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Body found after Lake Lanier shootout
Police: Suspected carjacker fired on officers from sinking vehicle
BY NICK WATSON
nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com
A man drove a car Friday eve
ning into Lake Lanier and began
firing at officers near the sinking
vehicle, according to authorities.
The incident started around 4:15
p.m. Friday, Feb. 21, when Gwin
nett County Police officers arrived
at a wreck near the intersection of
Peachtree Industrial Boulevard
and Shadburn Ferry Road.
Witnesses told the officers a
man from the wreck “got out of a
car with what was described as an
AK-style rifle,” Gwinnett County
Police Cpl. Collin Flynn wrote in
an email.
Gunshots were heard nearby,
and officers saw a vehicle driv
ing away from the area that had
been carjacked by that same man,
Flynn said.
Officers followed the car into
Shoal Creek Park, where the sus
pect drove the vehicle into Lake
Lanier.
“Once he drove into the lake, the
male began firing at police officers
from the area of the sinking vehi
cle. A police vehicle was struck
several times by the suspect’s
rounds. Officers returned fire at
the suspect after they were fired
upon,” Flynn wrote in an email.
The Hall County Sheriffs Office
dive team found a body near the
vehicle.
The Georgia Bureau of Inves
tigation will handle the officer-
involved shooting investigation.
The officers and the carjack
ing victim were uninjured, while
the people involved in the earlier
wreck had minor injuries.
The case is still under
investigation.
Photo courtesy Gwinnett County Police
Gwinnett County Police responded to a vehicle accident at the intersection
of Peachtree Industrial Boulevard and Shadburn Ferry Road on Friday
afternoon. Authorities say a man involved carjacked a vehicle, which he
then drove into Lake Lanier and fired shots from the lake at police.
‘A lot of love and tears’
3829
SCOn ROGERS I The Times
Jeremy Roberts hands the microphone to his wife Sandy Friday, Feb. 21, as they thank visitors attending their Flabitat For Humanity
of Hall County new home reveal in the Copper Glen subdivision.
Homeless family steps into new Habitat for Humanity house
BY KELSEY P0D0
kpodo@gainesvilletimes.com
For nearly two years the Roberts fam
ily traveled from place to place, never
having a space they could call home. All
of that changed on Friday, Feb. 21.
Through the efforts of Habitat for
Humanity of Hall County, Family Prom
ise and a giant team of donors and volun
teers, the family of two adults and four
teenagers stepped across the threshold of
their new home.
“Our whole life we’ve lived in apart
ments, stayed at other people’s homes,
then we got a trailer that we rented,”
13-year-old Leah Roberts said. “It’s kind
of freeing because we finally get our own
home and space.”
Over 2,200 volunteer hours were put
into building the 1,200-square-foot house,
which is one of 13 homes in the Copper
Glen Habitat Subdivision in Gainesville.
Like everyone who earns a home with
Habitat, the Roberts put hours of manual
labor into building their house. Even
16-year-old Katelyn Roberts was able to
chip in.
“I helped with the painting and insula
tion,” Katelyn said. “We’ve worked a lot,
but it’s a nice feeling.”
Katelyn’s mother and father, Jeremy
and Sandy Roberts, said they would
come out and work on the house every
weekend. It took nearly six months to
complete. The Roberts also took finan
cial education courses to prepare for
homeownership.
For the last couple of months of their
home’s construction, the Roberts were a
part of the Family Promise Homestead
program. Sandy Roberts said every week
they would sleep at a new church, but live
at the Homestead during the day.
“It’s a great program, but it’s not easy,”
Sandy Roberts said. “I guess anything
that’s worth it, isn’t going to be easy. With
us, it’s more than buying a home. We
have a piece of ourselves in it.”
Pam Roberts, the teenagers’ grand
mother, said she took in the whole fam
ily for 15 months in her three-bedroom
home. This happened when the Roberts
could no longer keep up with the rising
cost of their rental home.
“There was a lot of love and tears,” Pam
Roberts said. “I’m so proud of them. My
husband Jerry worked every Saturday
■ Please see HOME, 7A
Collins to
president:
No thanks
on spy chief
Tribune News Service
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump
said that he was considering Rep. Doug Col
lins, a Gainesville Republican
and ally, as his formal nomi
nee for director of national
intelligence.
Trump made the announce
ment during a flight to Las
Vegas after a rally in Colorado
Springs, Colo., on Thursday
night. The president has been
on a tour of Western U.S. states
for much of this week.
Collins
■ Please see COLLINS, 5A
Nurse accused
of forging $75K
in prescriptions
caught by police
BY LAYNE SALIBA
lsaliba@gainesvilletimes.com
A Murrayville registered nurse accused of
forging prescriptions was taken into custody
around 12:45 p.m. Friday, Feb.
21, following a lookout post
sent by Gainesville Police.
Police officers were search
ing for Roseanne Brandsma,
53, who they say collected
more than $75,000 worth of
narcotics by forging nearly 50
patient prescriptions.
Brandsma was wanted on
48 counts of unauthorized dis
tribution of controlled substances and 48 counts
■ Please see NARCOTICS, 5A
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