About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 9, 2020)
DA: Backlog to make for busy 2021 More than 200 cases in Hall County waiting to go before grand jury BY NICK WATSON nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com More than 200 cases are ready and waiting to be presented to a Hall County grand jury, as pros ecutors and defense attorneys are trying to figure out how to resume court safely during the COVID-19 outbreak. Northeastern Judicial Circuit District Attorney Lee Darragh, who prosecutes cases in Hall and Dawson counties, said there were 315 cases as of Aug. 17 ready for grand jury overall, 244 of those being in Hall County. “I don’t think there’s any doubt that next year is going to be a very busy year,” assistant public defender Chris van Rossem said. More serious charges — homi cide, child molestation, burglary, aggravated assault — have to go to a grand jury, while some offenses — certain theft cases, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, etc. —can go through a formal accusa tion, according to Georgia law. The accusation can be filed by the district attorney’s office to move the case forward to a poten tial trial. Some cases have been closed out through pleas since the emer gency judicial orders were signed in March out of coronavirus concerns. Darragh said he would like to hold grand jury sessions as often as he can to catch up, though he and other court officials want to do so as safely as possible. He and other court stakeholders held a Zoom conference call Friday, Sept. 4, brainstorming on ways to resume these court functions. Many cases a day can presented to a grand jury, but it would still take a while to catch up. It would likely take a full day to present 20 cases, Darragh said, which would mean 12 full days likely spread out to cover all of the backlogged cases. Before the COVID-19 outbreak, the prosecutor was able to pres ent as many as 40 cases in a full day, but the restrictions during the relaunch will “slow things down significantly in presentation of the cases.” “It basically involves the neces sity to socially distance the wit nesses, perhaps bringing them from one distant room to another, spreading them out to different rooms,” Darragh said. “It’s just the physical difficulty in getting that accomplished.” Van Rossem said the caseloads have been manageable so far and doesn’t believe it will overwhelm the system’s resources. “Through the spring and sum mer, I think we’ve been able to sort of limit the numbers from balloon ing too much by working out some of the less serious cases or lower- level cases, which helps,” van Ros sem said. “What we’re probably looking at is more of a backlog in cases involving serious allegations, where the only resolution is going to be a trial.” After grand juries, Darragh and his office turn their eyes toward jury trials, which may not start until later this year or potentially early next year. The jury had already been selected for the case of DeMar- vin Bennett, an East Point man ■ Please see BACKLOG, 4A First day back SCOn ROGERS I The Times Gainesville High Principal Jamie Green gives a student a face mask to wear Tuesday, Sept. 8, during a class change on the first day of school for Gainesville City Schools. Some Gainesville students return to school, others take online classes BY THOMAS HARTWELL thartwell@gainesvilletimes.com Tuesday marked the first day back to in-person school for many students in the Gainesville district, who for the first three weeks took class remotely. Kindergartners through second graders, sixth graders and ninth and 10th graders returned to face-to-face class on Tuesday, Sept. 8, and the remainder of the student body will return Thursday, per the Gainesville City School Dis- Inside Gainesville Schools offers way to look at system’s COVID-19 cases, 5A trict’s return plan. Originally the district intended to send all students back to school on Tuesday, however, school officials announced the phased-in approach. Gainesville Super intendent Jeremy Williams said his school system’s phased-in return will give stu dents who are new to school buildings, like those who are moving from elementary to middle school, the chance to acclimate before all students return. Those families who still do not feel comfortable physi cally returning to school will have the option to take class with Georgia Virtual Acad emy through at least Decem ber. The district’s percentage of families who have chosen the option is currently 16%, school officials said. Hall County returned to its first face-to-face day on Mon day, Aug. 24, with a phase-in approach that limited num bers according to last name, with all students returning for the first time Friday, Aug. 28. Hall has also given its families a virtual option. Parents nervous but confident in district leadership Shaquanus Woods, a mother of two Mundy Mill Academy students, said one of her daughters, 6-year-old ■ Please see SCHOOLS, 8A County plans several early polling spots BY MEGAN REED mreed@gainesvilletimes.com Hall County will have extra early voting loca tions for the Nov. 3 election to accommodate expected high turnout. Early voting for November will begin Oct. 12 and run through Oct. 30, with polls open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays. Polls will also be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 24. Hall’s elections board approved seven early voting locations at a meeting Tuesday, Sept. 8: ■ Mulberry Creek Community Center ■ East Hall Community Center ■ North Hall Community Center ■ 100 Brenau Ave. in Gainesville, previous Turner, Wood & Smith building and temporary library branch ■ Please see VOTE, 7A Boat parade drew thousands to Lake Lanier BY THOMAS HARTWELL thartwell@gainesvilletimes.com An estimated 2,300 boats of various shape and size, most decked out with American and Donald Trump flags, as well as flags supporting police, covered the water at Lake Lanier Sun day, Sept. 6. A handful of small planes and helicopters also flew overhead, buzzing the Great American Boat Parade, some showing their own support. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers did not respond to a request for confirmation of how many boats attended the parade. But some authorities said the gathering was the most ves sels they’d ever seen on the lake. Dustin Melton, the Gainesville firefighter and Cornelia resident who organized the event, ■ Please see BOATS, 7A DEATHS 6A Evelyn Adams Hazel Stover Anderson, 74 Barbara Faye Brock, 77 Lillian Joan Houser Cash, 86 William Sonny Cash, 83 J.V. Cheek Jr., 86 Kunigunde Bayer Cottrell, 89 Martin Cruz, 23 Mary Brown Evans, 62 William Ralph Garrett, Jr., 57 Daniel Furman Gibson, 57 William Donald Hammond, Jr, 48 Fred Mitchell Harkins, 68 Ruth Ann Henry, 66 Dakota R. Hill, 27 John Edward Howard, 88 Charles Farrell Irvin, 76 Angela Jean Kappner, 51 Kevin Lloyd William Jess Murphy, Jr., 72 Margie Henderson Parker, 72 Morris Lee Parker, 78 Lee Roy Poole, 78 Eunice Price, 92 Timothy C. Pritchett, 67 James Anthony Pruitt, 69 Elizabeth Rivera, 44 Louella Clure Satterfield, 74 Larry Junior Scroggs, 72 Caleb Andrew Sparks, 37 Judy Pike Waits, 77 0 40901 06835 8 We will make it through this, and the strength of hope will shine brightly. EH NORTHSIDE HOSPITAL
