About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (July 17, 2024)
LOCAL The Times, Gainesville, Georgia lgainesvilletimes.com Midweek Edition-July 17-18, 2024 5A Authorities: Man reaches 115 mph during chase BY NICK WATSON nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com A Gainesville man faces charges after authorities said he reached 115 mph Sunday, July 14, during a chase before crashing into another vehicle. Loren Hayden Henderson, 24, was charged with felony fleeing and attempting to elude along with other misdemeanor charges. He was booked Sunday in to the Hall County Jail, where he remains with a $23,820 bond. A Hall County Sheriff's Office deputy pulled over Henderson around 10 a.m. Sunday near Holly Springs Baptist Church in Clermont after he ran a stop sign, according to the Sheriff's Office. Henderson initially stopped his Jeep Grand Cherokee in the middle of the road, showing the deputy an ID on his phone, authorities said. “The deputy asked Henderson to move to an empty parking lot to avoid impeding traffic flow, and at that time, Henderson fled the scene,'' according to the Sheriff's Office. “The deputy began to fol low Henderson, who accelerated to speeds reaching 115 mph.'' Hall County dispatchers notified Georgia State Patrol, which intercepted him at Cornelia High way after Hen derson collided with another vehicle, accord ing to the Sher iff's Office. State patrol troopers tried to deploy “stop sticks,'' which are tire- deflating devices, but they were unsuccessful. Henderson ultimately crashed at Lula Road and Ga. 365, with his car overturning, according to state patrol. “Henderson exited his crashed vehicle and began to run from the accident scene with our deputy and a state trooper in pursuit on foot,'' according to the Sheriff's Office. ‘After (a) short chase, Henderson was caught and arrested.'' State patrol said Henderson and the occupants in the other car had minor injuries. The Sheriff's Office said Hen derson was apprehended less than 20 minutes after the initial traffic stop. The west side of Lula Road and the northbound lanes of Ga. 365 were closed for more than an hour as authorities investigated and cleared the debris, the Sheriff's Office said. He was charged by the Sheriff's Office with obstruction, failure to maintain lane, reckless driving, speeding and other traffic-related offenses. Henderson also faces charges from state patrol including DUI, open container violation, failure to obey a traffic control device, not wearing a seatbelt, leaving the scene of an accident and obstruction. The Times has reached out to Magistrate Court officials to see if Henderson has an attorney. Henderson Stabbing suspect arrested 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. A 63-year-old stabbing suspect was arrested Thursday, July 11, from an incident five days earlier in North Hall, according to authorities. A Lumpkin County Sheriff's Office offi cer pulled over a car Saturday, July 6, for an expired tag and learned the driver, a 61-year- old woman, was driving a 62-year-old man to the hospital, according to the Hall County Sheriff's Office. The 62-year-old man had been stabbed in his upper body earlier that day on Green Hill Road after a fight with another man, accord ing to the Sheriff's Office. Investigators identified Charles Edwin Simpson, 63, of Gainesville, as the suspect and went to mul tiple possible addresses, but Simpson was not there. The Sheriff's Office said Simpson and the victim did not live at the residence where it happened but didn't have information on what relationship, if any, they had. Simpson was spotted Thursday, July 11, in a car by Hall County Sheriff's Office deputies. Officers stopped the car at Price Road and Thompson Bridge Road and arrested him around 1:30 p.m. Thursday. He was booked in to the Hall County Jail, where he remains with no bond on an aggra vated assault charge. - Simpson Tips dwindling six weeks after girl’s disappearance BY NICK WATSON nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com Editor’s note: This pub lished in a previous E-Paper edition and is being provided here forpiint-only readers. Searches have spanned Georgia and seven other states to find missing Maria Gomez-Perez, but the num ber of tips to find the missing 12-year-old has dwindled. Maria was last seen around 10 a.m. May 29 at her father's home in Gainesville. She is 5 feet, 3 inches tall and weighs 100-110 pounds. Maria has brown eyes and long black hair. But six weeks into the investigation, the number of tips is declining, according to the Hall County Sheriff's Office. The Sheriff's Office did not have a specific num ber of tips when asked Friday, July 12. “The sheriff's office and our law enforcement part ners continue to develop more information from social media, the community as well as all other avenues,'' Hall County Sheriff Gerald Couch said in a statement. “Our only goal is to find Maria and bring her home. If anyone has information about Maria's disappearance and has not shared it, I would implore them to contact us." There had been 142 tips by the time the reward was increased to $50,000 on June 19. That reward increase sparked dozens of new tips, according to the Sheriff's Office, but they did not result in viable leads. “Meantime, phone search and digital evidence investi gative efforts have provided hope for a break in the case and continue to be the best investigative resource thus far; however, this process is extremely time- and resource- consuming,'' according to the Sheriff's Office. “Responses vary due to the volume of data, and many vendors require specific subpoenas or search warrants for access.'' When asked if search war rants/subpoenas have been obtained for all of the cell phones seized in the case, the Sheriff's Office said they have used these meth ods “when consent was not obtained from cellphone owners." The Sheriff's Office said they could not provide any further details. “Searches have been con ducted locally and as far away as Alabama, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas,” according to the Sheriff's Office. “Video images and other media led to HCSO working closely with jurisdictions in those states to quickly mobilize and search for Maria.” Anyone with information can submit tips at 770-503- 3232 or intelrequest@hall- county.org. FROM 1A Nicely Story recommended that Nicely be designated to a facility near the Northern District of Georgia “that offers a janitorial program,” according to the sentence. Story also granted Nicely credit for time already served. Nicely was indicted on five counts of distribution of fentanyl and one count of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl. He was originally arrested Oct. 26, 2022, when the Appalachian Regional Drug Enforcement Office said he had roughly $32,500 worth of fentanyl. The federal prosecutors wrote this was “not your average drug case,” as Nicely was selling a “large quantity of the most dangerous drug on the streets today — fen tanyl laced with xylazine,” according to the prosecu tion's sentencing memo. Xylazine is a veterinary tranquilizer, which can cause slowed heart rate, difficulty breathing and dangerously low blood pressure among other symptoms, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Nicely's defense attorney, Alejandro Fernandez, said his client was the child of two young parents who “worked at the Gainesville chicken factories” and made meager wages. “It's a story that we see too often, that people with few options who have been lim ited for a variety of reasons are shunted into the crimi nal justice system in lots of ways,” he said. Investigators believe Nicely sold an undercover agent 56 grams of drugs in September 2022, with 34 grams of fentanyl pres ent after the laboratory report, according to court documents. Law enforcement ulti mately seized roughly 440 grams of fentanyl from Nicely, according to the prosecution. Prosecutors wrote that there is “no dispute that Nicely is a career offender,” referencing his criminal his tory of drug dealing, firearm possession and a domestic violence aggravated assault. “Nicely argues that he would not be a career offender in other states out side the Eleventh Circuit because his conviction for aggravated assault would not be considered a crime of violence in other states,” the prosecution wrote. “These other states hold crimes of violence cannot be commit ted with a reckless state of mind. There was nothing reckless when Nicely stran gled his wife, struck her in the face and obstructed her from calling 911.” Following his time in prison, Nicely will be on supervised release for five years. Lumpkin Campground Dawsonville, Georgia Established 1830 Celebrating 194 Consecutive Years of Campmeeting July 22-28, 2024 Host Pastor Rev. Dr. David Sanders Ministers Rev. Brody Hughes Rev. Dr. Steve Schofield Song Leader Johnny Ray Pianist Organist Melanie Roper Tina Gable Hall County chairman recovering from surgery BY DENISE ETHERIDGE deniseetheridge@gainesvilletimes.com Editor’s note: This published in a pre vious E-Paper edition and is being pro vided here for print-only readers. Hall County Commission Chairman Richard Higgins, 71, is recovering from surgery he had last week. During a Thursday, July 11 Gainesville City Council work session, council mem ber Danny Dunagan commented publicly that Higgins had quadruple bypass surgery on July 9 and seemed to be doing well. County officials declined to release details about the surgery. “First, we wish Chairman Higgins a full and speedy recovery,” said Hall County spokesperson Joy Holmes. “Out of respect for Chairman Higgins, Hall County government will not provide specific comments related to his surgery. While Chairman Higgins is recovering from his surgery, Vice Chairman [Gregg] Poole will be completing the Chairman's official duties.” Higgins lost his reelection bid in a June 18 runoff against challenger David Gibbs. Gibbs will be sworn in as the new chairman in January 2025. Higgins was first elected Hall County Commission Chairman in 2016. He previously had served as chairman of the Hall County Board of Education for 11 years. Higgins Sardis Road connector work could start in late ’24 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. Work could start later this year on the long- awaited Sardis Road Con nector, as a construction contract on the project is set to go to bids on Sept. 20, said Elizabeth Johnson ofGDOT. Right of way acquisi tion wrapped up earlier this year with the purchase of property at Corinth Church off Thompson Bridge and Mount Vernon roads. Road construction, costing about $48 mil lion, could take about two years to complete, offi cials have said. The project consists of widening and rebuilding several existing local roads with some new roadways to create a new four-lane road. The road will extend northward from Sardis Road at Chestatee Road to Mount Vernon Road at Ga. 60. The Mount Vernon Road/Ga. 60 intersection would be rebuilt as part of the work. Save Up to 50% on OZEMPfc Call today and save on your prescriptions! Quality name brand Ozempic and Rybelsus are now available at heavily discounted Canadian pharmacy prices. Our interest-free payment option makes buying even easier! Compare our prices to your local pharmacy and you'll be astonished at the savings! 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