About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (June 24, 2020)
LOCA^OP HEADLINES The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com Midweek Edition - June, 24-25, 2020 3A Dozens of charges hied in entering auto investigation BY NICK WATSON nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com Crowds mourn Brooks at storied Atlanta church Authorities announce arrest of arson suspect during funeral Dozens of charges were filed against a Union City man following an investigation into numerous entering auto cases in South Hall, according to authorities. Quaves Jermaine Sterling, 22, was booked into the Hall County Jail Wednesday, June 17. The investigation started late Tuesday, June 16, in the Reunion residential development after numerous enter ing auto calls. “According to the initial examination, Sheriffs Office detectives believe there were approximately 50 such cases in the development, with roughly 30 credit and / or debit cards among the stolen items,” Booth wrote in a news release. Sterling was found in a victim’s pickup truck around 3:30 a.m. Wednesday in the 6000 block of Cedar Springs Lane, Booth said. He was arrested after a short chase on foot, and deputies had help with officers from the Bra- selton and Flowery Branch police departments. “Detectives with the Sheriffs Office also continue to follow leads for other potential suspects in the crimes,” Booth wrote. More than 50 charges were listed on the Sheriffs Office’s jail database, including burglary, entering auto to commit theft, financial transaction card theft and possession of firearm/knife in commission of a crime. Authorities did not clarify the possession of firearm/ knife charge when contacted by The Times. Booth said one of the entering auto cases involved a vehicle owned by the city of Gainesville. He added Ster ling allegedly conspired with a second person on the entering autos and burglary. That person has been identified by law enforcement but is not in custody. Defense attorney Chris van Rossem declined to comment. Police: Family Dollar employee injured with pepper spray while approaching shoplifter BY NICK WATSON nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com A Family Dollar employee was sprayed with “what it is believed to be pepper spray” after approaching a woman who left without paying for her items, police said. Gainesville Police are investigating an incident from 9 a.m. Sunday, June 21, at the Atlanta Highway Family Dollar. Cpl. Jessica Van said a Black woman wearing a face mask was putting items into a plastic tote and walked out of the store without paying. “When the employee approached the suspect, the employee was sprayed with what is believed to be pep per spray,” Van wrote in an email. The employee suffered superficial injuries and irrita tion from the spray, Van said. “The suspect left with an accomplice in a(n) unknown vehicle,” Van said. The case is still under investigation. Police did not release any further details. BY KATE BRUMBACK Associated Press ATLANTA — Scores of mourners Tuesday paid their final respects to Ray- shard Brooks at the Atlanta church where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. used to preach, taking part in a funeral filled with historical echoes and a tragic sense that Black America has been through this all too many times before. “Rayshard Brooks is the latest high-profile casualty in the struggle for justice and a battle for the soul of America. This is about him, but it is so much bigger than him,” the Rev. Raphael War- nock, senior pastor at Ebene- zer Baptist Church, told the crowd, less than two weeks after the Black man was shot twice in the back by a white Atlanta police officer follow ing a struggle in a fast-food parking lot. Warnock recited a long list of names of Black people who died at the hands of police in recent years, includ ing Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Philando Castile and George Floyd, lament ing: “Sadly we’ve gotten too much practice at this.” Brooks’ widow, Tomika Miller, dressed in white, sat surrounded by family and friends. Former state law maker Stacey Abrams and Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms were among the mourners. Most people dressed all in white, while some wore T-shirts with Brooks’ picture. Brooks’ killing June 12 came amid weeks of turbu lent and sometimes violent protests across the U.S. over Floyd’s death under a white Minneapolis officer’s knee on May 25. In the aftermath of Brooks’ death, the Atlanta police chief resigned, and protesters burned the Wen dy’s restaurant. As the funeral was under way, authorities announced the arrest of a suspect in the fire, 29-year-old Natalie CURTIS COMPTON I Associated Press Tomika Miller, the wife of Rayshard Brooks, weeps while holding their 1-year-old daughter Dream during his funeral in Ebenezer Baptist Church on Tuesday, June 23, in Atlanta. White — according to her lawyer, the same woman Brooks described to police on the night he was shot as his girlfriend. The lawyer, Drew Fin- dling, said White was dis traught over Brooks’ death but was “absolutely not responsible for the fire,” saying the blaze was already underway when she was seen on video approaching the restaurant. White has been charged with first-degree arson, according to online jail records. The deaths of Floyd and Brooks have led to a ground- swell of protests against racial inequality, a move ment to take down Con federate statues and other symbols, and demands for the dismantling of police departments or the shifting of their funding toward social services. EARLY DEADLINES FOR INDEPENDENCE DAY Because of the upcoming Independence Day holiday falls on Saturday, The Times will publish on Friday, July 3rd. We will alter our advertising deadlines to the following: Retail Display/Classified / Legal/Obit & Death Notices: Publication Date Deadline The Times Friday 7/3 Wednesday, 7/1 @ 5PM gainesvilletimes •com will be CLOSED Friday, July 3rd, in observance of Independence Day. 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