Newspaper Page Text
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.
Experienced Agents • More Choices
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Man scammed out of $500 after
agreeing to buy four-wheelers
A man on J.D. Brooks
Rd. said he was scammed
out of down payment mon
ey on a pair of four-wheel
ers he agreed to buy.
The man told the Jack-
son County Sheriff's Of
fice (JCSO) that he paid
$500 as a down payment
for two four-wheelers he
found on Facebook Mar
ketplace. But when the
seller reportedly asked for
$500 more, explaining he
had bills to pay, the man
said he believed he’d been
scammed.
The man said he at
tempted to arrange to pick
up the four-wheelers and
pay off the remainder of
the balance, but the seller
reportedly gave multiple
excuses why pickup could
not be coordinated.
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
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