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DawsonCountyNews
WEDNESDAY I NOVEMBER 24,2021 DaWSOflNeWS > com ★ DAWSONVILLE, GEORGIA $2.00
Harper pleads guilty in Bender trial
Harper’s sentencing set for Dec. 14; Stryker’s scheduled for Dec. 15
Julia Fechter
jfechter@dawsonnews.com
A 79-year-old man tied to the
gruesome killing of Hannah
Bender has pleaded guilty to
several charges, including help
ing Austin Todd Stryker evade
authorities by taking him to
West Virginia days after he
killed the Lumpkin County
woman in 2019, according to
court documents.
Jerry Harper, of Forsyth
County, pleaded guilty to vio
lating Georgia’s street gang law
for racketeering activity involv
ing a homicide as well as hin
dering apprehension of
a criminal.
Harper pleaded on
Oct. 29, just days before
the Stryker murder trial
began. Documents relat
ed to his plea were not
released until Nov. 15.
Stryker, 24, of
Dawsonville, was found
guilty Nov. 10 of 24 charges,
including malice murder and
three counts of felony murder.
He is scheduled to be sentenced
at the Dawson County
Courthouse at 1:30 p.m. on
Dec. 15. Stryker faces life in
prison without parole.
Harper is scheduled to
be sentenced at 3 p.m.
on Dec. 14. Both will be
sentenced by Superior
Court Judge Kathlene
Gosselin.
Bender was killed
between Sept. 14-15
while riding in a Mazda
pickup truck with
Stryker and Isaac Huff, accord
ing to previous court testimony.
As the truck neared the
Sweetwater Juno Road area of
Dawson County, Bender was
shot in the head without warn
ing by Stryker, according to
testimony given in a plea hear
ing in April.
The gunshot wasn’t fatal.
Stryker then later stabbed
Bender 32 times. Bender was
buried in a shallow grave in
North Forsyth County.
During the trial, Huff told
about the months that led up to
Bender’s death and their con
nection to a small gang called,
“THIS.” The six alleged mem
bers of “THIS,” including Huff,
each had a handprint tattoo
with a number indicating their
status in the gang. Huff said he
was No. 5, with Stryker being
No. 2 and Harper No. 1.
Harper’s indictment shows
that he approved of Stryker
killing Bender on Sept. 15,
2019 then took him to West
Virginia in the days after the
incident to help avoid arrest.
Stryker turned himself into
authorities on Sept. 2, 2019 in
the Pittsburgh area.
The state agreed to not prose
cute Harper for charges related
to theft of a vehicle and a street
gang violation connected to
that theft.
Gosselin said the maximum
penalty she could impose on
Harper would be 45 years.
See Harper 16A
Harper
STATE CHAMPIONS!
Photo submitted to the Dawson County News
The 2021 Dawson County High School cheerleading team with their state championship trophy after winning
the title in Macon on Friday, Nov. 19.
Cheer squad brings home fourth state title in school history
Jacob Smith
jsmith@dawsonnews.com
For just the fourth time in school his
tory, Dawson County High School is a
state champion.
After finishing state runner-up in
2019 and third place in 2020, the
Dawson County competitive cheerlead
ing time finally brought the state cham
pion title back to Perimeter Road after
competing against the other top-15 3A
schools in the Georgia High School
Association (GHSA) in Macon, Ga. on
Friday, Nov. 19.
“I am extremely proud of our athletes’
performance on the mat,” head coach
Kim Fleming said. “I believe we peaked
at the right time. We were disappointed
in being third in state last year. We were
determined not to let it happen again.
Athletes and coaches always dream of
winning a state title and it only happens
to a few. I am so proud and humbled to
be a coach of a state champion team.”
As scores came out, Dawson County
scored a 93 out of a possible 100 points,
with no deductions. The next closest
high school, Pierce County from
Blackshear, Ga. scored an 87.5.
“Their performance was nothing but
amazing,” Fleming said. “They peaked
at the right time. They had a flawless
routine. I’ve never been prouder of a
group of kids...they’re all amazing ath
letes. They’ve gotten better and better
every week and that’s all you can ask
for.”
Since starting the competitive cheer
program at Dawson County High
School in 1995, Fleming has won 20
region championships, six region run-
ner-ups, an appearance in the state tour
nament every year except one, and 16
top-six finishes at the state tournament.
All that was missing as the state cham
pionship trophy, according to Fleming.
“Bringing the title back to Dawson
County means the world to us,” Fleming
said. “We felt we deserved better each
of those years. I feel like this is the final
piece to the puzzle to show everyone we
have a great cheer program at Dawson
County.”
Between the region championship
meet and the state meet, Fleming made
changes to the routine she felt were nec
essary for the team to have a chance at
the state tide.
See Cheer|7A
Dawson Co.
Super plans
retirement
By Erica Jones
ejones@dawsonnews.com
On Nov. 16, Dawson County School
Superintendent Damon Gibbs officially
announced that he will be
retiring in the spring of
2022, according to a
release by the Dawson
County School System.
According to the release,
Gibbs will be retiring at
the end of the 2021-22
school year, effective May
31, 2022. Gibbs has served
as superintendent for the Dawson County
School System for eight years, before
which he worked for the Hall County
School System.
See Gibbs|7A
Bowen kicks
off‘Festival of
Trees’ exhibit
By Erica Jones
ejones@dawsonnews.com
This week, the Bowen Center for the
Arts in Dawson County officially kicked
off its “Festival of Trees”, displaying trees
decorated by local groups and individuals
and allowing art center visitors to vote on
their favorite.
According to a press release by the
Bowen, all of the trees in the exhibit have
been donated by the community, and sever
al of the trees are up for sale or auction.
The groups or individuals who have spon
sored trees for the exhibit include the fol
lowing:
See Festival 14A
Gibbs
8
8A DQHS
hosts Career
Exploration
Day for students
10499 02599
Inside
Volume 7, Number 43
© 2021, Dawson County News
Dawsonville, Georgia
Church Events
2B
Classifieds
9B
Dear Abby
7B
Deaths
2A
Legals
9B
Opinion
11A
Sports
1B
5A Bowen Center
announces art
show winners
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