About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 1, 2024)
Deepfakes are circulating the internet as lawmakers attempt to address them, inside,4a Thursday, February 1,20241 GAINESVILLE, GEORGIA I gainesvilletimes.com Honestly Local Man sentenced in years-long crime spree BY BEN ANDERSON banderson@gainesvilletimes.com A Gainesville man pleaded guilty Tuesday, Jan. 30, to a litany of crimes dating back to 2020, including two armed robberies and multiple stolen vehicles. Jacob Aviles, 22, was sentenced to 15 years in prison and 25 years of probation after pleading guilty to armed robbery, aggravated assault and stealing vehicles. Aviles was given credit for the 1,121 days he had already served in jail, shortening the time he could spend behind bars by just over three years. Assistant District Attorney Brooke Jackson detailed the litany of crimes spanning three separate cases. Aviles was first arrested Jan. 16, 2020, for an armed robbery at the King Food Mart on Athens Street. Aviles, dressed in all black with a hood partially covering his face, pointed a gun at the clerk and stole $150. He fled in a stolen SUV. “There was surveillance that was able to corroborate all of this,” Jackson said. On Oct. 6, 2022, while out on bond for the first armed robbery, Aviles robbed a Hispanic laundromat on Atlanta Highway and made away with $4,000. “He went in and out multiple times and was asking the store clerk there if he could get change and things of that nature,” Jackson said. “A third or fourth time that he came in the store, he came with the firearm. Again, he was dressed in all black, this time had a hood over his head with a baseball cap, and he threatened this store clerk with a gun as well.” In a third case, Aviles stole a man's car at a QT gas station on Jesse Jewell Parkway while the man was inside buying items, Jackson said. See Aviles 13A Aviles Getting the details Photos by Scott Rogers The Times Mohammed Sadiq speaks with attorney Jake Shapiro Wednesday, Jan. 31, in Hall County Magistrate Court during his committal hearing for charges of electronic exploitation of a minor. Investigators testify about case involving underage sex sting BY NICK WATSON nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com Two investigators with the Hall County Sheriff's Office detailed the cases against two men accused of traveling to Hall County to have sex with underage girls through a sting operation. Mohammed Sadiq, 30, of Winder and Dwayne Larry Drake, 38, of Hull were charged with electronic exploitation of a minor. Drake was separately charged with trafficking of a person for sexual servitude and sexual exploitation of a minor. Sadiq was released Jan. 20 on a $7,900 bond, while Drake is being held at the Hall County Jail without a bond. The attorney for a third man, Billy Cason Elder, 34, of Watkinsville, requested a continuance. Sadiq appeared in court Wednesday, Jan. 31, with defense attorney Jake Shapiro, while attorney Thomas Church represented Drake. Two investigators with the Sheriff's Office detailed a Jan. 12-13 sting operation aided by the Internet Crimes Against Children task force with Georgia Bureau of Investigation agents. See Operation 13A Dwayne Drake enters Hall County magistrate Court Wednesday, Jan. 31, for a committal hearing for charges of trafficking of a person for sexual servitude. Firefighter pulls driver from truck in wreck BY NICK WATSON nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com A rookie Gainesville firefighter was driving to church Sunday, Jan. 28, with his daughter and nephew when he witnessed a head-on collision. “It was one of those things where I saw it, just put it in park and got out and went into work mode,” said Will Hubley, who is a few months short of his second work anniversary with the Gainesville Fire Department. Georgia State Patrol said Michael Strickland, 63, of Cumming, was driving a Chevrolet Silverado north on U.S. 129 near Jess Helton Road, while Kristin Kuchler, 33, of Clermont, was heading south in a Honda Accord. Troopers said Strickland around 8:30 a.m. Sun day reached for a drink and failed to maintain his lane, as Kuchler swerved to the left to avoid the crash. They collided head-on near the center line, causing the truck to overturn. The rear driver's side of the Chevrolet hit a Ford F-250 driven by Jason Hulsey, 53, of Clermont. Hubley said he was able to remove the Silverado driver from the truck “right before it caught on fire.” “As I was getting him out, it took off,” Hubley said of the vehicle catching fire. The firefighter said it was hard to estimate how much time passed between pulling the driver from the truck and it igniting. “Thankfully, someone was on scene ... with a fire extinguisher while I was assessing him and then as I was starting to move him is when it reig nited and then I pulled him away,” Hubley said. “So I'd say by the time I got out, it was going pretty good.” After sitting Strickland up a safe distance away, Hubley said he tended to Kuchler. While trying to keep her alert, Hubley learned they were both heading to Riverbend Church. Hubley, 27, of Clermont, said he feels lucky to be working for a good department. “I really just acted in the same way that I would hope somebody else would do if that was me and my family,” he said. Strickland and Kuchler were transported to Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gaines ville, with Strickland suffering minor injuries and Kuchler suffering more serious injuries that were deemed not life threatening by state patrol. Hulsey and his passenger, Kathyleen Hulsey, 52, of Clermont, were not transported. The Times has reached out to Northeast Georgia Health System for updates on those taken to the hospital. See Hubley 13A 5 new restaurants planned off Ga. 211 near Hall line BY JEFF GILL jgill@gainesvilletimes.com Five restaurants appear headed to a recently approved development off Old Winder Highway/Ga. 211 in Braselton, just south of the Hall County line. Building drawings provided by the town of Braselton to The Times show Chicken Salad Chick, Tropical Smoothie Cafe, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Papa John's Pizza and Maple Street Biscuit Company. Also shown in the drawings is Sage Dental, which has loca tions throughout metro Atlanta, including Gainesville. The tenants would be part of the Liberty Village shopping center, as part of three new buildings with a total of 17,827 square feet at 3705, 3735 and 3745 Village Way. The buildings will also be off Liberty Church Road about a mile south of Friendship Road/ Ga. 347 in Hall. The nearly 4-acre site was approved in October by Bra selton Town Council, changing previous plans that called for a 5,841-square-foot bank and a 14,951-square-foot pharmacy. The shopping center now fea tures several stores, including S&S Ace Hardware. All the eateries are national chains with locations in metro Atlanta. All but Tropi cal Smoothie Cafe and Maple Street Biscuit Company have stores in Hall. Chipotle also is planning a store at 3453 Mundy Mill Road in Oakwood, across from QuikTrip convenience store. The project's developer, C. Parke Day of Parke Day Prop erties LLC, couldn't be reached for comment — nor could offi cials with Chicken Salad Chick, Papa John's and Maple Street Biscuit Company. A spokesperson for Tropical Smoothie Cafe said, “While we do have a location slated for the area, we don't have a target open date or any further details to share at this time.” And a Chipotle spokesperson said, “We are currently sched uled to open a new location in Braselton in 2025. Those are the only details I have to share right now.”
