About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 28, 2018)
Drug cartel leader gets 15 years Head of million-dollar Lenox Park criminal organization to be deported afterward BY NICK WATSON nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com A Gainesville man was sen tenced to more than 15 years in federal prison in connection to the Lenox Park Cartel, a group authorities said distributed 8,800 pounds of methamphetamine dur ing a 10-month investigation. Ruben Antonio Ruiz pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute metham phetamine and possession of a firearm during a drug trafficking crime. He was sentenced to 181 months in federal prison Dec. 19. Hall County Multi-Agency Nar cotics Squad agents arrested 11 of 12 in 2016 following a federal grand jury indictment. “In the 10 months during the course of the undercover inves tigation, the group led by Ruben Ruiz was believed to be respon sible for the distribution of 4,000 kilograms, (8,800 pounds) of meth amphetamine,” Lt. Scott Ware said at the time of Ruiz’s arrest. There is also a stipulation of five years supervised release after incarceration. “Upon completion of the term of imprison ment and release from the custody of the Bureau of Prisons, the defen dant is to be turned over to a duly-authorized immigration official for appropriate removal pro ceedings from the United States,” according to Ruiz’s sentencing documents. Fourteen people were indicted in the June 2016 supersed ing indictment, and most have taken plea deals. The MANS unit applied for warrants in Septem ber 2015. “The investigation focused on the criminal drug trafficking organi zation, informally known as the Lenox Park Cartel. Several of the suspects resided and/or furthered their crimi nal activity in the subdivision in Gainesville ... known as Lenox Park, as well as other areas in Hall County and Stephens County,” Ware wrote in a news release. At the time of the March 2016 arrests, search warrants led to the seizure of roughly 20 pounds of methamphetamine, a half-pound of cocaine, 6 pounds of marijuana, 16 firearms and seven cars. “The street value of the drugs seized was estimated at a cumu lative value of $896,000.00 of methamphetamine, $12,000 of marijuana, and $22,400 worth of cocaine,” Ware said. Ruiz Engine 209 helped area grow Photo courtesy Hall County Library System The Midland Railroad served Gainesville around the turn of the century. Engine 209 was reported to have been built for the tsar of Russia. The Russian Revolution canceled the order. It made the last steam-powered trip Sept. 19,1959. Historic train could relocate in Gainesville land deal SCOTT ROGERS I The Times The Gainesville City Council is looking to sell the land on which the historic Engine 209 now sits in a bid to spur growth. Mayor Danny Dunagan said he would like to see the train in a more convenient location for the public to enjoy. BY MEGAN REED mreed@gainesvilletimes.com The engine on the corner of Jesse Jewell Parkway and West Academy Street, which the city of Gainesville may be relocating, bears the name “Gainesville Midland.” That was a railway connecting Gainesville to Athens. In 1904, Gaines ville, Jefferson and Southern Railroad became Gainesville Midland Railway. The railway started carrying passen gers in 1906 and mail the year after that. The company was reorganized in 1936 under the name Gainesville Mid land Railroad. The railroad supported industrial growth, particularly in the textile industry, which emerged in the 1900s, according to David French, museum services manager with the Northeast Georgia History Center. “(The railway) shipped a lot of raw materials to the mills here in Gaines ville,” French said. The textile industry was not the only industry served by the rail line, though. French said building materi als, machinery, coal, fertilizer and other commodities also shipped on the Midland, enabling growth in Gaines ville in the early 1900s. Grace Cronic Autry worked for the Gainesville Midland from 1950 to 1986, doing a little bit of everything ■ Please see TRAIN, 8A Sloan satisfied as he exits Hall school hoard BY JOSHUA SILAVENT jsilavent@gainesvilletimes.com Brian Sloan is in his office at Chestnut Mountain Church on a recent afternoon where he is the pastor of adult ministries and care, but he’s reflecting on the end of his time on the Hall County Schools Board of Education. “The learning curve on the school board was pretty intense that first year,” he said. Sloan admits that the public nature of elected office was an adjustment. “Once your name is on the ballot... all bets are off,” he said. “It took me a while to get used to that.” Sloan was elected to the board of education in 2006. Across three terms, he has seen the school district made over under the leadership of Superin tendent Will Schofield and other stal warts on the board of education. He had run for office because of his passion for school athletics, Sloan said, and the opportunity it presents stu dents to develop character-building habits. And Sloan said he has consistently pushed for more funding for school security. He cast the lone dissent in June on the final budget he voted on as a school board member, not because it wasn’t a good budget, Sloan said, but because he wanted additional funding to hire more resource officers to patrol elementary schools. He added that there were only a handful of times “I stood against the other four” board members. Public scrutiny and compro mise may be the political price of elected office, but it was the hard decisions that Sloan faced when the Great Recession hit in 2008 and 2009 that were the toughest to manage. Plans for the school district to expand were scrapped as funding and enrollment stag nated or decreased. Much of the planned expansion was slated for South Hall, Sloan’s district, and with some school conditions deteriorating, officials shuffled schools around to fill gaps: Flowery Branch High was moved to the Spout Springs Road location as overcrowding became a prob lem; C.W. Davis Middle moved into the former Flowery Branch High grounds; South Hall Middle to the former ■ Please see SLOAN, 8A ‘Once your name is on the ballot... all bets are off... .It took me a while to get used to that.’ Brian Sloan Board Member Sloan Fireworks shop owners aim to illuminate New Year BY KELSEY RICHARDSON krichardson® gainesvilletimes.com Instead of watching a fire works show many people in Hall County flock to local stores to stock up on their favorite sparkly explosives for New Year’s Day. Catering to the community along Sardis Road in Gaines ville, 20-year-old Andres Gon zalez Jr. opened up his first fireworks stand on Dec. 17. Gonzalez added the pop up shop to his small grocery store, Supermercado El Anto- jito, which he took ownership of around a year ago. The business has been in Gonza lez’s family for the past 13 years. “I’ve been doing it since I was a kid,” he said. “I try to provide things that people love and make customers happy. I want to build the community and make it stronger.” He was inspired to attach a fireworks stand to the store after realizing the distance most people drove in the Sar dis community to purchase their explosive goodies. Instead of commuting into town or South Carolina, peo ple can travel down the road and pick up a wide range of fireworks. Since he was young, Gon zalez said he has celebrated New Year’s Day and Christ mas with fireworks. He hopes to help others in his commu nity have the same type of positive experience. “To me fireworks are all about families and children being happy and seeing the lights,” he said. Illuminating Gainesville since 2014, Xtreme Xplo- sives Fireworks on Riverside Drive offers fiery devices from around the world. Jason Sillay, owner of the store, said he tests all of the ■ Please see FIREWORKS, 8A KELSEY RICHARDSON I The Times Located off of Sardis Road in Gainesville, Supermercado El Antojito provides a one-stop-shop for fireworks. INSIDE WEATHER 2A DEATHS 9A 0 *40901 06835 8 Advice 6B Bridge 6B Business 8B Calendar 2A Classified 9B Comics 7B Life 5B Lottery 2A Opinion 7A Our Region 8A Sports 1B TV/puzzles 6B i High Low 47 Lake Lanier level: 1,070.69 feet Full pool 1,071. 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