I2J OUR REGION
Shannon Casas | Editor in Chief
770-718-3417 | news@gainesvilletimes.com
The Times, Gainesville, Georgia
Saturday, December 22, 2018
Attempted murder added to CVS robbery charges
BY NICK WATSON
nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com
A charge of criminal attempt
to commit murder was added in a
Hall County grand jury indictment
for a man accused of stabbing a
CVS employee in the head, accord
ing to court documents.
Brandon Shane Dudley, 33, was
charged with attempts to commit
murder, armed robbery and other
charges in a grand jury indictment
handed down Tuesday, Dec. 18.
His attorney Matthew Cavedon
declined to comment.
Dudley allegedly entered the
store at 103 Jesse Jewell Parkway
Nov. 1 demanding money and
“immediately struck the employee
in the head with a knife, lodg
ing it into his head,” according to
Gainesville Police.
“The victim was actually able to
give officers a good deal of informa
tion that actually helped us,” Sgt.
Kevin Holbrook said last month.
According to the indictment,
Dudley is accused of “seriously dis
figuring (the victim’s) body” as the
man has “staples and a permanent
scar to his head.”
Officers responded at about
1 a.m. to the reported robbery,
and the male employee was
transported in serious condition
to Northeast
Georgia Medical
Center.
Officers found
Dudley shortly Dudley
after the incident,
and took him to the Hall County Jail.
Hospital officials said the victim was
discharged the week of the incident.
Partners in faith: Ministries work
together serving Gainesville homeless
JOSHUA SILAVENT I The Times
Art Gallegos, co-founder of Latinos Conservative Organization, and his daughter help pack boxes of shoes donated to
Bridge the City for delivery to homeless men at Set Free Ministries in Gainesville.
Individuals needing assistance in Hall doubled in 2017 from 2015
BY JOSHUA SILAVENT
jsilavent@gainesvilletimes.com
Several ministries and nonprofits
have long worked to address the short-
and long-term needs of the homeless in
Gainesville and Hall County.
But the needs persist.
“I know what God says, as a people,
as a town, as a state, if we continue
this walk of casting away the poor and
needy ...” said Aaron Clemons, pastor
at Set Free Ministry in Gainesville for
the last 11 years.
He trailed off with choked emotion
before offering an allegorical contem
plation of the misfortune that befalls
people who turn from one another.
In 2015, the state counted about 50
homeless individuals in Hall County. In
2017, it counted 123.
Both figures fall short of likely totals,
which local advocates range at some
where between 200 and 400 at any
given time.
Clemons alone is housing 46 men at
Set Free, and can support up to 80 at a
time.
In recent years, more groups have
emerged to contribute, such as The
Way (a day center mission in midtown
Gainesville) and Bridge the City (of
Gainesville). And a new men’s shelter,
as well as a separate women and chil
dren’s shelter, are in development.
Along the way, collaboration
amongst these groups has become a
more mission critical endeavor.
Upcoming homeless
count
Georgia will hold a statewide
count of homeless individuals
between Jan. 28 and Feb. 3. To
learn more about assisting with
the count in Flail, Habersham or
White Counties, email Michael
Fisher, housing and program
planner for Ninth District
Opportunity, at michael.fisher@
ndocsbg.org
“If we adopt the mindset that we are
all in this together, the city wins,” said
Andrew Bearden.
Bearden founded Bridge the City
in October 2015. He utilizes space in a
warehouse downtown to collect dona
tions for the homeless.
On Thursday morning, Bearden was
j oined at the warehouse by volunteers to
sort through recent gifts, from hygiene
products to jackets and blankets, to pro
vide the homeless at Set Free.
“Bring it all and we’ll sort out,”
Bearden said.
Shoes, though, were the biggest sin
gle item Bearden had collected: some
nice dress shoes, proper for a job inter
view, perhaps; and military combat
boots, perfect for the cold, wet weather
that had moved in and a style befitting
homeless veterans in the community.
“It’s their means of transportation,”
Bearden said, adding that he had wit
nessed some homeless individuals stuff
cardboard into their shoes to cover
holes in the soles.
Building relationships with minis
tries like Set Free, Bearden said, and
ensuring resources “get used and not
mistreated” is how he builds trust with
his own donors and partners.
It’s what brought Art Gallegos along.
“It’s something we’re all passion
ate about,” said Gallegos, co-founder
of Latinos Conservative Organization
based in Gainesville. “This is something
we can all give back to and be a part of. ”
As Gallegos and others sorted and
separated shoes by size and style,
placed them in boxes for delivery, he
reflected on how local groups can unite
to serve the homeless.
The son of a preacher and immi
grant, Gallegos said he’s driven by a
sense of spirit and community.
“We all live together,” he added.
“We have to learn to work together.”
For Bearden, partnerships are sign
of strength in faith.
“And the power in collaboration,” he
said.
For Clemons, partnerships are sign
that faith in action has a lot of mileage
to it.
“It means a great deal to these
(homeless) guys who have given up
hope and think no one loves them,”
Clemons said. “It touches their heart
and, therefore, mine. And it doesn’t
exist without (these) Christian brothers
and sisters.”
METH
■ Continued from 1A
surveilling the car before the traffic stop.
“She had them, I think, just shoved in her
pants. She tried to conceal them from us as we
were pulling up on her,” Lt. Don Scalia said.
Agents also seized $1,100 in cash, while offi
cers also found less than an ounce of marijuana.
De La Cruz had an outstanding probation
warrant.
The estimated street value is $2,800 per
ounce, though the wholesale value in the drug
trade may be $1,000 per ounce, Scalia said.
Clanton was charged with trafficking and
possessing meth with the intent to distribute,
while De La Cruz was charged with misde
meanor marijuana possession.
They were both booked in to the Hall
County Jail.
Agents
seized seven
small bags of
meth during
a traffic stop
on Thursday,
Dec. 20, in
Braselton.
The
estimated
street value
is $2,800
per ounce,
though the
wholesale
value in the
drug trade
may be
$1,000 per
ounce.
For The Times
Man indicted in
mom’s slaying
BY NICK WATSON
nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com
A Gainesville man was indicted this week
in death of his mother after allegedly shooting
her in the back of the head,
according to court documents.
Robert Timothy Stargel, 54,
was charged with malice mur
der, felony murder, aggra
vated assault and aggravated
battery in the death of his
mother, Linda Arrington, 69,
of Gainesville.
Arrington was found by her
husband around 6:30 a.m. Dec. 3 in their Sky-
view Drive home off Ahaluna Drive.
According to the indictment, the shooting
happened between Dec. 2 and Dec. 3.
In the aggravated battery charge, Stargel
is accused of striking Arrington “with a hard
object causing deep lacerations and swelling to
her head and her right hand.”
Defense attorney Larry Duttweiler did not
respond to a request for comment.
“Deputies and paramedics responded to the
residence where it was determined that foul
play was suspected in the death,” wrote Lt.
Scott Ware of the Hall County Sheriff’s Office,
in a news release at the time of Stargel’s arrest.
Stargel was arrested in the 1600 block of Oak
Brook Drive, although Ware said he was living
at the Skyview Drive address.
Authorities have not release any further
details in the case.
Stargel
Gainesville man
charged with rape
BY NICK WATSON
nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com
A Gainesville man is accused of raping a
woman at a private residence, police said.
A woman flagged down an officer working
traffic enforcement Dec. 10
at Browns Bridge Road and
Pearl Nix Parkway.
The 27-year-old woman
wanted to file a report regard
ing a man she was previously
acquainted with Jose Romero-
Rodriguez, 37.
The woman told the offi
cer that Romero-Rodriguez
“forced her to have sexual
relations without her consent
and against her will” the day
before, according to a Gainesville Police report.
Police said this is an ongoing investigation.
Romero-Rodriguez was booked Tuesday,
Dec. 18, in to the Hall County Jail, where he is
being held without bond.
No attorney information was available from
Magistrate Court.
Romero-
Rodriguez
CHOICE
■ Continued from 1A
For enrolled students (who are city residents)
in pre-K through fourth grades, choice enroll
ment forms will be sent home with kids on Jan. 7.
Information about each student’s assigned
cluster will be printed on the letter. Parents
must return the choice enrollment forms to
the school office by Jan. 22. Students who are
currently enrolled in Gainesville City Schools’
pre-K programs should attach two updated
proofs of residency to the school choice form.
Newly enrolling city residents in grades first
through 11th should register at the Gainesville
School Board Office, 508 Oak St., from 8 a.m. to 4
p.m. between Jan. 8- 22. Parents should bring all
required documents to register properly.
Finally, newly enrolling nonresidents must
complete a separate application at the Gaines
ville School Board Office from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
between Jan. 8-22.
Parents should bring the following docu
ments: School transcript for high school stu
dents, a current report card for elementary or
middle school students, as well as attendance
and behavior records. Acceptance or denial let
ters will be mailed on Jan. 30.
TOYS
■ Continued from 1A
of the program, said she
received help from the local
Hispanic Alliance and Basan
Ministries to reach out to pock
ets of Hall County, which were
overlooked in the past.
“I love it,” Graham said.
“I love seeing the families
come in with their kids. From
the military side of it, to the
family side of it, and just the
community side of it, this is a
dream come true in how it’s
developing.”
Graham said one of the larg
est donations came from TD
Automotive Compressor Geor
gia, LLC. Under the guidance
of its president, Shinji Saji, the
company raised around $1,500
and donated a 30-foot trailer
load of toys.
“It was a plant-wide effort,”
said Penny Scott, the compa
ny’s human resources office
assistant. “This was an awe
some opportunity to reach out
to the community.”
Chuck Bryan, veteran with
the Marine Corps League,
said his detachment started
holding Toys for Tots in Hall
County 10 years ago.
During the program’s first
year, the group of Marines
hosted it inside of a house’s
garage. Now it takes place
inside a 1,000-square-foot
warehouse.
Comprised of high school
ers, Marine veterans and indi
viduals in the community, this
year’s program had around 80
volunteers. Friday, Dec. 21,
was the last out of five days the
volunteers distributed toys to
families.
Shannon Head spent her
first time volunteering with
Toys for Tots this month. She
brought along her 8-year-old
son to help at the distribution
center.
“I’m volunteering because
in the past they have helped
me as well, and I just want to
give back,” Head said.
Graham also has her own
story for joining the nonprofit’s
efforts in the community. She
was inspired to get involved by
the Marines who run Toys for
Tots.
Five years ago Graham’s
husband, who was a Marine,
passed away soon after the two
moved to Gainesville.
Marines from Hall County
and around the country trav
eled to attend her husband’s
wake and participated in the
funeral’s Honor Guard.
Graham said before the vet
erans honored her husband,
she didn’t understand the
extent of brotherhood among
Marines.
“We didn’t know her, she
didn’t know us,” Bryan said.
“All we know was there was a
Marine who passed. We went
out and paid tribute to him. ”
GATEWAY
■ Continued from 1A
Butler said 164 of the 185 donors are
individuals.
The current shelter was built more than 30
years ago to house 15 people.
The shelter is consistently at or above its
capacity.
The lease on Gateway’s current property will
expire on Dec. 31,2020.
Butler said the center is still on track to be in
the location by the end of 2020.
“We’re just really grateful for all the people
in the community who have helped us get to
this point. It’s really incredible when you think
about how much has been raised for our domes
tic violence shelter,” Butler said, as she now
turns her attention to the last $500,000.
Anyone interested in donating can contact 770-
539-9080 or www.gatewaydvcenter.org/2020.
