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19 Spring football gives taste of what’s to come in 2023 season, SPORTS, 5B Midweek Edition - MAY 24-25,2023 | $2.00 | GAINESVILLE, GEORGIA | gainesvilletimes.com Honestly Local Mom arrested after toddler’s death Flowery Branch woman suspected of letting son access cocaine, fentanyl BY BEN ANDERSON banderson@gainesvilletimes.com A Flowery Branch woman has been charged with second-degree murder in the death of her 21-month-old son after investiga tors found that she allowed her child “to have access to cocaine and fentanyl,” the Hall County Sheriffs Office says. Gloria Neshee Stringer, 31, was also charged with second-degree child cruelty in the death of her son, Jamari Stringer. Gloria Stringer was arrested in Buford on May 22 and remains in Hall County Jail. The Sheriff’s Office says it began its investigation on Feb. 1 when deputies were called to a home on the 5100 block of Oliver Road for a cardiac arrest report. Jamari was found unrespon sive and transported to a local hospital, then to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, where he died. “We can’t be more specific on either of those questions,” said Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman B.J. Williams when asked to detail the ways in which the mother allowed her son access to the drugs and how much cocaine and fentanyl were found in the child’s system. “The investigation is ongoing and that information can’t be released right now.” The child’s body was trans ported to the Dekalb County Medical Examiner’s Office for autopsy, where the medical examiner ruled the death a homi cide. The office’s director, Patrick Bailey, declined to provide more information. The Gwinnett County Police Department Stringer Community Response Team and the Hall County Department of Family and Children Services assisted in the investigation. Work starts on new hotel in Oakwood BY JEFF GILL jgill@gainesvilletimes.com Grading has started on Oakwood’s first new hotel in years. The five-story, 91-room Candlewood Suites extended-stay hotel is being built on 1.48 acres at 3783 Mundy Mill Drive, behind Best Western Plus Lake Lanier Gainesville Hotel & Suites, which took over the former Country Inn & Suites in 2012. The owners, JMS Family LP of Duluth, couldn’t be reached for comment for more details, such as when the hotel is expected to open or how many employees it will have. ■ Please see HOTEL, 5A Missing man found dead in Lake Lanier BY BEN ANDERSON banderson@gainesvilltimes.com An Atlanta man reported missing at Sunrise Cove Marina on Flat Creek Road was found dead in Lake Lanier around 6:20 p.m. Tuesday, May 22, follow ing an all-day search, the Hall County Sheriff’s Office said. Terry Daugherty, 57, was last seen by a friend around 9 p.m. Monday on a marina dock where he kept his boat. When his neighbors woke up Tuesday morning, they were unable to find him and called 911. The Hall County Sher iff’s Office’s dive team, along with Hall County Fire Rescue and the Department of Natural Resources, searched the lake around the dock where Daugherty was last seen but were initially unable to find him. Using sonar, DNR located Daugherty’s body by the dock where his boat was moored. Hall County Fire Rescue used its new under water drone to recover the body. Daugherty’s body was taken to the DeKalb County Medical Examiner’s Office to determine the cause of death. Building better service Photos by SCOTT ROGERS I The Times Hall County Fire Services personnel and other officials gather Wednesday, May 23, along Holiday Road for a groundbreaking ceremony for new Hall County Fire Station 17. Hall County breaks ground on Fire Station 17 in Buford Hall County Fire Services Chief Curtis Armstrong speaks Tuesday, May 23, at a site along Holiday Road during a groundbreaking ceremony for new Hall County Fire Station 17. BY BRIAN WELLMEIER bwellmeier® gainesvilletimes.com Fire department personnel and local leaders from Hall County government broke ground at the future site of Station 17 on Holiday Road in Buford Tuesday. The $6 million project, once complete, would be located within five miles of Lake Lanier Islands and provide first responders a quicker response time to the area in the event of an emergency. The Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax will finance construction of the new station. Speaking to the 50-plus community leaders and first responders in atten dance Tuesday, Hall County Fire Chief Chris Armstrong thanked those involved in the project before noting Station 17’s pivotal proximity to a por tion of South Hall that contin ues to grow in population. “When I first walked in the door (at Hall County) ... one of the things we talked about in the (master plan commit tee) was a need for a fire sta tion down here in this part of the county,” Armstrong said. “Today, I think, is the official day that it’s not just a con cept on paper. We get to see, finally, the action take place. The station is going to help us improve lives, because we’re going to be able to respond better — which also means it’s going to help us provide excel lent service.” County Administrator Zach Propes also recognized the impact Station 17 will have on public safety in that area of ■ Please see STATION, 5A Man convicted in 2019 shooting outside CVS seeks new trial BY NICK WATSON nwatson@ gainesvilletimes.com An East Point man con victed of the 2019 killing of a Gainesville businessman is seeking a new trial, claiming that evidence allowed at trial created “enormous preju dice” against him, according to court documents. DeMarvin Bennett, 28 was convicted of malice murder and other charges related to the Feb. 7, 2019, fatal shoot ing of Jack Hough, 73, out side of the Park Hill Drive CVS Phar macy in Gainesville. Supe rior Court Judge Kathlene Gosselin sentenced Bennett in May 2021 to life in prison with the chance of parole. Defense attorney Ralph Villani appeared in court Monday, May 22, on a motion for a new trial. Bennett answered ques tions from Villani about the day of the shooting in a live video call. Testimony during the trial showed Jack Hough was in his car while his wife went into the store to pick up a prescription. “When you approached the car, what was your rea soning for approaching the vehicle?” Villani asked. “To talk to him, to ask him for some money,” Bennett said. Bennett said he was trying “to get me and my girl some boots for our job.” After a few minutes of these questions, Northeast ern Judicial Circuit Dis trict Attorney Lee Darragh objected that it was not appropriate. A motion for a new trial is not to retry the case, Darragh said, but to see if there were legal errors that would warrant another trial. After Gosselin sustained the objection, Villani said his client “will have nothing to say.” Villani’s motion for new trial featured a series of claims about improper evidence included at trial, such as allowing Gainesville Police Investigator Brad Raper to “testify unfettered as an expert” on forensics and ballistics. Darragh said Raper was testifying about things within his knowledge as an investigator. Villani also said he believed details about a 2011 First Offender Act convic tion allowed at trial were “magnified” amid the trial on the 2019 murder. Villani wrote in his motion that it caused “great and enormous prejudice” to Bennett. Darragh said he did not see any legal errors or inef fectiveness by Bennett’s trial counsel. Gosselin said she would allow both sides two weeks to file any additional case law before she would make her decision. After leaving Hall County, Bennett was charged with murder in the July 2, 2021, stabbing of Augusta State Medical Prison inmate Ali Tanner. That case remains open. Bennett ONLINE INSIDE gainesvilletimes.com/newsletters: Sign up to receive email newsletters from The Times gainesvilletimes.com/apps: Download The Times’ app for a user-friendly online experience and app notifications for big stories Calendar 2A Classified 1C Comics 4B Fun+Games 3B Life 1B Opinion 6A Our Region 7A Sports 5B 0 40901 06835 8
