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Forsyth CountvNews
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Vol. 95, No. 042
Police impersonation alleged
Cumming man in custody for posing as law enforcement
By Colby Jones
Staff Writer
A Cumming man faces criminal
charges for impersonating a law enforce
ment officer after a real sheriff’s deputy
spotted him at a local gas station in what
appeared to be a police cruiser.
Arthur Shannon Atkinson, 39, was
booked into the county jail on Sunday
afternoon on the felony charge, which
carries a punishment of from one to five
years in prison. Atkinson remained in
custody late Wednesday afternoon. His
bond was set at 53,400.
The car driven by Atkinson aroused
the suspicion of Sgt. Todd Maloney with
the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office at
2:45 p.m. at a Quick Trip gas station on
Freedom Parkway in north Forsyth
County. The car was a 2004 Ford Crown
Victoria —a common model used by
law enforcement with green stripes on
the sides and a government tag.
Atkinson was wearing black, police
style pants and a dark blue shirt with the
Students dance in celebration
' v / BA?’ ’A ’.* -
i
Photo/Audra Perry
To celebrate the birthday of Father Marcial Maciel, the female students at Pinecrest Academy participated in
dancing for their fellow classmates and parents. Maciel is the founder of Legion of Christ, a Catholic religious
movement and philosophy under which Pinecrest Academy operates.
GBI searches home of
local political activist
By Harris Blackwood
and Colby Jones
Staff Writers
A local political activist is being
investigated by the Georgia Bureau
of Investigation for bribery in con
nection with phone calls he made to
a senior member on Gov. Sonny
Perdue s staff.
GBI agents from the regional
office in Conyers on Wednesday
afternoon executed a search warrant
at the north Forsyth County home of
political activist David Milum. The
agents arrived at the home about 1:30
p.m. and remained for about two
hours.
Agents seized "items useful in the
investigation” from Milum’s house at
4300 Jot Em Down Road, said GBI
spokesman John Bankhead.
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word "SECURITY’’|
emblazed on the back ini
bold letters, according!
to the report filed by I
Maloney.
The sheriff’s deputy!
reported he activated his I
lights and stoppedl
Atkinson’s car, in part,!
due to the recent spate |
of police impersonators
conducting bogus traffic
stops in surrounding counties.
"1 then looked into the car and saw a
black wallet with a silver badge on it
between the seats in plain view," states
the report.
Atkinson is neither a law enforcement
officer nor security guard, according to
the report.
The deputy located 14 business cards
from the Jackson County Sheriff’s
Department in the car.
Atkinson was photographed at the
scene before being transported to the
county jail for booking. The badge, busi-
The investigation relates to recent
telephone conversations between
Milum and an attorney on the gover
nor’s staff whom Bankhead declined
to identify.
During the telephone conversa
tions, Milum offered to withdraw an
ethics complaint he filed against
Perdue with Georgia Attorney
General Thurbert Baker in return for
the state agreeing to return children
to a Lamar County mother in a child
custody battle, according to
Bankhead.
The target of the investigation
said he was not surprised when
agents showed up at his home.
“I knew it was coming,” said
Milum, who was not charged despite
the search. "I have inside people in
See MILUM, Page 2A
INDEX
Abby. MeeMeeMeeMMMeeMeeMM IDA
Church events 8A
Classifieds 7B
Deaths 2A
Food ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••SB****** 6A
Horoscope 10A
Opinion 11A
Spot tS MWMMMMaMMMMaMMMaWOTwI B
FRIDAY March 12,2004
Atkinson
Forsyth actress
to appear at local
premier of movie.
Page 3A
ness cards and photograph were taken as
evidence.
The arrest follows a recent spate of
police impersonators in the metro area.
Officers with the Lawrenceville Police
Department last month arrested a 44-
year-old man who was using police lights
on his vehicle and police in Gwinnett and
Cobb counties have been dealing with
other reports of bogus cops.
Forsyth County Sheriff’s Lt.
Thurmond Atkinson, who is not related to
the suspect arrested Sunday, said local
detectives are conferring with law
enforcement officials in other jurisdic
tions about the impersonations to see if
there are any connections.
In response to the problem of people
posing as police, lawmakers in the
Georgia House of Representatives earlier
this session strengthened the state’s law
against impersonating a police officer by
prohibiting the use of any type of flash
ing light on a car for the purpose of caus
ing the public to believe the driver is a
law enforcement officer.
I fr n " •■ . |
Photo/Audra Perry
Political activist David Milum finds GBI agents armed with a search
warrant when he arrives at his north Forsyth County home on
Wednesday afternoon.
See what’s
happening in
local churches.
PageßA
V /
Photo/Audra Perry
Sheriff Ted Paxton poses with the marijuana and
“ice" that was seized in a Sunday evening traffic
stop.
Man charged with
possession of Ice’
valued at $84,000
By Colby Jones
Staff Writer
Local deputies seized 1-1/2 pounds of "ice" with a street
value of 5X4.000 during a traffic stop on r
Sunday evening on Ga. 400.
The drugs were located underneath!
dirty clothes in a laundry basket in the!
back of the suspect’s 1995 Ford Explorer, I
according to an undercover narcotics!
investigator with the Forsyth County!
Sheriff’s Office. A half pound of manjua- 1
na, packaged in eight separate bags, and an |
undisclosed amount of cash was seized [
along with the “ice" —a crystal, potent
form of methamphetamine.
The driver of the Ford Explorer,
Webster Hernandez-Lopez, was booked into the county jail
and charged with trafficking methamphetamine, possession
of marijuana with the intent to distribute and following too
closely. Due to the large amount of methamphetamine
seized, Hemandez-Lopez could face a mandatory minimum
prison sentence of 25 years if convicted of the trafficking
charge.
Forsyth County Sgt. Scotty Spriggs conducted the traffic
stop on the SUV driven by Hemandez-Lopez on Ga. 400 at
Martin Road near the Forsvth-Dawson line.
Lawyers: ethics
accusations
against county
are baseless
By Todd Truelove
Staff Writer
Partners of a law firm that is
under contract to provide legal coun
sel to the Forsyth County govern
ment say a political activist’s accusa
tions Monday that the firm is acting
illegally are baseless.
George Anderson of Rome went
before the board of commissioners
and accused the firm of charging
“illegal" fees to provide county doc
uments he had requested Feb. 16
under Georgia’s open records provi
sions.
Attorney Ken Jarrard. who is a
See LEGAL, Page 2A
Sunny
LAKE LANIER LEVELS
Date Level
March? 1069.84 ft
March 8 1069.85 ft
March 9 1069.85 ft
March 10 1069.89 ft
Full 1071.00 ft
High in the low 60s.
Low in the low 30s.
SPORTS, IB
lies claw North Springs
Hernandez -
Lopez
See DRUGS, Page 2A