About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 2, 2024)
E3 OUR REGION John Chambliss I Managing Editor The Times, Gainesville, Georgia 770-718-3407 I news@gainesvilletimes.com Weekend Edition-February 2-3, 2024 Man sentenced in years-long crime spree BY BEN ANDERSON banderson@gainesvilletimes.com Editor’s note: This published in a previous E-Paper edition and is being provided here for print- only readers. 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. Before Superior Court Judge Jason Deal handed down his sentencing, Aviles's defense attorney Jake Shapiro noted that his 22-year-old client was raised by a single mother and had “no upbringing in his house whatsoever.” Shapiro also suggested his client struggled with drug misuse. “Whenever our office tried to get him to rehab, a lot of times mom would take the check and just wouldn't ever really let him get the help that he needed,” Shapiro said. “She's not a bad mom. I mean, she's just trying her best with being single and having multiple children.” Judge Deal deemed Aviles a youthful offender and granted him eligibility for the Re-entry Accountability Court Transition, known as the REACT program, after serving 10 years in prison. “Hopefully he will come out a different man than he went in,” Shapiro said. t 11 Aviles Mohammed Sadiq speaks with attorney Jake Shapiro Wednesday, Jan. 31, in Hall County Magistrate Court during his commit tal hearing for charges of electronic exploitation of a minor. Scott Rogers The Times Getting the details Investigators testify about case involving underage sex sting BY NICK WATSON nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com Editor’s note: This published in a previ ous E-Paper edition and is being provided here for print-only readers. 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. The sting, known as Operation Good Shepherd, involved suspects communicating with undercover investigators under the guise of being under the age of 16. The men traveled to Hall County to have sex with the girls they believed to be roughly 14 years old, according to the Sheriff's Office. In Drake's case, he was accused of coming to Hall County to have sex with a 14-year- old for $300, according to the warrants. Investigator Justin Palmer detailed how Sadiq made sexual comments to the purported 14-year-old girl before and after being told her age through a chat program. Before being interviewed, Palmer testified Sadiq said he made a mistake and should have known not to talk to strangers nor meet the young girl. As Investigator Michael Atkins is not trained to do the chat function of the operation, the investigator was responsible for the interview portion once the suspects came into custody. Atkins said Drake was told three different times that the girl was underage during the sting operation and “still was making sexual advances.” Drake and the purported 14-year-old discussed Plan B, a form of birth control taken after sex, the investigator said. When he was taken into custody, Drake was searched for drugs, weapons and condoms before investigators brought him into a side room for an interview. After being read his Miranda rights, Drake told the investigator “his intent was to come to the house to have sex with a 14-year-old,” Atkins said. Drake had about $85 with him, and Atkins was not aware of any discussion of cash transfer applications. The investigators showed Drake the screenshots of the conversation with the undercover investigator and asked him what a reasonable person would conclude from those comments. Drake's response: “To have sex with a 14-year-old.” Drake told the investigator responded to an ad found through an escort website. Church questioned Atkins on the ins and outs of the investigation. Atkins was not aware of some parts of it. He had not seen the ad, as that was handled by the Internet crime task force. Church focused his questions on particular issues to later bolster his argument that it was not appropriate to prosecute this case as sex trafficking. For example, Atkins said during cross-examination that there were no threats, but the conversation continued even after learning the age of the purported 14-year-old. “Now when Mr. Drake inquired about unprotected sex, it was the undercover officer who stated that would be $250?” Church asked. “I believe so,” Atkins said. “I do remember the 250 being talked about, and I do remember the no condom being used roughly in the mix of all of that. I just don't remember which one came first.” There was no evidence at the time of the hearing that Drake possessed any child pornography. Both Church and Shapiro brought up in their arguments or questions the age requirements for these websites, which are often 18 or 21. Drake at one point expressed skepticism during the text conversation on the girl’s age. “Is that before or after he requests the pricing schedule?” Shuler asked. “I believe that is at the beginning, and then the pricing came afterwards,” Atkins said. “Do you recall whether the GBI agent just gave him pricing or whether he asked for it?” Shuler asked. After refreshing his recollection, Atkins said Drake initiated the price discussion and mentioned birth control. Shapiro argued that talking about sex is not the same as soliciting sex, as Church similarly advocated for the charges to be dismissed against his client. “I don’t think we can look at Mr. Drake's conduct in this case and say that is quintessential^ human trafficking. We heard there was zero evidence of coercion, zero evidence of deception and so while that's not necessarily required for a human trafficking charge, there has to be some level of compelling, of inducement...,” the defense attorney said. Citing the statute, Shuler said there was evidence of solicitation to prove the sex trafficking charge. Magistrate Court Judge Margaret Gregory wondered aloud her concerns about Drake's case being handled differently than the other defendants. “Reading the statute, just the plain language of it, I feel like that discussion does bring it within solicitation, I mean, for probable cause,” Gregory said. “What happens down the line, not for me to decide here today.” The judge moved Sadiq's case and all of Drake's charges except for sexual exploitation of children on to Superior Court. The sexual exploitation charge was dismissed. Firefighter saves driver while off duty 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 driv ing 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. Sunday 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. Hulsey said he got out of his truck and went toward the truck, noticing that a fire was starting to build. “I was thinking to myself if we don't get him out, the paramedics aren't going to be here in time,” Hulsey said. Hulsey said he was able to pry the door open, with him and Hubley helping the crawling driver get out. ‘As I was getting him out, it took off,” Hubley said of the vehicle catching fire. The firefighter said it was hard to esti mate how much time passed between the driver getting out the truck and it igniting. “Thankfully, someone was on scene ... with a fire extinguisher while I was assess ing him and then as I was starting to move him is when it reignited 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 dis tance 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 trans ported to Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville, with Strickland suffering minor injuries and Kuchler suf fering more serious injuries that were deemed not life threatening by state patrol. Hulsey and his passenger, Kath- yleen 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. Hall County Fire Rescue spokeswoman Kimberlie Ledsinger said four units responded and extinguished the fire. After the wreck, the Hulseys' children asked if they still wanted to go to church. “I said, ‘That sounds good. The dev il's not going to win today,'” Kathyleen Hulsey said. The Hulseys went to the emergency room after church to be evaluated. 5 new restaurants planned off Ga. 211 near Hall line BY JEFF GILL jgill@gainesvilletimes.com Editor’s note: This published in a previous E-Paper edition and is being provided here for print-only readers. 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, Tropi cal Smoothie Cafe, Chipotle Mexi can Grill, Papa John's Pizza and Maple Street Biscuit Company. Also shown in the drawings is Sage Dental, which has locations throughout metro Atlanta, includ ing 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 Braselton 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 features several stores, including S&S Ace Hardware. All the eateries are national chains with locations in metro Atlanta. All but Tropical 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 Properties LLC, couldn't be reached for comment — nor could officials 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 scheduled to open a new location in Braselton in 2025. Those are the only details I have to share right now.”
