About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (July 18, 2024)
Democrats discuss expelling Menendez in light of bribery conviction. INSIDE, 3A The Cimes Thursday, July 18, 2024 | GAINESVILLE, GEORGIA | gainesvilletimes.com Heavy storms flood the Ozarks; tornado hits New York town. INSIDE, 3A Honestly Local ‘Two different types of shells’ Local man drives into apartment, injures child BY BEN ANDERSON AND NICK WATSON nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com 0.2. X Photos by Scott Rogers The Times Ja’quez Jeremiah Marquis Sims sits in Hall County Magistrate Court Wednesday, July 17, for a committal hearing for charges of felony malice murder, felony murder and aggravated assault from the shooting of Jaishawn Overstreet at Ridgecrest Apartments in Gainesville. Investigator: Third man could be a shooter from April murder BY NICK WATSON nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com Jaishawn Overstreet came to Gainesville to buy a gun. But when the 16-year- old made it April 27 to the Ridgecrest Apartments, he was shot in the right shoulder. The bullet went through his neck and severed his carotid artery, killing him two days later. Though two men have been charged with murder, a Gaines ville Police investigator said on the stand Wednesday, July 17, that he believes a third man on the run was the shooter at this point in the investigation. Ja'Quez Sims, 19, and Quaran Jackson, 18, both of Gainesville, appeared in Magistrate Court with their attorneys Wednesday for a committal hearing. Both men face felony murder, aggravated assault and gang charges from the shooting, while Sims solely faces malice murder. Following the court hear ing, The Times reached out to Gainesville Police for further information on the third man and any warrants he faces. No information was received as of press time Wednesday. Assistant District Attorney Jim Powers brought Gaines ville Police Investigator Ste phen Johnson to the stand first to detail Overstreet's journey from Gwinnett to Hall County. Johnson said Overstreet had communicated with Sims about buying a gun and was shot during that transaction. Review of Sims' phone led to some Gwinnett County jail phone calls, including at least one around the time of the shooting with an inmate from Gainesville. Hearing that they were in the car, the inmate asked who was driving, and the investigator testified that the name said was “Quaran.'’ Jackson was known to be on an ankle monitor from a prior attempted murder case in January 2023. Jackson was granted a $60,000 bond in June 2023 that included GPS ankle monitoring. Data showed Jackson leave his house, go to Sims' house and a third man's home before the Ridgecrest Apartments, Johnson said. Police had a photo that Sims sent to Overstreet as part of their communication prior to the intended gun sale. Sims was identified by one of the witnesses as someone who approached the car, John son said. “Did he identify him as the shooter?'’ Powers asked. “He said that he came to the window with a gun and believed that he was a shooter, correct," Johnson said. One projectile was recov ered from the post between the driver's and passenger's door, and one was over the driver's seat that had a rust stain. John son said the latter reportedly came from an accidental firing weeks earlier. When police processed the car, they found roughly $900 “scattered in pools of blood" across the backseat, Johnson said. Overstreet and two other teenagers had made the trip to Gainesville to buy a Glock 26, a 9 mm handgun, and a Glock 23, a .40 caliber pistol, Johnson said. Johnson clarified that it appeared Sims had a Glock 26 Quaran Jackson enters Hall County Magistrate Court for a committal hearing on charges of felony murder and aggravated assault from the shooting of Jaishawn Overstreet at Ridgecrest Apartments in Gainesville. for sale, while his friend would have the other to sell. Police found one 9 mm shell and two .40 caliber shells. “Do you have any idea why there would be two different types of shells within the car if only one shooter shot one round?" Sims' attorney Blake Poole asked. “There were two rounds fired into the car, according to the witness testimony," John son said. “The 9 mm shell cas ing was explained as having been left over from the acci dental discharge two to three weeks prior." At this point in the investiga tion, Johnson said he believes that the third man was the shooter that night. The third man is from the area but has not been found by law enforce ment, and Johnson said he may be out of the state. The most contentious part of the hearing came with Georgia Bureau of Investigation Spe cial Agent Shilo Crane, who is with the gang task force. Mul tiple times during the hearing, Crane would gesture toward one of the defendants and use the incorrect name. Crane gave a brief history of See Overstreet I 3A A Gainesville man was arrested Tuesday after he drove an SUV through the wall of a unit at Lenox Park Apart ments and seriously injured an 8-year-old girl, police and wit nesses said. Erickson Mondesir, 19, was charged with serious injury by vehicle and hit and run among Mondesir other driving-related offenses. He remained in Hall County Jail without bond as of Wednesday. Gainesville Police said Mondesir unintention ally drove his SUV into the apartment. Lt. Kevin Holbrook said the police report “mentioned that Mondesir did possibly get the brake and gas pedal mixed up, causing the crash." The child was flown to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta with a “severe leg injury," Holbrook said. Police said Mondesir ran from the scene See Mondesirl3A Provided by Gainesville Police Times A Gainesville man was accused of driving a car into the Lenox Park Apartments Monday, July 15, injuring an 8-year-old. Man accused of swinging bat, shooting at four BY NICK WATSON nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com New A Pendergrass man was accused of swinging a base- ball bat at four people and then firing a shotgun toward them after an argument, according to authorities. Daniel Nathan New, 37, was charged with eight counts of aggravated assault. He was picked up from the Banks County Jail and booked Tuesday, July 16, in to the Hall County Jail, where he remains with no bond. Hall County deputies began investigating See New l3A Mulberry transition team to include S. Hall lawmaker McCollum BY JEFF GILL jgill@gainesvilletimes.com Hall County's newest border city, Mulberry, will have “interim repre sentatives," including a South Hall lawmaker, as it moves toward hav ing an official government. Gov. Brian Kemp has appointed a transition team, including state Rep. Derrick McCollum, R-Chestnut, whose House District 30 includes parts of South Hall and North Gwinnett counties. In an executive order Friday, Jan. 12, Kemp cites state law in saying that the team will “facilitate the provision of municipal services and facilities, the collection of taxes and fees and the negotiation of inter governmental agreements." The team will serve until a gov erning City Council is elected. The city of about 35,000 won't have property taxes and would “con ¬ McCollum tract with Gwinnett County to continue providing many of the same county services (residents have) grown used to - including services like parks and rec, police and fire," according to a Mulberry website that promoted passage of a May 21 referendum to create the city. “My constituents in Mulberry spoke loud and clear in support of local control over planning and zon ing in the May election," McCollum said Wednesday, July 17, in a state ment. “And I look forward to work ing with the rest of the transition team to make sure the city is ready to hit the ground running as soon as possible." McCollum, who is seeking re- election, won the May 21 GOP primary for his race and faces Dem ocrat Kim Larkin-Floria in the Nov. 5 election. Also appointed to the transition team are state Rep. Chuck Efstra- tion and state Sen. Clint Dixon, both Republican lawmakers from Gwin nett; Jerry Hanes, president of the Hamilton Mill community's board of directors; and Lawrenceville City Manager Chuck Warbington, who lives in Mulberry. The new city's boundaries touch much of South Hall, including Spout Springs Road, which ends at Braselton Highway/Ga. 124 in Gwinnett. It also touches Braselton, which is in Hall, Gwinnett, Jackson and Barrow counties.
