Newspaper Page Text
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THURSDAY. JUNE 10. 2021 PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS PAGE 11A
Scam
phone was cut off and all he
kept talking about was how
$7.8 million was going to be
given to him any day.” Parker
said he urged Bramblette to
quit giving them his money.
Even in jail Parker said
Bramblette asked him to call
the con artists in Jamaica and
tell him what had happened -
thinking they would help
him.
Bramblette, who had lived
in Jasper for more than 30
years, first with his wife be
fore her death, then alone for
the past decade, is accused of
grand larceny and additional
charges in Virginia. He could
ultimately face numerous
charges from all around the
country as investigators say
over the past decade he han
dled hundreds of thousands
of dollars that fast-talking Ja
maican con artists tricked
elderly people into sending to
Bramblette’s address. Inves
tigators say Bramblette
would get money from vic
tims, deposit it into his bank
in Jasper. Then he would
withdraw it later and deposit
it in two different banks in
Canton so the organizers of
the scam could withdraw it
using ATM cards in Jamaica.
Bramblette is not accused of
making calls to lure people
in. He was described as a
low-level player.
Bramblette has been ex
tradited to Virginia to face
felony charges for the phone
Continued From 1A
scam which swindled an eld
erly woman out of her sav
ings. He was arrested when a
Virginia detective traced the
cash from the victim to the
Refuge Road address and
called the local sheriff’s of
fice on May 1.
Local investigators said
the home contained a volu
minous paper trail of other
victims whose money Bram
blette had handled. Investiga
tors remarked at the time of
the arrest that for no apparent
reason, Bramblette kept
every envelope and corre
spondence giving a detailed
record of victims across the
country that sent him money.
Investigators had already
spoken to 10 to 15 victims
and knew there were many
more in the first weeks fol
lowing his arrest, according
to the head of Criminal In
vestigations Division John
Cagle. In the original story
on the arrest, Cagle said it
had been horrible hearing the
victims describe how they
were swindled out of money
they could not afford to lose.
Bramblette’s sister and
Parker both ask that David be
considered a victim, tricked
first into giving the Jamaican
con artists most of his money
and then into helping them,
believing they had some sort
of legitimate sweepstakes
based in Las Vegas that also
included an aspect of min
istry work.
According to the sister,
David, who had lived alone
since his wife died, had been
regularly sending money to
“Mike” in Jamaica, believing
he had won sweepstakes and
needed to give money to get
the prizes - a common phone
scam.
Brenda said she and an
other sister who both live in
Georgia but not nearby were
aware their brother was being
tricked out of his disability
checks and his wife’s teacher
retirement savings but were
powerless to convince him it
was a scam.
The sister described two
of the scams that her brother
had fallen for. First, he was
told that he had won a contest
and would be taken by a pri
vate plane to Las Vegas to
meet Donald Trump, and in a
second he was told he had
won a Mustang and it would
be delivered. On both days,
David dressed up and
cleaned his home to be ready
when they brought the prizes.
But when those prizes
failed to materialize, instead
of being angry, Bramblette
would make excuses for
them. “Even after they had
taken everything from him,
he still believed them,” said
the sister. “He was gullible.
He was soft-hearted and he
had [some handicaps].”
Exasperated, Brenda said
they knew he was losing his
own money but had no clue
what else he’d been tricked
into. The sister said she can
not say for certain that her
brother never got any money
from the scams. But she will
vouch that he often had to
borrow money from his sis
ters to make rent and cover
basic items and he lived in
near poverty.
“They played on his
friendship. He thought they
were his friends,” she said.
“He was lonely and a wid
ower and he would tell us,
‘wait until you see what I am
going do for the family when
I get these millions.” Break
ing down into tears, the sister
said, “He kept asking me
‘what I wanted him to buy
when he got his millions.’”
Parker added more details,
saying he had also been pow
erless to convince Bramblette
he was being tricked. He said
in addition to the promises of
a $7.8 million sweepstakes
payday, “Mike” had intro
duced a Christian angle of
helping others. “Once they
started talking to him about
the prophecies and the spiri
tual side, they had him hook,
line and sinker,” Parker said.
Parker said at one point,
Bramblette bought a four-
wheeler with some of the life
insurance benefits paid after
his wife died and he loved
riding with Parker on the
weekends. But he later sold
the Kawasaki at a huge loss
to be able to send more
money to Jamaica.
At another point Bram
blette’s power and phone had
been turned off because he
had sent so much to the
scammers that he couldn’t
pay his bills. Parker later
helped him get it turned back
on, but in the meantime,
“Mike” called Parker as
Bramblette had given that
number as a back up. “There
was a lot of profanity and
ugly things said [when I an
swered the phone],” Parker
said. But he thought once the
power and phone had been
cut off, Bramblette had
learned his lesson. Parker
said he didn’t realize Bram
blette was still in contact with
the Jamaicans until the story
of his arrest broke.
“I believe there is a spe
cial place in Hell for the peo
ple who got him involved,”
Parker said.
The sister said David was
adopted at age two and
clearly suffered some mental
issues, though he was soft
hearted and wanted to help
people. She recalled her par
ents had David tested in the
1960s or early 70s and at that
time they just said he was
“mentally retarded.” But now
she is hoping as part of his
time in jail, someone will
take an interest and pinpoint
more specifically what his
mental issues are.
She described him as
mostly illiterate, having
dropped out of school after
9th grade at age 17. She said
at that time, the tail end of the
Vietnam war, he enlisted in
the military without a
diploma but never saw any
action.
He married a school
teacher who taught in Atlanta
and David had tried working
several times, but was not
able to hold down any regu
lar job. She said his wife took
care of him for the 30 years
they were married before her
death.
His sister said her brother
would have been capable of
following the banking in
structions, but was oblivious
to the larger picture of why
people were sending money.
Worrisome to Parker with
Bramblette in jail is that he
doesn’t immediately appear
to be mentally challenged.
“You don’t realize he has
special needs until you look
between the fabric.” He de
scribed Bramblette as having
poor social skills, but honest
and dependable. Parker said
he would let Bramblette
watch his television repair
shop when he was on deliv
ery but agreed that he had
been incapable of holding a
regular job. Parker said he
had not realized how much
his wife had propped him up
until she was gone.
Parker is working to be
named as Bramblette’s power
of attorney and is willing to
post bond once the situation
in Virginia and Georgia and
any other charges from other
states is settled.
His sister said Bramblette
suffers from MS in addition
to other medical issues and
has remained in the Virginia
jail awaiting help from a
court-appointed attorney. She
worries that he is not getting
the medical attention his MS
requires and that he still
doesn’t understand what he
has gotten into.
Council
has been with the engineer
ing firm since 2016. Council
and mayor have known this
was coming and needed, but
we’re still waiting for ap
proval from the EPD; with
out it we can’t put the project
out for bids. COVID is hold
ing things up with them, and
I don’t even know if they’re
back to work -1 think they’re
still on Zoom meetings.
We’ve got no clue when
we’ll get that approval.”
In February of 2019 the
Progress covered a manda
tory U.S.D.A. public hearing
for the project and at that
time it was expected the city
would receive approval by
September of that year. It’s
now June of2021 and they’re
still waiting.
At the regular June 7
meeting, Jasper council ap
proved purchase of a
$358,000 machine that will
allow them to treat and re
move sludge from the waste-
water treatment site.
Currently, wastewater sludge
is dried in open-air fields
then carried away, but the
city is nearly out of room in
their solar drying fields.
“We’re getting to the point
where we’re running out of
time,” Hall told council. “We
can’t wait on the U.S.D.A.”
Project engineers told city
leaders they will be reim
bursed from the U.S.D.A. for
the belt press purchase.
City approves salaiy
increases
In what Jasper City Man
ager Brandon Douglas called
a “reinvestment” into their
employees, council approved
a new pay scale that increases
their lowest hourly pay from
$10 an hour to $13 an hour,
in addition to adjustments to
other employees not at that
lowest $10 rate. A $500 re
tention bonus was also ap
proved for full-time
employees.
Douglas told council he
has known the need for
changes to the city’s pay
scale since he was hired in
2019, and that it has been an
issue well before he came on
board. He said council has
been in support of the initia
tive but wanted to be fiscally
responsible and act when the
timing was right budgeterily.
Douglas pointed to a favor
able 2020 audit as making
them comfortable to move
ahead. The new pay scale
will cost the city $311,500.
Council members Jim
Looney and Anne Sneve said
they have put in a tremen
dous amount of work on the
initiative, and thanked em
ployees for their service. In a
prepared statement, council
member Raffield, who was
not in attendance, said he
fully supported the measure.
All council members in at
tendance voted in favor of the
motion.
In other news from council:
•Pickens Economic De
velopment Director Green
Suttles was granted approval
to make temporary changes
to the small area of Stegall
Drive between Pendley
Brewing Company and the
building across the street.
That area, recently outfitted
with decorative lighting, has
been identified by city lead
ers as a prime space for the
public to use for events and
socializing downtown. Im
mediate plans are to remove
the center road line and paint
two parking spaces in
Dragon green, add wooden
picnic tables, and purchase
cone/sawhorses to be able to
easily close the area off to
traffic. Green said project
cost is around $2,000, and
that it is meant to be tempo
rary and completely re
versible. It will be funded
with a Georgia Power grant,
and/or through private dona
tions. The city will also sub
mit an application for a
GDOT grant that would fund
more permanent improve
ments to that area.
•Council amended their
land use and code of ordi
nances to allow for a wine
specialty shop in the central
business district. A wine spe
cialty shop would be able to
sell wine and craft beer
through package sales, but
also by the drink. The ordi
nance requires 60 percent of
sales be package sales (which
could include merchandise
sales for items such as wine
paraphernalia). The designa
tion would allow for a cigar
Continued From 1A
Camp
week of June as usual, but
Jones and other rec depart
ment staffers came down
with COVID-19 and had to
close the facility. Camp re
opened in July, but with a
max of 40 campers a day. By
the end of July there were 20
or fewer kids in attendance
shop and smoke room in the
establishment as long as it is
partitioned from other areas.
No mention was made of
whether any wine shop busi
ness is currently eyeing a
spot in town.
•Council approved work
on waterlines damaged by
flooding at Cove Creek, with
a contract not to exceed
$125,000. The city manager
said they are also continuing
efforts to repair Gennett
Drive, also damaged by
flooding.
•The city will no longer
require masks be worn inside
their government buildings,
barring the municipal court
which is under guidance
from the state.
•Council approved pur
chase of new Tasers for the
Jasper Police Department.
The five-year $65,000 agree
ment with AXON will fund
20 new Taser 7s, in addition
to holsters, batteries and
training. These are replacing
Tasers the city purchased in
2011 that Jasper Asst. Police
Chief Matt Dawkins said are
outdated.
•Council approved a con
tract for repair and painting
of their elevated water tank
on Lily Circle for $78,180,
not to exceed $85,000.
•Council approved adver
tisement for an alcohol li
cense for “Taco Bar,” to be
located at 61 N. Main Street
in Jasper.
largely as a result of COVID
concerns among parents.
Jones said they’ve got a
lot of kids returning this year,
but also a lot of new campers
and the largest number of
five to eight year olds they’ve
ever had. A typical day in
volves a trip to the county
pool in the morning five days
a week (weather permitting),
lunch that’s provided by the
Pickens County School Sys
tem, as well as games,
movies, and other activities
in the afternoon.
Camp is $25 a day or $75
a week and is open to chil
dren age 5-12 years old. They
are located at 1329 Camp
Road, Jasper, Ga. 30143.
They can be reached at 706-
253-8862.
Continued From 1A
Vaccines
counties to get vaccinated
here” said Jennifer King,
public information officer for
the North Georgia Health
District. “They were really
flooding into our county to be
vaccinated.”
Vaccinations began in
Pickens County on Decem
ber 29, 2020. Adults 55 and
over were eligible for the
vaccine on March 17, 2021
and all adults were eligible
March 25,2021.
In all there have been 64
confirmed deaths and another
14 “probable” deaths among
Pickens County residents
from the coronavirus, accord
ing to the Georgia Depart
ment of Public Health, with
2,573 cumulative cases since
the outbreak began last year.
The peak of the outbreak oc
curred late December 2020
and into the first week of Jan
uary, 2021, just as vaccina
tions began rolling out.
As of Monday, June 7th,
there have been 897,864 con
firmed cases of COVID-19 in
Georgia, with 18,190 deaths,
64,055 hospitalizations,
10,668 ICU admissions, and
another 2,796 “probable”
deaths attributed to COVID-
19.
In Cherokee County, 37
percent of residents have re
ceived at least one dose
of the vaccine while 33
percent are fully vacci
nated; 33 percent of Gilmer
County residents have had at
least one dose, with 30 per
cent fully vaccinated; 31 per
cent of Fannin County
residents have received at
least one dose and 28 percent
are fully vaccinated; just 29
percent of Dawson County
residents have received at
least one dose while 26 per
cent are fully vaccinated.
“Folks are working really
hard to get everyone vacci
nated,” King said. “Statewide
and nationwide there is a big
push to get them to get vacci
nated. We are just trying to
educate them on the vac
cine.”
King said questions and
answers about the vaccine
and the virus are located on
the Georgia Department of
Public Health’s website at
www.dph.georgia.gov
“We’ve had people going
out and talking and doing
presentations. We’ve been
into the nursing homes and
worked with groups to help
us reach the homeless and the
homebound and into the jails.
Anywhere there are groups
of people we have gone there
and worked to get them to get
their vaccine. We’ve reached
out to our latino community
and younger people with so
cial media. We’re even on
TikTok now,” King said.
“We’re just constantly try
ing to find ways to help them
understand the importance of
the vaccine and answer any
questions they may have. We
know there are a lot of ru
mors and myths to be dis
pelled.”
King said part of the issue
with the low vaccination rate
is “just lethargy.”
“People just think this
isn’t going to affect them.”
King encourages every
one eligible for the vaccina
tion to get vaccinated. No
appointment is needed at the
local health department. The
health department is located
at 60 Health Way, Jasper.
They may be reached at 706-
253-2821. Hours are Mon
day, Wednesday, Thursday -
8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.; Tuesday -
8 a.m. - 7 p.m. and Friday - 8
a.m. - 1:30 p.m.
HAKE YOUR
FATHER A
KNOW-IT-ALL
(Well, in Pickens County anyway)
Subscribe your father
to the Progress for Father’s Day
Call the Pickens County Progress office to get his subscription
delivered to his home beginning the next week. 706-253-2457
Rates are $39.59for residents of Pickens, Dawson, Cherokee, Gordon, and Gilmer counties.
Rates increase for other Georgia counties and out of state residents.