About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 21, 2024)
LOCAL The Times, Gainesville, Georgia I gainesvilletimes.com Sunday, January 21, 2024 3A Authorities seize more than 900THC vapes, 12 pounds of marijuana in drug bust BY NICK WATSON nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com Two Gainesville men were arrested after author ities found more than 900 THC oil vapes and 12 pounds of marijuana, according to authorities. Oswaldo Steve Soto- Medina, 28, and Kevin Soto-Medina Ayala, 28, were charged with trafficking marijuana and possession of THC oil with intent to distribute among other charges. Both were booked Wednesday, Jan. 17, in to the Hall County Jail, where they remain with no bond. The Hall County Sheriff's Office arrested the two men as part of an inves tigation with Homeland Security Investigations. Law enforcement seized 918 THC oil vapes and 12 pounds of marijuana with an estimated street value of $98,850. Authorities also found scales, pack aging materials, a hand gun, $10,000 in cash and “other items consistent with drug distribu tion" inside the home south of Gainesville on Baker Road, according to the Sheriff's Office. Soto-Medina and Ayala were also charged with possession of a firearm dur ing the commission of a crime. Ayala also faces additional misdemeanor charges of obstruction and giving false information to an officer. Ayala Suspect in attempted armed robbery charged with trying to choke Hall jail officer BY NICK WATSON nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com A McDonough man in jail since an October attempted armed robbery on Sar dis Road picked up a new felony charge after he was accused of trying to choke a jail officer, according to authorities. Jermarius Jarod Rowe, 28, was charged Thursday, Jan. 18, with felony obstruc tion after an incident the day before in the Hall County Jail. Rowe has been in the j ail since Oct. 19 from an attempted armed robbery on Sardis Road. Rowe was originally charged with home invasion and armed robbery, but the Mag istrate Court judge dismissed the former charge and amended the latter at a later hearing. The incident happened around 11:40 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 17, when Rowe “refused to return to his cell fol lowing lunch,” accord ing to the Hall County Sheriff's Office. Authorities said he resisted commands and became combative when officers tried to physically escort him back to his cell. “He wrapped an arm around the neck of one of the jail officers in an attempt to choke the officer,” the Sheriff's Office said. The Sheriff's Office said one officer grabbed his arms while another held him by the legs “in order to bring him to the floor to gain control of him.” There were no serious injuries reported. Rowe Man sentenced to probation in assault of pregnant girlfriend BY NICK WATSON nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com A Gainesville man accused of choking his pregnant girl friend after saying he did not want to have a child was sen tenced to probation after a negotiated plea deal. Koa Barker, 19, pleaded guilty to aggravated assault under the Family Violence Act and battery of an unborn child. Superior Court Judge Lindsay Burton sentenced him to seven years with the first 60 days in custody. The custodial time was deemed served, and the remain der of the time is on probation. According to the warrants, Barker was accused of punch ing the 18-year-old victim March 26, 2022 twice in the stomach “after having stated that he did not wish to have a child with her.” Being 15 weeks pregnant, the woman said it was “too late for an abortion,” according to the warrant. In 2019, Gov. Brian Kemp signed into law a ban on abor tions after six weeks, though it faced legal challenges at the time of the incident. In October, the Georgia Supreme Court ruled that the Georgia courts “must follow the U.S. Supreme Court's most recent pronouncement on the meaning of the U.S. Constitu tion when determining whether a statutory law violates that Constitution.” Assistant District Attorney Harold Buckler said the couple got into an argument that day. “They became pretty ani mated as far as the argument goes, at which point the defen dant told her that she needed to get an abortion,” Buckler said. The child was not injured by the strikes to the stomach. “She was attempting to walk away from him, at which point he got behind her, your Honor, and put her in what we call a chokehold, cutting off her air supply,” Buckler said. Buckler said there were light marks to her neck and to her face, but the victim had no complaints of injury to her stomach. Barker was indicted on aggravated assault under the Family Violence Act, misde meanor battery and misde meanor battery of an unborn child. Barker and the victim have gone their separate ways, Buckler said, adding that she didn't want anything bad to happen to him. “She said that she believed that what happened was a result of substance abuse and ... depression and anxiety, that she wanted to see him get help for,” the assistant district attor ney said. The maximum sentence in the case would have been 21 years. Upon hearing the recom mended sentence, Burton said she considered it a “lenient sen tence, based upon the actions that Mr. Barker took” that day. Defense attorney Hammond Law told the judge about his client taking mental health medication and his admission into a treatment program. Based on the fact the sen tence did not have any time in custody, Burton asked Barker how he is different from the day of the assault. Having been in treatment, Barker said he is now older and wiser. He also told Burton he had let go of his anger. Burton said she was will ing to go along with the rec ommended sentence, though she warned Barker that it put a “huge burden” on him to ensure he is addressing his mental health concerns. Burton also ordered for Barker to take all prescribed mental health medication and complete the treatment pro gram as well as any recom mended aftercare. Barker was sentenced under the First Offender Act, mean ing the case will be discharged from his record without being found guilty if he fulfills the terms of his sentence. The Times reached out to Law following the hearing for comment. Photos by Scott Rogers The Times Koa Barker appears in Hall County Superior Court Friday, Jan. 19, for a plea hearing. Hall County Superior Court Judge Lindsay Burton speaks during a plea hearing for Koa Barker who was accused of punching his pregnant girl friend in the stomach. Lula s Gene Bramlett decides not to appeal his removal from office BY BRIAN WELLMEIER bwellmeier@gainesvilletimes.com Councilman Gene Bramlett's time on Lula's City Council is over. Bramlett, 74, had pledged to file an appeal to challenge a decision by his fellow council members to expel him from his District 3 seat in December. The 3-0 vote for removal came after Bramlett leaked privileged information from executive session when he disclosed the name of a former candidate for Lula's assistant city manager position, resulting in the third investigation into the former councilman within a year. Bramlett, who didn't attend Lula's regu lar meeting last Monday, said he believed he had 30 days to appeal after he received notice of his removal on Dec. 19. But after some confusion between his attorney and Lula City Attorney Joey Homans about the process, Bramlett said Thursday he's Tm just through with it.’ Gene Bramlett Former Lula Councilman decided to “give it up.” Without naming anyone or providing specifics, he said he's convinced there's “corruption” among council members and at Lula City Hall. “I wasn't going to fool with it,” Bram lett said. “I've come to the conclusion that there's too much crooked stuff going on up there in that City Hall. There's corruption from top to bottom, and I'm just through with it. There needs to be an outside inves tigation into the whole City Hall of Lula... they're going to go after (Mayor) Joe Thomas next. I'll tell you that right now.” Bramlett said he also believes the removal hearing in December was rigged by design in that Homans and fellow coun cil members shouldn't have been the arbi ters of his guilt. He maintains he “didn't do anything wrong” and that the people of Lula “had a right” to know who was under consideration for the assistant city manager position. The latest investigation into Bramlett made no final determina tion whether he violated the city's charter through disclosure of that information. “They shouldn't have been the jury over that,” Bramlett said. “They can have it and fight it out amongst themselves, but I'm through with them...that hearing was a crock. Their minds were made up before we had that hearing. It was just another way to put me down in front of the public.” Councilman Garnett Smith, one of the three to vote in favor of Bramlett's removal, said the city is in a better posi tion with the former councilman gone and denies there's corruption in Lula's govern ment. “I'm glad it's over,” he said. “Maybe we can get somebody else (elected) now, and we can all work together.. .1 think we did the right thing.” Councilwoman Juliette Talley echoed Smith's sentiment and said there's no truth to Bramlett's claims of corruption. “I’m a little surprised by his claim,” Tal ley said. ‘As far as him leaving, I think he’s doing the best for himself and the citizens at this point. I think it’s a good thing that he’s doing this now - versus costing the city and himself additional funds.” Much of Bramlett's first two years in office were marred by controversy as he became the subject of two other investiga tions: one for alleged misconduct involv ing the city's code enforcement office and another for accusations of sexual harass ment, which he has staunchly denied. Bramlett had survived a first attempt to remove him and Thomas from office through a recall election last April. Bramlett, elected alongside Thomas in 2021, said he plans to focus on his health and stay out of city politics now that he's left office. “We've got good people in the city,” Bramlett said. “That's what I was hoping to do was get good councilmen in here and run the city like it should be run. There's nothing wrong with the citizens of Lula, and I wanted to serve them the best I could with everybody treated fairly. A lot of people didn't want it to run that way. They wanted to do it their way.” City officials plan to announce a special election to fill the District 3 seat, which will likely be held in either May or Novem ber of this year. Bramlett GSP: Gainesville teenager extricated after car crash FROM 1A Maze He said in his origi nal application with Buford, “The corn maze is not the high est and best use of the land.” Miller disagrees with that notion. “I think the best use of the land is what it's being used for right now,” he said, speak ing by phone this week from his South Georgia home. “Even mone tarily, I think that might be true.” Miller said the corn maze, which started in 2009, draws 50,000 visitors per year in what he believes is a “rite of passage ... for a lot of people.” He co-owns the business with wife Kendra Miller and their friends Jerome and Tina Beggs “It's grown every year,” Rodney Miller said. “We keep add ing attractions to try to make it a better expe rience every year. We try to teach (visitors) about agriculture. It's a break from everything else around there. It's a good family-friendly environment.” He said he believes a move to another prop erty could be “pretty seamless,” especially “if we have two years to market that we're moving.” FROM 1A Transit a desire for Hall County resi dents, as there's a desire for Gwinnett County residents, to get to the airport. How that gets done is to be determined.” Hall officials have talked about the need for a transit ser vice to the airport. “I don't like reinventing the wheel,” Moss said. “If Gwinnett created the van-pool service to take people back and forth to the airport, there's an opportunity for a partnership. I don't think we need to do the same thing.” Hall Area Transit now oper ates WeGo, a ridesharing van service, throughout Hall County. Gwinnett now plans to submit the referendum project list to the Atlanta-region Transit Link Authority for approval on Feb. 1. BY NICK WATSON nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com A Gainesville teenager had to be extricated Thursday, Jan. 18, from her Chevrolet Camaro after her car went off Harmony Church Road and traveled into a large ravine, according to authorities. Georgia State Patrol troopers were called around 1:45 p.m. Thursday to Harmony Church Road near Truelove Road con cerning a single-vehicle crash. State patrol said Cynthia Lomeli, 18, of Gainesville was going too fast on a curve and went off the road. “Ms. Lomeli struck three mailboxes and traveled over two driveways,” according to state patrol. “Her vehicle then went into a large ravine, where it began to overturn end over end.” The Camaro landed upright, but the Gainesville teenager was extricated by Hall County Fire Rescue personnel, state patrol said. Lomeli was transported to a hospital with serious injuries. State patrol said Lomeli would be cited for driving too fast for the roadway conditions. The road was closed for roughly an hour.
