About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (March 16, 2023)
4A Thursday, March 16, 2023 The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com LOCA^STATE Warnock’s campaign chief sees lessons from Dems in Georgia “And it set us apart, quite CHARLES KRUPA I Associated Press Quentin Fulks, who managed Sen. Raphael Warnock’s re- election campaign in 2022, stands for a portrait outside the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Flarvard University, Thursday, Feb. 2, in Cambridge, Mass. WOOD ■ Continued from 1A hard for me not to love him when he was in the position like he was when I met him, not having nobody,” Wood testified. Around the time of his death, Wood said Kramer asked her if she wanted to go into the bedroom and have sex. Wood said she would prefer not to. “I could tell in his expres sion and the way that he would talk that it was going to be ugly,” Wood said. Wood said she capitu lated, saying she would have sex if he would stop being ugly and get along. “I ended up not doing it and him starting hitting me with a belt again,” Wood said. Later in the evening, Wood claimed that Kramer said she was going to have sex with him and marry him. At one point, Wood said Kramer had a hold of her hair, and she was trying to force him off of her. While she said she kicked him, she also testified she “possibly could have blacked out.” Wood said she got out of the house and heard him say, “B--h, I’m going to kill you.” She ran up the drive way and stayed there until daylight, according to her testimony. Wood returned to the house and made breakfast, and Kramer never came in to eat, she said. “I went back in to try to check on him again, and I realized he was still laying in the same position,” Wood said. “He had blood dripping from his nose. I kept shaking him saying, ‘Leroy, please wake up. Please wake up.’” Wood said she slept beside him for three days, claiming he was a deep sleeper and would get agitated if woken up. Wood claimed the law has never been on her side. She started panicking and made her mind up that she was “going to make the police shoot me if they came in so I wouldn’t have to deal with this, ‘cause nobody would listen.” “I was very scared. I was very stressed out from being there two months with him there, knowing that he’s not going to come back, that he’s gone and I didn’t want to accept that,” Wood said. After an hour of Wood’s testimony, the defense asked the judge to make a motion. Once the jury was excused, defense co-counsel Jake Shapiro made the argu ment that the defense had made a sufficient showing of self defense in order to introduce prior bad acts by Kramer. While the prosecution and defense agreed that it met two of the requirements, the sticking point was whether Wood was seeking to defend herself. Superior Court Judge Lindsay Burton said Wood did not admit to using deadly force. “She never said that she killed him,” Burton said. “She said that she kicked him in the ribs, and the ribs didn’t cause his death.” Shapiro said Wood can’t definitively say her actions killed Kramer because she left the scene. After some back-and- forth with Burton, Shapiro said he was willing to con tinue questioning Wood. Assistant District Attorney Rachel Bennett immedi ately objected, saying the defense now knows what it needs to elicit from Wood’s testimony to get their wish. Burton instructed the jury to return at 10 a.m. Thurs day for further testimony, though the attorneys will return before then to con tinue arguing on the motion. BY BILL BARROW Associated Press ATLANTA — When Quentin Fulks went back home to Ellaville, Georgia, last year, people kept tell ing him how proud they were to watch a native son lead Sen. Raphael War nock’s reelection bid. Then came the caveat: They still weren’t going to vote for his boss. “I didn’t take it person ally,” Fulks recalled with a laugh. If anything, growing up Black in a majority white county where Donald Trump won 79% of the vote helped Fulks under stand what Democrats had to do to win in a historically conservative state. As a campaign manager, that meant framing War- nock as the deal-making, results-driven incumbent and building an opera tion that went beyond the Democratic strongholds of Atlanta and other cities to connect with Republican leaning voters throughout the state — even before Republicans nominated Herschel Walker and gam bled on his complicated personal history. “In a tough environment, we chose to communicate with those voters,” Fulks told The Associated Press. frankly, from the Demo cratic slate and even from President Biden.” The approach worked — Warnock, Georgia’s first Black senator, won reelec tion by nearly 3 percentage points in a state that Biden carried by a quarter per centage point about two years earlier. The victory helped Democrats win an outright majority in the Senate and established the 33-year-old Fulks as a ris ing star in the party. Now he’s being con sidered for a top post in Biden’s 2024 campaign, which the president is expected to launch in the coming weeks. a Apartments FOR RENT RPC Partners 2 Bedim Apartments Gainesville, Oakwood & Flowery Branch $ 300 Move in Special Plus Deposit 770-654-2807 NOW HIRING Off-Road Truck Drivers, Scraper Operators, and CDL Drivers/Heavy Equipment Operator Competitive pay, Great Benefits (401 k, Health Ins., Vacation) Apply in Person 1364 Candler Rd. Gainesville, Ga 30507 Monday - Friday 8am - 5pm 770-536-4731 Ext. 1 divisions OF GEORGIA'S FINEST PINE STRAW & MULCH DS Mike 678-410-1375 WE ARE DEDICATED TO EXCELLENT SERVICE, QUALITY WORK & CUSTOMER SATISFACTION ■Cured and Split Firewood • 8FT Railroad cross ties • 8FT 6x6 Pressure Treated Posts • 10FT 6x6 Pressure Treated Posts , • 12FT 6x6 Pressure Treated Posts TltFTUF Rebel mmst BfRklH- c\{pfwel PrmumTQp' Check in Today for our New Specials! Farm Fresh Sod •TifTuf Bermuda •Rebel Fescue •TifBlair Centipede •Zeon Zoysia •Marvel Zoysia Onfipy mm mm. w\m All Varieties of Rock now Available - y Georgia Chapter GCSAAw INDUSTRY PARTNER Sand * Rip Rap Stone 4 57 Stone • River Rock-all sizes Field Stone • Flag Stone • River Rock Boulders Field Stone Boulders • Ashlan • Tumbles Cobble Stone WM, DB0§iML MUE EMMS Pine straw and mulch year round ^Double Ground Hardwood Mulch Erosion con,ro ! mats and • New Crop long needle pine straw super red s j| t f ences now • Bag & Bulk Hardwood Mulch in available! red, black, brown, mini pine nugget & top soil. utc Trailers We Sell • We Service • We Finance Equipment Hauling Trailers - Enclosed Cargo Vans - Landscape Trailers - Dump Trailers We have full service repair shop for all types of trailers. Monday-Friday 8-5 and Saturday 8-2 pm. Also we have a parts department for all trailer needs Open Monday-Friday 7am-5pm & Saturday 7am-2pm 77 0-287-8300 2650 Browns Bridge Road * Gainesville, GA 30504 • www.georgiasfinestpinestraw.com WE DELIVER! HOOFING & RESTORATION OUR SERVICES Roof Inspections Free Replacement Estimates General Roofing & Installation Additions Storm Restoration Inspections Consultations Insurance Claims Specialists Repairs & Restoration Ventilation hepewell-roefing.com tES ffl> 678-771-5372 Chimney Caps Siding and Painting Gutters, Downspouts Leaf Protection Soffit and Fascia Repair Attic Insulation Storm damage assessment Quick weather-related response Debris removal and related repair Extended warranties Fully bonded and insured Standing Seam Metal Roofing your service PROFESSIONAL DIRECTORY AND SERVICE GUIDE Make your woods look like a park Corp Approved Lake Paths and Steps • Trenching Grading/Landscaping • Retaining Walls Timber and Beautiful Anchor Diamond Walls dutiful SMALL JOBS O.K. b t A\VNS Drainage/Erosion Problems [MSTA lltU Semi-Retired • Affordable Customer Pick-Up is also available We Accept All Major Credit Cards 1364 Candler Rd Gainesville, Ga 30507 770-534-6928 770-536-4731 Mulch • Gravel • Sand River Rock • Fill Dirt Top Soil • White Marble Red Rock & More
