About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (March 19, 2023)
Woman found guilty of killing 82-year-old fiance BY NICK WATSON nwatson@ gainesvilletimes.com A Hall County jury con victed Tabitha Wood on all counts in the death of her 82-year-old fiance, Leroy Franklin Kramer, Jr. Wood was convicted of malice murder, felony mur der, exploitation of an elder person, concealing the death of another, financial transac tion card theft and aggravated assault against a person 65 years of age or older. The indictment accused Wood of inflicting traumatic injuries to Kramer’s neck and chest, though a specific weapon is not listed. The hyoid bone in Kram er’s neck and the thyroid car tilage, which is considered the front of the voice box, were severely damaged. The jury was allowed to consider a less serious charge of voluntary manslaughter in lieu of malice and felony murder. Deliberations lasted roughly 90 minutes. Sentencing will be held at a later date. Defense attorney Jake Shapiro asked Superior Court Judge Lindsay Burton if Wood would be allowed to hug her mother. Because of the Hall County Sheriff’s Office depu ties’ concerns, the hug request was denied. During closing arguments, Assistant District Attorney Harold Buckler displayed copies of the bank records, showing repeated CashApp transactions through early 2022. “By the time May rolls around, she is emptying his account, OK?” Buckler said. Buckler went through what he called Wood’s 12 stories she has told her friends, her family, Kramer’s family, law enforcement, the defense’s expert and the jury since early 2022. Over the three days of evi dence, the prosecution high lighted how Wood claimed Kramer was still alive and liv ing in Gilmer County and later telling multiple people that he took his own life. Shapiro repeatedly criti cized the lack of testing for DNA, fingerprint and blood found on the walls and furni ture, calling it an incompetent investigation. One of the reasons given for the lack of testing was that Wood said she did not suffer any bloody injuries that would have led to the evidence found at the scene. During his closing argu ment, Shapiro pulled out a belt and whipped it in the well of the courtroom to illustrate the abuse Wood testified she suffered at Kramer’s hands. He returned to the limited evidence allowed by the judge regarding prior abuse Wood claimed Kramer committed against other women by his admission. The family members who “couldn’t even call (Kramer) on Christmas” didn’t know Kramer like Wood did, Shap iro said. Responding to the “12 sto ries” part of the prosecution’s closing argument, Shapiro said Wood has consistently tried to tell people about how ■ Please see VERDICT, 3A ‘A disruptive uproar’ Photos by SCOTT ROGERS I The Times One of many views from Legacy Golf Course at Lanier Islands Resort Wednesday, March 15. Support low for ‘Lanier’ change among those who share name BY JEFF GILL jgill@gainesvilletimes.com Lanier isn’t just the name of the lake that draws 12 million visitors each year and supplies drinking water to the ever-grow ing Atlanta area. It’s on street signs and names of businesses, schools and orga nizations throughout the area, such as the heavily traveled Lanier Islands Parkway, which leads to Lanier Islands resort in South Hall. Residents “have invested heavily to create an ongoing identity for themselves and the most attractive tourist location in Georgia, and the cost and confusion caused by changing the name would cause a dis ruptive uproar,” according to a statement this week from Lake Lanier Convention & Visitors Bureau. Others with Lanier in their name are reacting to the federal government looking at chang ing the name of Lake Lanier and Buford Dam because their names are connected to Confed erate soldiers. Even though the effort is on “pause,” the Corps is still accepting suggestions for new names. Andrew Clouse, owner of Lula-based Lake Lanier Propel ler, a business founded by his father that serves boat dealers and the general public, said “I won’t ever change the name of my business just because they decide to change the name of a lake.” “I just don’t get it. It’s like everyone is wanting to forget our past... It’s a whole big issue that doesn’t have to be an issue.” If the lake changed names, “we would have to change the name of our organization,” said Clyde Morris, a board mem ber with advocacy group Lake Lanier Association. “Otherwise, it wouldn’t make any sense. ” The organization was founded in 1966,10 years after the Army Corps of Engineers completed Buford Dam on the Chattahoochee River and the lake started to fill. “If they absolutely, positively feel compelled legally to change the name or the names of the lake and dam, we’re suggesting they simply drop out the first name ‘Sidney’ and leave Lake Lanier called Lake Lanier,” Morris said. The lake is officially known as Lake Sidney Lanier, but is commonly referred to as Lake Lanier. A potential name change “has not been discussed by our board at this point,” said Stacey Dickson, president and CEO of the Lake Lanier Convention & Visitors Bureau. “I’m sure we would need to consider a name change, but I wouldn’t be able to say whether or not that name would mirror the new lake name or not.” The issue went haywire last week when the Corps first announced it would “develop and submit a new name for Lake Lanier/Buford Dam for consideration by the Depart ment of the Army. ” The initiative sprang from a federal report that flagged Lake Lanier and Buford Dam as pos sible candidates for renaming because of the Confederate ties. Lake Lanier is named after poet Sidney Lanier, who served in the Confederate States Army as a private. Buford Dam is named for the city, the name sake of Lt. Col. Algernon Sid ney Buford, who served in the Virginia Militia during the Civil War, the report states. Sidney Lanier’s ballad “Song of the Chattahoochee,” an ode to the river flowing “out of the hills of Habersham and down ■ Please see LANIER, 3A A golfer readies his clubs Wednesday, March 15, outside the clubhouse at Lanier Islands Legacy Golf Course. Shooting victim says suspect fired 12 shots at his vehicle BY BEN ANDERSON banderson@gainesvilletimes.com If Michael Gabriel had any message for driv ers who find themselves in a road rage situation, he might tell them: Stay calm, and don’t give anyone the bird. Gabriel says he’s lucky to be alive after taking two bullets during a road rage incident Wednesday morning on Ga. 365 in Gainesville. He said a man police have identified as Steven Dallas Cooper, 26, fired a dozen shots at his wife’s Chevrolet Tahoe. “This guy wanted me dead,” the 50-year-old Gainesville resident said. Gabriel ‘He didn’t like getting flipped off’ Gabriel said he was on his way to a doctor’s appointment that morning, heading south on Ga. 365, when he said a man brake checked him about half a mile before the Kubota RTV Manufacturing Facility. “Around Kubota, I guess he thought I was a little too close, so he slammed his brakes on hard,” he said. “So I had to lock it down and swerve into the outside lane just to miss him. And I looked over and I’m like, ‘What’s the deal?’ and may or may not have given him another gesture.” “He didn’t like getting flipped off,” he said. He said the man sped up in front of him and brake checked him again. “I was kind of like, you know what, dude, I’m going to show this guy some manners or some thing,” he said. “He kind of speeds off and then he drifts back,” he said. “He’s a little bit behind me, kind of diagonally. .. So I look back and that’s when I saw his window coming down, the gun coming out. Pow. Pow. Pow.” A bullet went through his back window, through his car seat and hit his right shoulder. Adrenaline took over. ‘I just blasted through that red light’ “He takes off and I’m like, dude, I’m not going to let this guy get away,” Gabriel said. “I was wanting to get his tag information. ” Gabriel said he was recording with his phone but dropped it and braced with both hands on the steering wheel as he approached the inter section near the YMCA. “About the time we got there to that intersec tion, he locked it up so hard that his Mustang fishtailed. He got out of the vehicle, fired nine ■ Please see GABRIEL, 3A Police ID three people injured in head-on crash BY BEN ANDERSON banderson@gainesvilletimes.com Gainesville police have identified the three people injured Wednesday afternoon in a head- on collision between a sports car and a minivan that shut down Aviation Boulevard. The crash occurred just before 3:30 p.m. between Dorsey Street and Queen City, accord ing to the crash report. Trevor Gradidge, 53, of Gainesville, was driv ing eastbound in a 2023 Ford sports car when he lost control, crossed the centerline and struck a 2005 Honda Odyssey head on, according to police Lt. Kevin Holbrook. He said Gradidge and his passenger, Gregg Kettyle, 61, of Gainesville, were last listed in critical condition. The driver of the minivan, Enrique Andres, 46, of Gainesville, was in stable condition. “Speed does appear to be a factor,” he said. The crash is still under investigation.
