Judge clears way for Trump to
W appeal ruling that Fani Willis
** will remain on election case.
INSIDE, 3A
Thursday, March 21,20241 GAINESVILLE, GEORGIA I gainesvilletimes.com
AP finds grueling conditions in
Indian shrimp industry.
INSIDE, 4A
Honestly Local
Woman
BY NICK WATSON
nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com
A Gainesville woman accused of
making a hoax call in 2023 to 911
about shooting people inside the
Oakwood Walmart was sentenced
after taking a plea deal, according
to court documents.
Paquasha Deniese Randolph,
27, pleaded guilty in February to
terroristic threats among other
charges. She was sentenced by
sentenced for making hoax call
Superior Court Judge
Kathlene Gosselin to five
years on probation.
Hall County 911 got a
call Sept. 10 from a woman
stating she was going to
the Walmart on Mundy
Mill Road to “shoot people
inside the store.”
Officers from Oakwood
Police, the University of North
Georgia, Flowery Branch Police
and the Hall County Sheriff's
Office responded to the
store, and the building was
evacuated.
Officers locked down
the store and searched the
facility, but no one was
found.
Police tracked the call to
a cellphone and found the
caller.
Oakwood Police charged
Randolph with domestic terrorism,
but the district attorney's office
filed the charge as transmitting
false report of fire.
Randolph also pleaded guilty to
reckless conduct, unlawful conduct
during a 911 call, false report of a
crime and false information to a
law enforcement officer.
Randolph previously signed
an agreement to enter the mental
health treatment court in December
but withdrew from the program in
February after being sanctioned,
according to court documents.
Randolph was ordered to
complete an intensive outpatient
mental health treatment program
and follow recommended
treatments. She must take
prescribed medications and remain
on the mental health caseload for
probation, where she will also be
subject to random drug screens.
Defense attorney Kyle Denslow
did not return a request for
comment.
Randolph
‘I wanted to fly’
Photos by Scott Rogers The Times
WWII veteran Norris Jarrett recalls his service Friday, March 8, flying in combat in Italy, and France in a Martin
B-26 Marauder from his Oakwood residence. In April, Jarrett will turn 100 years old.
Norris Jarrett has spent
nearly a century on this
planet, but there were many
days nearly 80 years ago
when he feared his life
would be cut short.
And he has two Purple
Hearts to prove it.
“I was scared as hell, just
like everybody else,” said
the 99-year-old Oakwood
resident, describing his
days aboard a bomber
flying missions in World
War II. “But it's all in the
game. The young can take
it. Older people couldn't,
I'm sure.”
Decades removed from
combat, Jarrett occupies a
room at Cedarhurst Senior
Living in Oakwood.
It's a room filled with
memories of a lifetime,
including framed family
pictures on a shelf and ball
caps on his microwave.
And of course, there are
military reminders — a
frame containing his many
medals, a blanket depicting
the U.S. Air Force and
an artist's sketch of his
wartime plane, the Martin
B-26 Marauder.
Jarrett held one of the
most vulnerable jobs, turret
gunner, on the bomber.
Armed with .250-caliber
machine guns, he would get
into position at the rear of
the plane just as the bomber
was nearing targets.
“We took plenty of
(enemy fire),” he told The
Times in a recent interview,
recalling injuries to his
back, leg and face. ‘All my
hair got burned off. I didn't
think I'd have any more
A framed print of a Martin B-26 Marauder hangs in WWII veteran Norris Jarrett’s
Oakwood residence.
hair, but it came back.”
Jarrett ended up flying 51
missions over North Africa,
France, Italy and Germany.
As terrifying as that job
may seem to many, it was
just what Jarrett was aiming
for as a youth in Salisbury,
N.C.
“I was 16 when the war
started,” Jarrett said. “I
went to volunteer, but my
dad wouldn't sign for me
because he had two sons in
the service.”
His goal was to join
the Army Air Corps,
predecessor to the Air
Force.
“I wanted to fly,” Jarrett
said.
After he turned 18,
Uncle Sam wanted him.
He originally was sent for
field infantry training, but
In April, WWII veteran Norris Jarrett will turn 100
See Veteran 13A years old.
WWII vet about to turn 100 recalls life, war
BY JEFF GILL
jgill@gainesvilletimes.com
Lee Arrendale
prison officer
charged with
violating oath
BY NICK WATSON
nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com
A Lee Arrendale State Prison
officer was accused of trading
a cellphone and Newport ciga
rettes with an inmate for money,
according to authorities.
Katlyn Rochell Harwell, 26, of
Martin, was charged with violation
of oath of office and two counts
each of possession of prohibited
items by a state inmate and trading
with an inmate without consent of the warden.
Harwell was arrested Wednesday, March 13, and
booked in to the Habersham County Detention Cen
ter. She was released two days later on a $16,600
bond.
According to the warrant information provided by
Habersham County spokesman Rob Moore, Harwell
entered the prison between Jan. 1 and March 12 with
a cellphone and an “undisclosed quantity of Newport
cigarettes.”
Harwell “directly provided them to an offender
in custody in exchange for money,” according to
Moore.
The Times has reached out to the Georgia Depart
ment of Corrections for further information on
Harwell's employment.
Harwell
Photo by Hall County Schools
World Language Academy second grader Ava
Hernandez raised money from local donors and
delivered Dr. Seuss books to all 118 second
graders at her school.
Second grader
Ava Hernandez
raises money to
buy others books
BY BEN ANDERSON
banderson@gainesvilletimes.com
World Language Academy second grader Ava
Hernandez wanted to buy books for all her class
mates, so she started her own business called Miss
Book Buddies.
Ava raised money from local donors and deliv
ered Dr. Seuss books to all 118 second graders at her
school earlier this month.
See Books 13A
