Newspaper Page Text
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 14, 2010
THE JACKSON HERALD
PAGE 7A
Town police departments list arrests
ARRESTS MADE by the Commerce,
Jefferson, Maysville, Pendergrass and Arcade
police departments last week include the fol
lowing:
COMMERCE
•Justin Duan Pattman, 19, 91 Woodbine
Street, Commerce, violation of Georgia's
Controlled Substance Act and use of commu
nication facility for drug transaction.
•Tracey Lynn Presley, 41, 73 Hickory Way,
Maysville, possession of methamphetamine.
•Eric Kendall Rollins, 37, 83 Pine Street,
Commerce, violation of parole, violation of
probation and two counts of violation of
Georgia’s Controlled Substance Act.
•Virginia Pauline Rollins, 62, 83 Pine
Avenue, Commerce, possession of metham
phetamine with intent to distribute and pos
session of cocaine with intent to distribute.
•Henry Gregg Thomas Jr., 25, 1780 Neese
Commerce Road, Commerce, conspiracy to
distribute cocaine, obstruction, reckless con
duct, disorderly conduct, two counts of viola
tion of Georgia's Controlled Substance Act
and three counts of cruelty to children.
•Alisha Ann Rucker, 31, 133 Willaby
Homes, Commerce, driving in violation of
limited permit.
•James Doyle Walter, 42, Fincher Drive,
Commerce, DUI alcohol and open container.
•Tina Louise Cruz, 30, 787 State Street,
Commerce, theft by shoplifting.
•Keith Cole Hix, 19, 103 Pine Street,
Commerce, possession of less than one ounce
of marijuana.
•Etheleen NMN Howard, 52, 156 Red Oak
Road, Maysville, failure to signal when turn
ing, failure to maintain lane, criminal trespass
and DUI drugs.
•Samuel Van Stephens, 22, 459 Thurmwood
Circle, Statham, DUI alcohol and obstructing
intersection.
•Deandrea Lamar Harris, 30, 1620
Hollywood Road, Atlanta, forgery.
•Joel Drakkar Armstead, 19, 1149 W.L.
Williams Road, Commerce, possession of less
than one ounce of marijuana.
•Nathan Kyle Germain, 17, 4904 Highway
441 South, Nicholson, possession of less than
one ounce of marijuana.
JEFFERSON
•Melvin NMN Jackson, 58, 186 Ivy Street,
Jefferson, failure to appear.
•Alejandro Roman Diaz, 22, 1008 Rest
Ridge Place, Southwest, Marietta, speeding
and driving while unlicensed.
•Salah NMN Safadi, 23, 211 North Avenue,
Athens, violation of probation.
•Erica Tovar-Barriga, 33, 353 Fairview
Court, Winder, no license.
•Ramon Tovar-Barriga, 26, 353 Fairview
Court, Winder, no license.
•Gomez Victoria, 32, 120 Hampton Drive,
Jefferson, no valid driver's license and
obstruction.
MAYSVILLE
•Donald Eugene Darrough Jr., 35, 34
Meadowlark Way, Maysville, felony obstruc
tion, public drunkenness and disorderly con
duct.
•Matthew Tillman Bagwell, 20, 2810
Highway 98, Maysville, local ordinance vio
lation, failure to maintain lane and DUI
alcohol.
PENDERGRASS
•Carmin NMN Agulara, 38, 2935 Evergreen
Hollow Drive, Gainesville, no license.
ARCADE
•Gary Wayne Parker, 43, 2574 Mountain
Creek Church Road, Pendergrass, stop sign
violation and DUI alcohol.
•Austin Gregory Wilson, 19, 384 Mark
Dodd Road, Jefferson, violation of Georgia’s
Controlled Substance Act.
ACCIDENT ON 1-85
A 2008 Lexus was heavily damaged in a three-vehicle accident on Friday afternoon
on Interstate 85 in Braselton. Only minor injuries were reported in the accident and
no one was taken to an area hospital.
Photo by the West Jackson Fire Department
Traffic congestion leads to accidents
HEAVY TRAFFIC on
Interstate 85 may have been
a factor of two accidents on
Friday afternoon in Braselton,
according to incident reports.
In the first accident, a trac
tor-trailer truck driver said he
was driving on the shoulder
of 1-85 northbound because
traffic was too heavy to enter
the interstate.
The tractor-trailer truck
driver didn’t see a 2008 Lexus
also driving on the interstate.
The driver of the Lexus
tried to stop to avoid hitting
the tractor-trailer truck, and
a 2001 Ford E350 pick-up
hauling another vehicle then
hit the Lexus, which struck
the tractor-trailer truck.
There were minor injuries
reported in the accident, but
no one was taken to a hos
pital.
About two hours later, a
second accident also occurred
on 1-85 in Braselton.
In that accident, the driver
of a 2002 Volkswagen Jetta
said he was traveling slower
because of heavy traffic on
the interstate.
The driver of a 2007
Chevrolet Aveo was travel
ing too fast on 1-85, and was
unable to stop and hit the
Jetta from the rear, accord
ing to an incident report. The
driver of the Aveo said he
tried to make it to the emer
gency lane, but didn’t make
it in time.
The Aveo overturned into a
ditch next to the interstate and
the driver was taken to Barrow
Regional Medical Center.
When firefighters arrived on
the scene, the driver was seen
walking around the vehicle.
The driver of the Aveo was
cited by Braselton police for
following too closely and not
wearing a seat belt.
Braselton police and the
West Jackson Fire Department
responded to both accidents.
Public Safety Telecommunications Week observed
THE WEEK of April 11-17 has been declared National
Public Safety Telecommunications Week.
Sponsored by the Association of Public Safety
Communications Officials (APCO) International, this week
honors the many telecommunications professionals who aid
in providing 9-1-1 emergency assistance to citizens every
where.
Every day, millions of people depend on the skill, exper
tise and commitment of public safety telecommunications
professionals who help save countless lives by responding to
emergency calls, dispatching emergency professionals and
equipment as well as providing moral support to citizens in
distress.
The communications officers at Jackson County 911
answer all 911 calls as well as other non-emergency lines,
handling on average over 11,000 telephone calls per month.
“Communication officers are the lifeline for public safety,”
EMS director Steve Nichols said. “The term ‘9-1-1’ is often
associated with rapid emergency response, poise under pres
sure, aid and compassion in times of distress and critical
decision-making within seconds. Many people don’t stop
to think about the seemingly nameless, faceless individuals
who answer 9-1-1's call until they experience actual emer
gencies themselves. These telecommunicators make the
difference between life and death in many instances. Should
you get the chance, please take the time to thank our commu
nications officers for the outstanding work and commitment
they have for our safety.”
Hoschton man sentenced in stock fraud scheme
A HOSCHTON man is one of two
people sentenced by a federal court
last week for operating a telemarketing
scheme that defrauded dozens of foreign
individuals into investing hundreds of
thousands of dollars in fraudulent com
panies.
Patrick J. Soltis, 47, of Hoschton,
along with John A. Reece, 57, of St.
Augustine, Fla., were sentenced by U.S.
District Judge Clarence Cooper to fed
eral prison.
The two men operated a telemarket
ing scheme in Marietta, according to
prosecutors.
U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates
said in a statement that the men lied
to investors in 2002 to entice them to
invest in a shell company, Wolf & Soltis
Holdings, LLC. Through telemarketers
they hired to sell the stock in unsolic
ited transactions, the defendants falsely
claimed that Wolf & Soltis had substan
tial business operations and plans to
expand in a number of areas.
In fact the company was bogus, had
no operations, assets, revenues, or even
employees, other than the hired telemar
keters, Yates said.
Reece and Soltis claimed that they
owned a private bottled water company,
were involved with the University of
Minnesota to develop a tree species
that grew more quickly, and owned a
cosmetics company for which entertain
ment personality Raquel Welch was the
spokesperson.
All of these claims were false.
Instead, prosecutors said Soltis and
Reece pocketed the money they received
from the investors and used the rest to
pay their telemarketers, telephone bills,
and related expenses.
After a disagreement with Soltis,
Reece began to operate a second fraudu
lent telemarketing scheme through an
entity he operated known as “Wellington
Group,” purportedly selling shares in
“Australian Biofund Investments, Ltd.”
(ABIL), based on material misrepresen
tations and omissions.
Prosecutors said the men operated a
“boiler room with high-pressure tele
marketers” to call hundreds of poten
tially vulnerable victims each day from
call lists they had purchased.
In addition to providing call lists to the
telemarketers, Reece developed scripts
for them to use in selling the fraudulent
investments, according to U.S. Attorney
Yates. The call lists targeted foreign
investors in English speaking countries.
The defendants intentionally targeted
foreign investors in part to avoid, or
at least delay, the scrutiny of U.S. law
enforcement.
As a result, the overwhelming majority
of the victims live in foreign countries,
primarily Australia and Canada. The
defendants' schemes resulted in a loss of
more than $600,000 to the victims.
Reece was sentenced to six years,
six months in prison to be followed by
three years of supervised release, and
ordered to pay restitution in the amount
of $582,639.
Soltis — who cooperated with the
government and received a sentence
reduction as a result — was sentenced
to three years, five months in prison to
be followed by three years of supervised
release, and ordered to pay restitution in
the amount of $301,601.
Reece was convicted of the charges
after pleading guilty on January 11,
2010. Soltis was convicted after plead
ing guilty on October 15, 2008.
Twelve wrecks reported
State troopers from the
Athens post of the Georgia
State Patrol investigated
12 traffic crashes during
March in Jackson County.
The traffic crashes resulted
in 11 injuries.
Troopers from Post 32
also issued 63 traffic cita
tions in the county dur
ing the month. The total
includes one arrest for driv
ing under the influence,
20 citations for speeding,
19 seat belt violations and
one child restraint viola
tion. Troopers also issued
57 warnings.
Superior Court results listed
RESULTS FROM recent
Superior Court proceedings in
Jackson County include the
following:
•Travis M. Plavcan, bur
glary and criminal damage to
property, 10 weekends in jail,
10 years of probation and res
titution.
•Mitchell Dwight Webb,
possession of methamphet
amine, four years probation,
$750 fine and waive fourth
amendment rights.
•Jonathan David Barnes,
possession of methamphet
amine, four years probation,
$750 fine and waive fourth
amendment rights.
•Henry M. Ford, possession
of methamphetamine, four
years probation, $750 fine
and waive fourth amendment
rights.
•Aaron D. Stinson, forgery,
four years probation.
•Dennis Butts, forgery, four
years probation.
•Andy Lee Wright, posses
sion of marijuana with intent
to distribute and possession of
marijuana, $1,000 fine, eight
years probation, 100 days in
a detention center and waive
fourth amendment rights.
•Tony Dwayne Woodall,
theft by deception, $1,000
fine, no contact with victims,
two years in jail, eight years
probation and restitution.
•Jeffery Scott Williamson,
possession of methamphet
amine, $1,000 fine, waive
fourth amendment rights, six
years probation and complete
RSAT programs.
•Mitchell Lee Adams, forg
ery, 100 days in jail, eight
years probation, $1,000 fine,
waive fourth amendment
rights and restitution.
•Crystal G. Robinson, man
ufacturing marijuana, $1,000
fine, five years probation
and waive fourth amendment
rights.
•Gloria Griggs, possession
of methamphetamine, three
years probation, $1,000 fine
and random drug screening.
•Ashley Garcia, theft by
taking, $500 fine, restitution,
12 months probation and no
contact with the victim.
•Laura Registrato, posses
sion of marijuana and speed
ing, $1,000 fine and eight
years probation.
ATHENS PODIATRY
NEW LOCATION!
In HOSCHTON/
BRASELTON AREA
River Place Medical Plaza
near Chateau Elan
General Podiatry
Heel Pain • Ingrown Toenails
Warts • Diabetic Care
Surgery of the Foot and Ankle
Bunions • Hammertoes • Arch Problems
Fractures • Ankle Instability
Bone Spurs
For Appointments
706-546-7417
In Hoschton at 5875 Thompsons Mill Rd., Suite 140
In Athens at 3320 Old Jefferson Rd.
Dr. Brad Castellano
Specialist of the Foot and Ankle
Are you a Cancer Survivor?
or do you know someone who is? if so...
We Need You!!
On June 4, 2010, at 7:00 p.m
Relay For Life Survivor Activities will Kick Off!!!
The Jackson County Relay For Life presented by Wayne and Heather Abbs. Wavne-Neal Chevrolet will be
held on June 4 & 5 at East Jackson County High School. Opening ceremonies will begin at 7:00 p.m. and the
Survivor's lap shortly thereafter. Please meet at the track between 5:30-6:30 p.m. to receive your free T-shirt
and survivor packet. The survivor’s lap and survivor activities are sponsored by The Pendergrass Flea
Market. After your lap, you are invited back to the hospitality tent to visit with other survivors and to enjoy the
relay in comfort. Your participation costs nothing...we are there to honor you! Help us show our community
that people do survive Cancer. You can make a difference. Your presence as a survivor will give others hope.
Please join us and let us honor your courage, strength and victory. Invite your family and friends. The Relay
is open to the public.
Please complete the form and return to the address below so that we can have your correct T-shirt size.
Look forward to seeing you on Victory Lap. For more information, call Denise @ 706-654-7934.
YES, I would like to participate in the survivor’s reception and survivor’s lap at the Relay For Life.
This is the name of a cancer survivor. (Please contact)
Name T-shirt size (please circle)-. Y S M L XL XXL XXXL
Address Telephone
City, State, Zip
Please complete and mail to:
Denise Doss, Relay For Life, 74 Eagle View Dr., Jefferson, GA 30549
Survivor Lap and survivor activities sponsored by The Pendergrass Flea Market