About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 3, 2020)
OUR REGION £hc Srrnes gainesvilletimes com Weekend Edition - October 3-4, 2020 Nate McCullough News Editor | 770-718-3431 | news@gainesvilletimes.com Police release info on auto theft ring Four suspects arrested in case spanning multiple law enforcement agencies J. Lopez C. Lopez BY NICK WATSON nwatson@ gainesvilletimes.com Gainesville and Oak- wood police released more information this week on charges they have brought against four men accused in a burglary and motor vehicle theft ring in South Hall. The case has spanned multiple law enforcement agencies. Three men from Gaines ville and Oakwood were charged in August. Carlos Ernesto Lopez, Jr., 19, of Gainesville; Jan Carlos Lopez, 22, of Oak- wood; and Michael David Carrillo-Lopez M. Lopez Lopez, 32, of Gainesville, were accused of operating a local theft ring in Oak- wood, Flowery Branch and Chestnut Mountain, Sher iffs Office spokesman Der- reck Booth wrote in a news release. A fourth man is now behind bars, according to authorities. Juan Carlos Carrillo-Lopez, 26, of Oak- wood, was charged with violation of the Georgia Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act and was arrested after a traffic stop Wednesday, Sept. 23. Booth said Carrillo-Lopez was allegedly part of an organization “benefiting from numerous entering auto and general theft cases as well as burglary and motor vehicle theft” between April and June in South Hall. “His involvement included holding evi dence and taking part in entering autos, burglaries and other thefts,” Booth wrote in an email. Oakwood Police Lt. Todd Templeton said Michael Lopez, Jan Lopez and Carlos Lopez were each charged with one count of entering auto from a May 18 incident on Prestwick Drive. Templeton did not provide any further infor mation on the case. Gainesville Police pro vided The Times copies of 11 warrants signed in the case. The offenses listed happened in April on Big Rock Ridge Trail, Overlook Ridge Lane, Brayden Drive and Amberleigh Trace. Gainesville Police obtained warrants for Car los Lopez and Jan Lopez on charges of entering auto. Police also obtained war rants for Jan Lopez for charges of first-degree bur glary and theft by taking. Though the alleged offenses happened in April, the warrants were not sworn until late August. Gainesville Police did not respond to questions from The Times about the charges. Carrillo-Lopez was stopped on Candler Road near Dale Road and was initially booked on charges of speeding, failure to maintain lane and having an open container. Inves tigators obtained the RICO warrant Monday, Sept. 28. Carrillo-Lopez is being held at the Hall County Jail with no bond. The police departments in Braselton, Gainesville and Oakwood collaborated with the Sheriffs Office in this case. The Times has reached out to these other departments to learn more ■ Please see RICO, 4B ‘Ruff’ rehearsal Photos by SCOTT ROGERS I The Times K-9 Warden leaps from a Gwinnett County fire department boat Wednesday, Sept. 30, as the county’s K9 units take part in a training exercise on Lake Lanier. Training included the fire department’s swift water rescue and numerous other police agencies. Law officers work with K-9s in Lake Lanier training BY NICK WATSON nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com Out on a small island toward the southern end of Lake Lanier, a “sus pect” in American flag shorts swam ashore after eluding officers on a chase. Warden, a 20-month-old Belgian Malinois, was about to lay down the law. Gwinnett County Police hosted a training session Wednesday, Sept. 30, on the south end of the lake near Buford Dam Park. Officer Aaron Carlyle said the annual training is to help dogs and their handlers prepare for a poten tial search that involves getting into the water. Law enforcement from Snellville, Duluth and Athens-Clarke County were in attendance. “We’d rather train this and never have to use it but know that the dogs are capable of doing this,” Carlyle said. Though they have not had a simi lar call to the training done Wednes day, Carlyle said they are available to help out Hall and Forsyth coun ties’ law enforcement should ■ Please see TRAINING, 4B K-9 Officer Phil Halladay holds back K9 Warden Wednesday, Sept. 30, during training on Lake Lanier. The training exercise included the fire department’s swift water rescue and numerous other police agencies. Hall adds Oakwood voting site BY MEGAN REED mreed@gainesvilletimes.com Hall County has secured an eighth early voting location for the Nov. 3 election. Starting Oct. 12, voters will be able to cast ballots at 4335 Mundy Mill Road in Oakwood, in addition to seven other locations around the county. The building is the former site of the Bodyplex fitness center. “This voting location will meet a critical need for citizens in west Hall County,” Elec tions Director Lori Wurtz said in a state ment. “The new Mundy Mill Road precinct will allow us to more easily adhere to the health safety guidelines issued by the (Cen ters for Disease Control and Prevention), State of Georgia and White House, ensuring the safety of voters, poll workers and other county staff.” Early voting will be available on week days from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Oct. 12 through 30, along with statewide Saturday voting from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Oct. 24. The county will have eight locations for early voting: ■ Mulberry Creek Community Center, 4491 J.M. Turk Rd., Flowery Branch ■ Mundy Mill Road Precinct, 4335 Mundy Mill Road, Oakwood ■ East Hall Community Center, 3911 P. Davidson Rd., Gainesville ■ North Hall Community Center, 4175 Nopone Rd., Gainesville ■ City of Gainesville Downtown Building (old Turner Wood and Smith building), 100 Brenau Ave. Gainesville ■ Murrayville Library, 4796 Thompson Bridge Rd., Gainesville ■ Spout Springs Library, 6488 Spout Springs Rd., Flowery Branch ■ Chicopee Woods Agricultural Cen ter Activity Hall, 1855 Calvary Church Rd., Gainesville The voter registration deadline for the Nov. 3 election is Monday, Oct. 5. That is also the last day to make changes to an existing voter registration before the election. Peo ple can register online at the Georgia Secre tary of State’s Office My Voter Page website or visit the Hall County elections office, 2875 Browns Bridge Road in Gainesville. SCOn ROGERS I The Times Voters come out to Gainesville Exploration Academy Friday, May 22, to cast their ballot for the June 9 primary. Attorney files complaint on judge about judicial emergency BY NICK WATSON nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com A Marietta attorney sent an ethics complaint to the Georgia Supreme Court concerning a For syth County Chief Superior Court Judge Jeffrey S. Bagley and the judiciary, claiming the court has not made “reasonable accommo dations for lawyers” during the COVID-19 judicial emergency. Attorney David West wrote a let ter July 7 addressed to the Georgia Supreme Court justices and copied the Judicial Qualifications Commis sion, which investigates complaints against Georgia judges. Since then, West said the commission has reached out for more information regarding the complaint. An attempt to reach the com mission’s deputy director, Courtney Veal, was unsuc cessful Friday, Oct. 2. A representa tive from Bagley’s office said the judge was not available for com ment Friday. West said he was retained as an attorney on a case and filed a motion for discovery in January. Three months later, West’s office mailed a letter to the district attor ney’s office requesting discovery be mailed to their office. He claimed his office offered “to provide any type of digital storage necessary to send such evidence electronically or to remit payment for any com pensation necessary,” according to his letter. West claimed he was told that the discovery materials would not be mailed and that someone from his office would need to review and copy materials in the district attor ney’s office, according to his letter. West then filed an emergency motion regarding the discovery materials, and Bagley denied the motion following a video hearing. “When I heard that it had been denied, I was simply dumbfounded,” West told The Times Friday. West said he believes that the “unjust ruling by the court and the procedures now being permitted to exist in the Bell-Forsyth Judicial Cir cuit due to this ruling” are conflicting with the Georgia Supreme Court’s judicial emergency order. He said Friday he believes it has shown a “disregard for the safety of every one, especially people like myself, who have a medical condition.” West said his doctor has advised him to shelter in place and avoid public spaces whenever possible. Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Harold D. Melton ordered in the Sept. 10 extension of the judicial emergency that all courts “should continue to use and increase the use of technology to conduct remote judicial proceed ings as a safer alternative to in-per- son proceedings, unless required by law to be in person” or if it is not practicable for some reason to do so remotely. “Furthermore, it is my (belief) that this rises to the level of a con stitutional deprivation of rights for all other attorneys and criminal defendants similarly situated so as to make attorneys choose between violating the shelter-in-place order of their physicians and the state or potentially harming their client’s right to effective representation,” according to West’s letter. West’s letter asks the court to look into Forsyth’s policy to “make rea sonable accommodations to send discovery to attorneys who are med ically unable to appear under the judicial emergency order.” West said he does not want the judge to get in trouble but to change the policies.
