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Shannon Casas | Editor in Chief
770-718-3417 | news@gainesvilletimes.com
The Times, Gainesville, Georgia
★ Saturday, December 8, 2018
•L3 OUR REGION
Gainesville
man accused of
Attorney: Man accused of stabbing
with pencil was defending himself
molesting child
BY NICK WATSON
nwatson@
gainesvilletimes.com
A Gainesville man is
accused of molest
ing an 8-year-
old girl at a Hall
County residence,
according to
authorities.
Patrick Onell
Leaphart, 40, was
indicted on two
counts of aggra
vated child moles
tation and one count of
child molestation Nov. 26.
According to the indict
ment, Leaphart allegedly
molested the child July 19
by sexual acts that resulted
“in physical injury to said
child.”
Hall County
Sheriffs Office Lt.
Scott Ware said
Leaphart and the
8-year-old were
acquainted with
one another.
Leaphart was
booked Sept. 9 in
to the Hall County
Jail, where he
remains.
No bond has been set in
the case.
Leaphart
Courtesy of Hall County Sheriff's Office
Hall County Sheriff Gerald Couch was recently appointed
by Gov. Nathan Deal to serve on the Criminal Case Data
Exchange Board.
Hall County sheriff
named to justice panel
Hall County Sheriff Ger
ald Couch was recently
appointed by Gov. Nathan
Deal to serve on the Crimi
nal Case Data Exchange
Board, a subcommittee of
the Georgia Criminal Jus
tice Coordinating Council.
Sheriff Couch was sworn
in for service on the board
by Gov. Deal on Dec. 3.
The board is among the
latest in Gov. Deal’s crimi
nal justice reform efforts
during his time in office and
was part of a bill that passed
during the 2018 Georgia leg
islative session. The board
oversees “statewide imple
mentation of the Criminal
Justice e-Filing project,”
according to CJCC.
In addition to Couch, Gov.
Deal also named Douglas
County Chief Judge David
Emerson and Forsyth
County Clerk of Court Greg
Allen to the Board.
From Hall County Sheriff’s
Office press release
Final defendant
sentenced in scam
BY NICK WATSON
nwatson@
gainesvilletimes.com
The fifth and final
defendant in a $3.5 million
sweepstakes scam that tar
geted the elderly was sen
tenced this week in federal
court.
Elpelice Figueroa
Rosales, 62, of Buford,
pleaded guilty to conspir
acy to commit mail fraud
and was sentenced to two
years in prison.
Previously, Silvia San
chez Valverde, 47, pleaded
guilty to conspiracy to com
mit mail fraud and was
sentenced to five years in
prison. Priscilla Sibaja,
21, pleaded guilty to con
spiracy to commit money
laundering and received a
three-year prison sentence.
Two co-defendants —
Rodolfo Orozco Aguilar,
44, of Costa Rica, and Dan
iel Sibaja, 28, of Buford
— pleaded guilty to con
spiracy to commit mail
fraud and were sentenced
earlier this month to four
years in prison.
Rosales’ attorney did
not return a request for
comment.
Rosales, Priscilla Sibaja
and Aguilar may be forced
to leave the country.
According to the U.S.
Attorney’s Office, dozens
of victims were called
between February 2016
and September 2017 and
told they had won a sweep-
stakes or lottery.
“The victims were told
that they could receive
their sweepstakes win
nings after they paid vari
ous expenses, such as taxes
and fees. The victims
were directed to pay the
expenses to various com
panies controlled by the
defendants, such as J.G.
Services, RF Financial Ser
vices, and Master Builders.
The victims would then
mail payments via personal
and cashier’s checks to
addresses that were linked
to mailboxes rented by the
defendants,” the U.S. Attor
ney’s Office wrote in a pre
vious news release.
The U.S. Attorney’s
Office said more than $3.5
million was deposited into
bank accounts before trans
ferring “the majority of the
funds to Costa Rican bank
accounts.”
“These defendants stole
the life savings of dozens
of elderly victims and
received more than $3.5
million,” said U.S. Attor
ney Byung J. “BJay” Pak
in a news release. “These
schemes unfortunately are
all too common and citizens
should be wary of contests
that require upfront pay
ments to receive a prize.”
According to court docu
ments, the victims were
instructed to send checks
“via overnight delivery
to mailboxes located in
Buford and Dacula.”
Following the prison sen
tence, Rosales will have
three years of supervised
release.
A restitution hearing has
been set for Jan. 28.
DUI
■ Continued from 1A
Adams was convicted
in Hall County State Court
in May 2017 on charges of
DUI, following too closely
and failure to maintain
lane. He was acquitted on a
charge of not having proof
of insurance.
The case was appealed
to the Georgia Court of
Appeals, which upheld the
ruling.
Adams will be repre
sented Monday, Dec. 10 by
Samuel Sliger.
According to the court
summary, Sliger also dis
agreed with the Court of
Appeals’ ruling that he
could not challenge the evi
dence on appeal as being
more prejudicial against
his client rather than pro
bative. Probative evidence
is that which is meant to
prove something at trial.
The justices will hear the
case during the 10 a.m. ses
sion Monday, Dec. 10.
BY NICK WATSON
nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com
A Hall County man is accused of
stabbing another man in the eye
with a pencil at the Hall County Jail,
an act his attorney claimed was in
self-defense.
Osmond Paul Douglas, 40, was
indicted on charges of aggravated bat
tery and aggravated assault Nov. 26.
He was accused of stabbing a man in
the left eye Oct. 14 at the jail.
Douglas and the other
inmate were in custody on
unrelated charges, according
to Hall County Sheriff’s Office
Lt. Scott Ware.
“Osmond was believed to
have had a plastic pencil in
his hand while striking the
victim in his face,” Ware said.
Douglas was convicted in
Oct. 9 on charges of robbery by force
Douglas
and battery, according to Hall
County’s online database.
“The victim was treated by
medical staff at the Jail for a
laceration over his eye which
was glued for closure,” Ware
said in a news release.
Defense attorney Brett
Willis said in a statement
his client “was attacked by
an aggressive inmate and
defended himself appropriately.”
Photos by SCOTT ROGERS I The Times
South Hall Middle School student Shariah Bentley stops for a quick visit with principal Joey Millwood Wednesday, Dec.
5, in the hallway during a class change.
PRINCIPAL
■ Continued from 1A
Joey Millwood drops by the school’s construction class Wednesday, Dec. 5, to chat with
students about their projects.
for the climate of the school
is the principal. The princi
pal can set the tone. ”
So, what tone is that?
For Millwood, it’s about
conveying to students that
you care. It’s about gaining
their trust, protecting their
safety and making them
become “what they are
meant to be.”
It’s also about consistency
— showing up every day
and meeting the same level
of expectation.
“I try to be as congruent
as I possibly can,” Millwood
said.
There’s also a mission to
help students and staff find
joy in learning and instruct
ing, Millwood said.
As a former teacher, Mill-
wood said he understands
the impact educators can
have on students in and
out of the classroom while
“influencing staff and fami
lies, too.”
But Millwood takes even
his joy seriously.
“I don’t take it lightly,”
he said. “As a teacher and
administrator, there’s a huge
accountability because we
are shaping people’s lives. ”
Kids are still kids, right?
Sure. But Millwood said
they’ll rise to the occasion
once you have their trust
and once they have your
belief.
“They need a positive
voice,” Millwood said.
“They’re still malleable.”
Joey Millwood watches the busy hallway Wednesday, Dec. 5, during class change.
Thieves make getaway with Cobb County
police gear from officers’ personal vehicles
BY STEVE BURNS
Tribune News Service
A car was broken into and
burglarized at a Cobb County
apartment complex recently,
and one resident thinks it
was no coincidence that it
belongs to a police officer.
“I would say they knew
who it was when they broke
into the vehicle, probably,”
resident Alicia Clark told
Channel 2 Action News.
Police are investigating
that angle.
The thieves made off with
some prime police gear,
including a ballistic helmet,
gas mask and pistol, from the
officer’s personal vehicle at
the apartment complex on
Winchester Trail, the news
station reported.
Two weeks before that
incident, someone stole a
helmet and a vest from a
truck belonging to a Cobb
deputy who lives in Paulding
County. That vehicle was left
unlocked in the driveway of
his home.
Ashley Henson of the
Paulding County Sheriff’s
Office is wary of the thefts.
“When firearms are sto
len,” he said, “they can be
shipped off to who knows
where.”
Investigators have no sus
pects, and need help generat
ing leads.
Authorities’ greatest fear
is that someone will use the
equipment to impersonate
an officer.
“Criminals don’t know
county lines, they don’t know
jurisdictional boundaries,”
Henson said. “So, we as law
enforcement have to come
together and work together. ”
