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THE HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
fTff 1 -Tfl Houxlmt Hume 4
(Etje .jjnuntal
Perry Office
1210 Washington St.
P.O. Box 1910
Perry, GA 31069
(478) 987-1823
See us online at
www. hhjnews. com
Reader
I .J ; crrr / r\
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POSTMASTER: Send address
changes to: P.O Bo* 1910. Perry,
GA 31069
The Houston Home Journal. A peri
odical. mailed (ISSN 1526-7393)
at Perry. Ga , is published Tuesday
through Saturday for $62 per year
by Evans Newspapers Inc., 1210
Washington St.. Perry, GA 31069,
(478) 987-1823 Fax (478) 988-1181
Not published Thanksgiving and
Chnstmas
Office Hours:
The office in Perry is open from
8 a m to 5 p.m. Monday through
Friday.
NEWS TIPS:
Call (478) 987-1823 ext. 231
Newsroom Fax (478) 988-1181
Presentation editor:
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bdunham@evansnewspapers com
Corrections:
The HHJ stnves for fairness and
accuracy, and will print a correction
or clarification when one is in order
Call ext 231.
Advertising errors and omissions:
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lisher shall not be liable for damages
arising from errors in advertisements
beyond the amount paid for the
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the error occurred There shall be
no liability for non-mserlion of any
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paid for such advertisement
This newspaper is a
member of
The Georgia Press Association,
The National Newspaper
Association and
The Associated Press
STATE BRIEFS
Ex-commissioner
sentenced to five
years probation
MARIETTA (AP) - A for
mer Cobb County commis
sioner and real estate agent
has been sentenced to at least
five years’ probation after
being convicted of stealing
money from a Marietta doc
tor in a real estate deal.
Judge James Bodiford sen
tenced Wit B. Carson 111, 62,
on Thursday to two 10-year
sentences of probation to be
served concurrently, gave
him first offender status and
fined him $5,000.
First-offender status
means authorities will
expunge Carson’s criminal
conviction if he does not vio
late the terms of probation.
The probation also could be
suspended to five years if
Carson complies with condi
tions of the sentence.
A Cobb County Superior
Court jury convicted Carson
of two of the six counts of
theft charged in an indict
ment last year stemming
from a real estate deal with
Dr. William Saye of Marietta.
Assistant District Attorney
Lynne Voekler had asked for
a sentence of 10 years, with
two years served in prison
and eight years on proba
tion.
An attorney and friend,
Greg Griffin, presented a
$25,000 check as restitu
tion. Carson served on the
County Commission from
1978 to 1982.
Woman charged
with animal cruelty
BUFORD (AP) - A
Gwinnett County woman
has been charged with cru
elty to dozens of animals
for the second time in five
years, police said.
Gwinnett County police
removed about 90 animals
from the home of Dora L.
Russell, 43, on Wednesday
morning. Investigators called
the living conditions deplor-
YOUR WEATHER TEAM!
TODAY’S
Today's Weather
Local 5-Day Forecast
Mon
7/3
94/73
Parity cloudy,
chance of a thunder
storm.
Sunrise Sunset
6:32 AM 8:46 PM
Sun
7/2
z—l&s£>
96/72
Mix of sun and
clouds Highs in the
mid 90s and lows in
the low 70s
Sunrise Sunset
6:32 AM 846 PM
TFtEJSTT WILL MON * l
a little more livin’ *■
AVAILABLE YHKRgVKR MUSIf? IS SOLD
Georgia At A Glance
\ Atlanta V
\ 93/71 <*£4** /X Au 9 usta
\ 93/74
\ 4 Ifei.';
\ Warner Robins l \
\ '97/71 V \ % *
> * Verm V 89/75
I i 96 72 $
[ Valdosta -<n
\jJ 4-** 1 . 92/71
Area Cities
City Hi Lo Cond.
Albany 94 73 pi sunny
Athens 97 71 mst sunny
Atlanta 93 71 mst sunny
Augusta 93 74 pt sunny
Bainbridge 94 75 pi sunny
Brunswick 86 78 pt sunny
Cartersville 96 71 mst sunny
Chattanooga,TN 91 70 mst sunny
Columbus 96 73 pt sunny
Cordele 96 73 pt sunny
National Cities
l Ci> y Hi Lo Cond.
Atlanta 93 71 mst sunny
Boston 86 71 t-storm
Chicago 84 71 t storm
Dallas 94 77 mst suriny
Denver 85 60 t-storm
©2005 American Profile Hometown Content Service
able with an odor that could
be smelled from the street
and some required respira
tors to enter the house.
Authorities found 17 dogs,
three cats, 21 birds and 50
field mice, none of which
were dead. The mice were
released into a field. The
dogs are at the county’s ani
mal control facility, and the
cats and birds were taken
to another facility. Police
spokesman Cpl. Darren
Moloney said the dogs and
cats are expected to survive,
but the birds’ conditions are
less certain. Russell’s house
has been condemned.
Judge stands by
Nichols' order on
police statements
ATLANTA (AP) - A judge
said Friday he was sticking
by his decision to reject a
defense request to suppress
accused courthouse gunman
Brian Nichols’ statements to
police after his arrest.
Superior Court Judge
Hilton Fuller said that
after reconsidering his June
6 order at the request of
defense lawyers, he has con
cluded there is no reason to
change his decision.
As a result, Nichols’ state
ments to police the day after
the March 11, 2005, shoot
ings in which a judge and
three others were killed can
be used at Nichols’ murder
trial, which is scheduled for
Jan. 11.
Fuller did not detail the
basis for his decision, except
to say in a terse order that
his initial decision was
“properly grounded in law
and fact.”
Nichols’ lead attorney,
Gary Parker, testified at a
hearing in April that the
district attorney personal
ly rebuffed his attempt to
speak with Nichols before he
was questioned by police.
But the DA testified that
Nichols never asked for
Parker to represent him
and a court never appointed
STATE AND REGION
Meteorologists
Derek Klnkade
and
Jerry Mathewson
‘Where Middie Oeorjls
Turns for News*
Tue
7/4
jL. ■hL
94/72
Partly cloudy Highs
in the mid 90s and
lows in the low 70s.
Sunrise Sunset
6:33 AM 8:46 PM
Hi Lo Cond.
Dalton 97 71 pt sunny
Dillard 90 64 t-storm
Dublin 97 71 pt sunny
Duluth 93 70 mst sunny
Gainesville 93 72 pt sunny
Helen 92 67 t-storm
Lagrange 95 69 pt sunny
Macon 96 72 pt sunny
Marietta 93 73 mst sunny
Milledgeville 99 75 pt sunny
Hi Lo Cond.
Houston 86 74 t-storm
Los Angeles 79 65 mst sunny
Miami 87 80 t-slorm
Minneapolis 88 65 pt sunny
New York 91 74 t-slorm
the attorney to represent
Nichols, so there was no
reason to let him speak to
Nichols on that day.
After Parker and another
lawyer left the police station
on March 12, 2005, Nichols
confessed to police that he
had killed a judge, court
reporter, sheriffs deputy
and federal agent the day
before, according to prior
testimony.
Nichols, 34, has pleaded
not guilty in the shootings.
Prosecutors are seeking the
death penalty.
Nichols was being retried
on charges he raped an off
and-on girlfriend when he
allegedly grabbed a depu
ty’s gun and went on the
shooting spree at the Fulton
County Courthouse. The
federal agent was killed a
few miles from the court
house.
Nichols was being retried
on charges he raped an off
and-on girlfriend when he
allegedly grabbed a depu
ty’s gun and went on the
shooting spree at the Fulton
County Courthouse. The
federal agent was killed a
few miles from the court
house.
If pLnu&tnn if i
CL i\\t jjnimuti L
| will close @ noon on Monday, July 3rd. Lj
J We will re-open Wednesday, July sth at 8:00am. He
7 'We wish everyone a Safe & Q-fapjoy Jufy 4thl ■
tfayvy (Birthday (Americal \
TTT ST
S' wik
Thu
7/6
89/69
A few thunderstorms
possible
Sunrise Sunset
6:34 AM 8:46 PM
Wed
7/5
91/72
Partly cloudy with a
stray thunderstorm
Sunrise Sunset
6:33 AM 8:46 PM
Moon Phases
•
New
Jun 25
ft
Full
Jul 11
UV Index
Sun 7/2 11 Extreme
Mon 7/3 11 Extreme
Tue 7/4 10 Very High
Wed 7/5 10 Very High
Thu 7/6 10 Very High
The UV Index is measured on a 0-11
number scale, with a higher UV Index
showing the need for greater skin pro
lection o mmmmm 1 1
Hi Lo Cond.
Peachtree City 94 67 mst sunny
Perry 96 72 pt sunny
Rome 102 72 mst sunny
Savannah 89 75 pt sunny
St. Simons Islandß6 78 pt sunny
Statesboro 96 75 pt sunny
Thomasville 93 73 pt sunny
Valdosta 92 71 pt sunny
Warner Robins 97 71 pt sunny
Waycross 91 71 pt sunny
Phoenix 106 87 pt sunny
San Francisco 69 54 mst sunny
Seattle 79 58 pt sunny
St. Louis 97 Ts mst sunny
Washington, DC 97 76 pt sunny
Nichols surrendered the
next day after allegedly tak
ing a woman hostage in her
suburban Atlanta apart
ment.
DeKalb Co. officer,
suspect killed
STONE MOUNTAIN, Ga.
(AP) - A police officer was
mortally wounded when a
foot chase at an apartment
turned into a shootout that
also left the suspect dead.
DeKalb County Police
Detective Dennis Carmen
Stepnowski, 33, died
Thursday night at a hos
pital, where he was taken
after the shooting.
The incident began when
Stepnowski and another
officer, who were on rou
tine patrol, saw the suspect,
determined he was suspi
cious and chased him, police
spokesman Sgt. Charles
Dedrick said.
At some point during the
chase, “shots were fired,”
Dedrick said, without elabo
rating on who fired first.
The man, whose name was
not immediately released,
was killed when police
returned fire.
ft
First
Jul 3
ft
Last
Jul 17
Confession tossed
in Lunsford case
By TRAVIS REED
Associated Press Writer
INVERNESS, Fla. - The
confession of a convicted sex
offender charged with kid
napping, raping and killing
9-year-old Jessica Lunsford
isn’t admissible in court, but
the discovery of her body can
be used as evidence, a judge
ruled Friday.
Jessica Marie Lunsford
was found in March 2005
kneeling and clutching a
stuffed animal, hands tied
with speaker wire and fin
gers poking through the
garbage bags in which she
was buried alive a month
earlier. John Evander Couey,
47, had told detectives he
kidnapped, raped and killed
the girl and where to find
the body.
But he also told the Citrus
County sheriffs investi
gators that he wanted to
consult a lawyer. He wasn’t
given the opportunity to do
so, and his defense lawyer
argued that the confession
and the discovery of the body
couldn’t be used in court
because Couey’s rights had
been violated. Circuit Judge
Ric Howard agreed.
“This is a material and a
profound violation of one of
the most bedrock principles
of criminal law,” Howard
said in issuing the ruling.
Citrus County Sheriff Jeff
Dawsy told reporters the
confession’s elimination will
not change the outcome of
the trial. “I’ve got enough
evidence to put John Couey
to death,” he said.
He said the detectives did
not do anything “malicious
ly” or “deliberately” to vio
late Couey’s rights.
Prosecutors are seeking
the death penalty for Couey,
who has pleaded not guilty
to charges of premeditated
murder, burglary, kidnap
ping and sexual battery.
Jury selection for his trial is
expected to start July 10.
Defense attorney Dan
Lewan has portrayed the
detectives in court as over
zealous and unconcerned
about Couey’s constitutional
rights.
When his client qsked for
an attorney, Lewan argued,
the detectives spoke over
him in a confusing interlude
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before simply dropping the
issue.
Citrus County sheriffs
Detectives Scott Grace and
Gary Atchison have testi
fied that Couey’s mention
of a lawyer was confusing
because it came directly
after Grace mentioned a
polygraph test.
They weren’t sure if he
wanted a lawyer immediate
ly or for a later polygraph
test, so they kept question
ing after Couey said he would
talk about “some things,”
Atchison testified.
Prosecutor Ric Ridgway
has said investigators would
have found Jessica’s body
anyway. A consent search
at the mobile home where
Couey was living turned up
a bloody mattress which
tested positive for Jessica’s
DNA the day they began
excavating at the mobile
home following the confes
sion. Further, disturbed
ground near a shovel in the
yard was suspicious enough
to investigate after officers
had already singled Couey
out as a person of interest,
Ridgway said.
“With (DNA results) they
would’ve gotten a search
warrant for the home,”
Ridgway said.
Couey gave his confession
in an Augusta, Ga., sher
iffs office to the detectives
who traveled to interview
him after an arrest on an
unrelated Florida warrant.
He fled the Homosassa area
where he and Lunsford lived
after an intensifying search
for the missing girl zeroed in
on registered sex offenders
in the area.
He spoke freely with the
detectives about his crimi
nal past, use of crack and
relationship with his fam
ily in portions of the taped
interview played in court.
However, when the topic
crept closer to Lunsford,
Couey repeatedly mentioned
wanting a lawyer.
Jessica was missing for
nearly a month after inves
tigators found her body in
the yard. Couey confessed to
taking her from her house to
the mobile home he was liv
ing in about 150 yards away,
sexually assaulting and then
burying the girl.
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