Newspaper Page Text
Wednesday, February 15,2023
dawsonnews.com I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I 3A
FROM 1A
Lanier
step it up and take it to the next
level.”
Aucoin and Crittenden first
began Lanier Goods Co. in
Forsyth County before moving it
to its new location in Dawson
County, where they officially
reopened at the beginning of
January. On Feb. 7, the Dawson
County Chamber of Commerce
held a ribbon cutting ceremony
for the business, welcoming the
owners and their employees to
the community.
“Never in either of our wildest
dreams would we be where we
are right now, but we’re super
excited to be here in Dawson and
look forward to working with
each and every one of you,”
Aucoin said during the ceremony.
Lanier Goods Co. offers cus
tom embroidery, digital and
screen printing, sublimation,
engraving, signage, corporate
apparel, paper goods, promotion
al items, decals, design services
and more. Aucoin said that,
because everything is done in-
house at their new location, this
allows them to better serve their
customers.
“We do our own custom appar
el here in house, so we do have
pretty good turnarounds, low
minimums, and we do promo
tional items as well,” Aucoin said.
Before cutting the ribbon,
Dawson County Chamber of
Commerce President and CEO
Mandy Power welcomed Aucoin,
Crittenden and their employees to
the Dawson County community,
expressing her excitement at hav
ing their business move into the
county.
“We’re very excited to have
another opportunity to have
somewhere where we can have
corporate ‘swag’ as my team
likes to call it, and Dawson
County pride wear as well,”
Power said.
Lanier Goods Co. is located at
212 Grogan Drive, Suite 500 and
is open Monday through Friday
from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more
information about the business
and its services, go to lanier-
goods.com, call 770-283-8489 or
email info@laniergoods.com.
Erica Jones Dawson County News
Lanier Goods Co. recently opened in Dawson County, bringing a wide array of custom
apparel and printing options to the community.
FROM 1A
Robbery
Alford plea, which
would’ve let her uphold
her innocence while
admitting that the case
could result in a guilty ver
dict if taken to trial.
First offender status
means that after Williams
completes her sentence,
the criminal attempt
charge will no longer be
on her record, and she will
not be considered a felon
for this case.
“Part of the court’s obli
gation is to give people
hope,” Cornwell said. “If
you don’t have hope, you
don’t have much of any
thing.”
As part of the sentenc
ing conditions, Williams
could have her probation
revoked if she violates it
or commits a new crimi
nal offense, and she could
then be resentenced to
serve time in prison.
For their alleged roles,
Stryker was charged with
aggravated assault and
armed robbery, while
Williams and Huff were
charged with being parties
to the 2019 crime at the
South Chestatee Street
Dollar General, according
to a June 2022 indictment.
In December 2022,
Huff entered a plea of not
guilty. Then in January,
Stryker also pleaded not
guilty on his charges.
Motive
An updated July 2021
indictment accused
Stryker of killing Bender
in the early morning of
Sept. 15, 2019 by shooting
and stabbing her. Williams
was accused of tampering
with evidence in Lumpkin
County as part of the cover
up, according to a separate
indictment for her case.
Before Stryker’s
November 2021 trial,
prosecutors successfully
got evidence introduced
alleging that his motive to
kill Hannah Bender was
tied to his belief that she
might go to police about
the Lumpkin County rob
bery.
Huff and another co
defendant in the Dawson
County case, Dylan Reid,
testified about their and
others’ involvement in a
small gang called “THIS”
during a joint plea and
sentencing hearing in April
2021.
During his testimony at
Stryker’s trial, Huff said
that the gang members
allegedly committed
armed robbery at Dollar
Generals in Dawsonville
and Dahlonega during
summer 2019.
Currently, charges have
only been filed in
Lumpkin County for the
alleged armed robbery
there.
During the Feb. 8 hear
ing, Williams’ defense
attorney, Zack Tumlin,
explained that there were
no leads on the Dahlonega
robbery until a few months
later, after Hannah
Bender’s September 2019
murder. During that inves
tigation, the Georgia
Bureau of Investigation
contacted Williams, who
admitted Stryker’s and the
others’ alleged involve
ment in a loose-knit group
or gang.
“One of the group’s
criminal activities was this
armed robbery,” Tumlin
said. “Her involvement in
the [robbery] case didn’t
come to light until the
investigation of the mur
der.”
Cornwell inquired to
Tumlin about the motive
for the robbery “other than
gang activity or a quest for
money.”
“My understanding is
apparently Mr. Stryker
wanted to be broadcast or
on the news for commit
ting another robbery,”
Tumlin said. “Essentially,
he was wanting to become
famous ... [but] it was a
relatively minimal amount
that was taken.”
Williams took the stand
as one of the main wit
nesses during Stryker’s
trial. There, she similarly
testified that she was the
alleged getaway driver for
the Dahlonega robbery,
something both she and
Reid mentioned, and that
Stryker was the alleged
robber.
On Feb. 8, the defense
attorney characterized his
client as never having been
in “THIS” or any gang and
said she “lived in fear” of
the defendants. The day of
the robbery, Tumlin said
Williams was essentially
trapped with Huff and
Stryker in the car and
couldn’t leave.
During her testimony at
Stryker’s trial, Williams
elaborated that she had a
pre-existing fear of him
before Bender’s killing.
“He (Stryker) said
things or went about
things to where you felt
you couldn’t tell him ‘no’
or go against him,”
Williams said.
While she testified,
Williams recalled
Stryker’s fear leading up to
September 2019 that there
was a “blonde-haired
snitch” in their friend
group, which she took to
mean Bender.
“I want to get justice for
her. She (Bender) was my
best friend,” Williams said
at the trial.
Tumlin mentioned that
his client “did provide sig
nificant assistance” before
and during Stryker’s trial
and was aware her testi
mony could be used
against her for her
Lumpkin County case.
“For a lack of better
words, these are some bad
dudes,” Tumlin said of
Williams’ co-defendants in
the armed robbery case.
“Quite frankly, she solved
these two crimes, and
she’s the reason they’re in
[prison].”
Tumlin described how
Williams moved to the
area for college and met
the co-defendants, becom
ing addicted to metham-
phetamine and going on a
“downward spiral” that
included a drug possession
charge in White County.
"Excellence in every drop "
Etowah Water & Sewer Authority will hold its
annual meeting on
Tuesday, March 14, 2023 at 4:00 pm.
The regular monthly Board of Directors meetings
will follow immediately after the Authority’s
annual meeting adjourns.
Both meetings will be held in the Don D. Gordon
Conference Room of the Etowah Water & Sewer
Authority Administration Office located at
1162 Hwy 53 E Dawsonville, GA 30534.
“She recognizes what
she’s charged with and
why she’s charged with it,”
Tumlin said. “Those guys
got her addicted, and thank
God, she’s broken free of
that addiction.”
Williams spoke to the
court, saying she’s com
plied with her sentencing
conditions for the drug
charge and hasn’t touched
another illegal substance
during her probation.
“I do what normal peo
ple are supposed to do,”
Williams said. “I got
mixed up in all of this, and
I don’t want to do it
again.”
Sentences
During the April 2021
hearing, Huff received a
sentence of 12 years in
prison and 18 years on
probation for his role in
covering up Bender’s
death.
Reid got 20 years with
15 years on probation for
the additional culpability
of tampering with evi
dence.
At the end of his
November 2021 trial, a
Dawson County jury
found Stryker guilty and
convicted him on all 24
charges tied to Bender’s
murder.
Then in December,
Stryker was sentenced to
life in prison without the
possibility of parole. His
lawyers filed a motion for
a new trial in January
2022. A hearing for that
motion has been contin
ued.
At the end of October
2021, just before Stryker’s
trial, co-defendant Jerry
Harper pleaded guilty in
Dawson County to multi
ple gang-related charges
for helping him evade
police and approving of
Bender’s murder.
That December, Harper
received a sentence of 20
years in prison, with 10
years of probation to fol
low the prison time con
secutively.
In April 2022, Harper
was indicted in Forsyth
County on one count each
of concealing the death of
another and tampering
with evidence of Bender’s
murder.
He pleaded guilty and
was sentenced to another
20 years in Forsyth
County for his role in con
cealing Bender’s death
there.
During a hearing on
July 29, 2022, Stryker’s
wife, Elizabeth
Donaldson, entered a
negotiated plea of guilty
for her alleged role in the
cover-up of Bender’s kill
ing.
She was sentenced to 12
months of local custody
and two years of house
arrest for her charge of
concealing a body and 10
years of probation for the
tampering charge, to run
concurrent with the first
count.
Williams has entered a
plea of not guilty for her
tampering with evidence
charge, and a trial date has
been continued in that
case.
Another date has not
been set yet for Stryker’s
motion for a new trial in
Dawson County.
DCN will continue fol
lowing these court cases.
Start earning
today with
Bank OZK!
<4.00%>
8 MONTH CD OR IRA CD** SPECIAL
<4.50% >
13 MONTH CD OR IRA CD * SPECIAL
Visit our Dawsonville location or open an
account online at ozk.com**
<> Bank OZK
Greater awaits"
ozk.com I Member FDIC
^Annual Percentage Yield (APY) effective as of the publication date. Offer applies to new CDs only. $1,000
minimum deposit to open and is required to earn stated APY Penalty for early withdrawal. IRA CD is subject
to eligibility requirements. Offer not available to brokers, dealers and other financial institutions. Fees could
reduce earnings. Offer subject to change without notice. Offer good at locations in Dawsonville, GA only.
**IRA CD must be opened in person and cannot be opened online.