woman said a juvenile fast food worker flung boiling water at her ankles, causing third-de gree burns. The woman de clined to press charges. •domestic disturbance on Walnut Woods Dr. where a woman said her son grabbed her arm during a dispute over her car, caus ing a scratch and swelling. Her son was not at the scene but police took out an arrest warrant for simple battery. Hall County Sheriff’s Office Accident Hall Co. investigators charge Clermont woman with June molestation incident Hall County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) investi gators arrested a Cler mont woman Tuesday. Dec. 13, on charges stemming from a child molestation incident this summer, according to an HCSO press release. Rachel Barbara Wass- ing, 36, of Clermont, faces one count each of child molestation and electronic furnishing of obscene material to a mi nor. Investigators arrest ed her at HCSO Head quarters after securing warrants the same day. According to the pre liminary investigation, Wassing showed the victim, a boy under the age of 10, explicit por nographic videos on her cell phone. Wassing committed the crimes on one occasion in June 2022 at her residence. The victim visited the home periodically during the month. The investigation be gan on Monday, Aug. 1, when the victim dis closed the incident to a family member who re ported it to HCSO dep uties. Investigators exe cuted a search warrant at Wassing’s home on Fri day, Aug. 26. and seized several electronic devic es. They obtained arrest warrants following fo rensic processing of the electronics and several interviews. Wassing remained in the Hall County Jail without bond on Wednes day morning, Dec. 14. The case remains under investigation. Photo by Ben Munro DOWNTOWN HOSCHTON ACCIDENT A Braselton police officer was involved in an automobile accident Saturday (Dec. 17) on Hwy. 53 en route to assisting Hoschton police with an incident. The accident occurred during Hoschton’s Jingle Mingle Festival held down town. The Georgia State Patrol handled the scene, but its accident report was not available at press time. There were no apparent significant injuries at the scene. Gift Card Scams West Jackson Incidents Hall County Sheriff’s Office: Beware of gift card scams this holiday season Gift cards are an easy option for holiday giving, but investigators with the Hall County Sheriff’s Of fice (HCSO) are warning shoppers to be cautious with purchases, especial ly if they’re buying from racks in big box stores. The warning comes as a gift card scam has surfaced in nearby counties. Investigators have found that scammers will print out their own barcodes and place those over the real barcodes on gift cards at local retailers. When the card is activated, the mon ey is added to an existing card owned by the scam mer instead of the card that's being purchased, so not only is the buyer being ripped off, but the gift re cipient gets a card with no value. To safeguard against such scams, HCSO offers these tips: • Always examine the back of the gift card before buying it. Check for signs of tampering, such as a bar code sticker. • Compare the gift card’s barcode number, visible on the back of the gift card’s packaging, to the number on the packaging itself. •Select a gift card from the middle or the back of the rack. They’re less like ly to have been tampered with. If you find you’ve been victimized by a gift card scam, you should contact the company that issued the card. You can also file a re port with law enforcement in the jurisdiction where the card was purchased. 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OTHER INCIDENTS Other incidents recently reported to the JCSO in clude: •agency assist on Bill Watkins Rd. where a man reportedly went into car diac arrest and stopped breathing. He was trans ferred to Northeast Geor gia Medical Center in Gainesville. •suicide threats on Ven ture Ct. where a man re portedly said he wanted to harm himself and “didn’t want to live anymore.” He was transported to North east Georgia Medical Cen ter in Braselton. CONSIGNMENTS . FINE FURNISHINGS Whether you are looking lor the perlect piece of furniture, want to accessorize your home, need to liquidate an entire home or sell a single item, House of Boykin is the perfect place. Give us a call! Caryn McGarity, Owner And her Boykin Spaniels f TV m ^ i 1 m
