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Forsyth J Your "Hometown Count Paper " Since 190 GEORGIA T7 .......... M- ■%: & Y NT NEWSPAPER -A' # •a- *-*--*••*■ PROJECT 3 -DIGIT
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Vol. 95, No. 75
Photo/David McGregor
Polo Fields residents are up in
arms about getting drug dealer
out of neighborhood.
wanted info
on poison
Testimony for prosecution reveals
By Nicole Green
Staff Writer
PERRY — Lynn Turner had knowledge of antifreeze
poisoning, means to poison her alleged victim and the incen¬
tive to do so, according to prosecution testimony during her
murder trial last week.
However, the state has presented no physical evidence to
prove that Turner killed her husband in 1995 and her lover in
2001. The defense will present its case beginning
Wednesday or Thursday of this week.
Monday will mark the eighth day of testimony in the
Turner trial. Turner is charged with the murder of Glenn
Turner, her husband, by causing him to ingest ethylene gly¬
col in March 1995.
Evidence from an investigation into the 2001 poisoning
death of Forsyth County firefighter Randy Thompson is
being presented to the jury as proof of a “similar transac¬
tion.” Turner is the prime suspect in the murder but has not
been charged in Thompson’s death
Car talk and a vet visit
Though previous witnesses indicated that Turner was
likely aware of antifreeze as an automotive fluid, a veteri¬
nary assistant testified Thursday to Turner’s knowledge of
antifreeze as a poison. Defense attorneys admitted that the
testimony was “devastating” to their case.
A former veterinary assistant at Orr Animal Hospital in
Forsyth County testified Turner asked in April 1999 if
antifreeze would have the same lethal effects on cats as
dogs.
Turner also inquired about other methods of euthanizing
the animals and the availability of the poison to do so,
Samantha Gilleland of Dawson County said. No one before
or since Turner has asked Gilleland that question, she said.
Turner initially visited the animal shelter to document a
of . animal abuse of her job then-State Court
case as part in
Judge David L. Dickinson s office. She reportedly visited
See TURNER, Page 2A
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Photo/David McGregor
Doctors from the Republic of Georgia visit Northside
Doctors from the city of Tbilisi in the Republic of Georgia toured Northside Hospital Forsyth on Friday.
Their trip was sponsored by the American International Health Alliance. From left are Dr. Ivane
Bokeria, Dr. Gela Arabidze, administrator Lynn Jackson of Northside Hospital Forsyth, Dr. Revaz
Jorbendze, interpeter Beso Zhgenti, Irakli Sasania, CEO of Children's Hospital of Tbilisi, and Dr. Zviad
Kirtava.
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~ Copyright fc Forsyth County
200* Naws
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SUNDAY May 9, 2004
Homeowners want alleged drug dealer out
By Colby Jones
Staff Writer
Homeowners in the upscale Polo
Fields neighborhood are up in arms
about a neighbor who allegedly
makes his living dealing drugs.
Mike Lowry Jr. lives among some
of the county’s most prominent doc¬
tors and lawyers in the Cumming
golf-and-tennis community, where
houses list for up to $500,000.
Lowry, 35, is no longer welcome,
they say. “We obviously want him
out of the neighborhood,” said
Rebecca Howe, who lives across the
The debates begin
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Photo/David McGregor
Republican U.S. Senate Candidate Mac Collins, foreground, talks as opponent Herman Cain listens during their
debate Thursday night at Cumming City Hall in downtown Cumming. Candidates for sheriff also squared off.
See story, page 4A.
Deputies nab smash-and-grab suspect
By Colby Jones
Staff Writer
A man linked to more than a dozen
smash-and-grab burglaries at pizza restau¬
rants, tanning salons and other businesses
throughout metro Atlanta allegedly began his
crime spree in Forsyth County
Thomas Bernard Watson Jr., 35, of
DeKalb County has been charged with a sin
gle count of burglary by the Forsyth County
Sherif f s office related to an April 13 break
in at Bruster’s ice cream parlor in south
Forsyth, said Detective Mike McCarron. He
remains a suspect in separate break-ins at a
INDEX
Abby.... .....6A
Births 4B
Classifieds. 3C
Deaths™..... 2A
Forsyth Life .#»»,»»»»»»*»»»»»»»,»»»»• IB
Horoscope, Opinion 6A
........................ 10A
Sports..., 1C
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Lowry
cars and armed deputies.
Another neighbor, Walker Nolan,
said the events alarmed him, espe¬
cially because his 6-year-old son and
Local "A:. Sports
Pilot was devoted to Forsyth Central girls
community and soccer bounced
church. from State.
Page 3 A Rage 1C
street from Lowry.
The fear intensi¬
fied this past week
when Forsyth
County sheriff’s
detectives arrested
Lowry for the sec¬
ond time on drug
charges, descend¬
ing on his house at
6690 Chelsea
Gardens Way with
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tiil
JUsB
Watson
missing.
The burglar left behind no tell-tale signs.
Additional candidates
qualify for school board
Steve Carter and Tom Cleveland seek seats
By Nancy Smallwood
Associate editor
Steve Carter and Tom Cleveland
have announced they will seek elec¬
tion to the Forsyth County School
Board.
Carter, who is a candidate for
District 5, said he would bring a vest¬
ed interest in children, technology and
local business to the school board.
“As a homeowner, local business
owner, and father of two children in
Forsyth County Schools, 1 possess the
skills, the background and the vested
interest to take Forsyth County
Schools to the next level and ensure all
decisions are made with well-balanced
representation,” said Carter.
Carter and his wife, Kimberly,
have a daughter who attends Otwell
a friend were outside playing at the
time. “You like to feel safe in a
neighborhood. This obviously does¬
n’t make you feel safe,” he said.
A former successful businessman,
Lowry recently has financed his
lifestyle by dealing drugs, according
to detectives. He reportedly lives in
the house with his wife and young
daughter.
“He’s still a player in the south
end of the county,” Maj. Gene Moss
said Thursday.
Lowry has run afoul of the law
twice within the last two months.
On March 12, detectives arrested
tanning salon, sandwich
shop, convenience store
and nutritional business in
Forsyth, he added.
Deputies responded to
a pre-dawn alarm at the
Bolster's on Sharon Road.
where they discovered
shattered glass and a red
brick inside the building.
A 200-pound safe con¬
taining $1,000 cash was
Partly Cloudy LAKE LANIER LEVELS
Date Level
May 4 1070.53 ft
May 5 1070.52 ft
May 6 ,1070,54 ft
High in the low 80s. m 1071 1070.55 . 00 -ft ft
Low in the low 60s.
LIFE, IB
A mother’s love
Lowry after he allegedly paid an
undercover detective $1,428 for two
ounces of methamphetamine — a
widely abused stimulant capable of
keeping users awake for days at a
time. Lowry was jailed for traffick¬
ing methamphetamine, then released
from custody two days later on a
$25,000 bond.
On Wednesday, he was jailed
again for possession of methamphet¬
amine and possession of cocaine. He
was released on Thursday after post¬
ing a $20,000 bond.
See LOWRY, Page 2A
but detectives received a break in the case
after police in Suwanee released video sur
veillance footage of a burglar suspected in
eight burglaries on April 19.
In that case, the burglar hit the businesses
in less than an hour, using a hammer to
smash through the front glass doors of the
restaurants and skate shop. Some of the busi¬
nesses are located in the same shopping cen
ter.
The same burglar was tied to four break
ins in Conyers on April 22.
A witness reported seeing the burglar flee
See WATSON, Page 3A
Carter
Middle School and a son who attends
Settles Bridge Elementary. Carter's
father-in-law is Charles Laughing
house, a member of the Forsyth
County Board of Commissioners.
The couple owns and operates
See BOARD, Page 9A
Cleveland