A Cedartown woman was arrested Tuesday near Crossville, AL in DeKalb County and charged with padding her bra – with methamphetamine. 37 year old Oralia Ramirez is charged with trafficking in a controlled substance. She was in the DeKalb County jail Wednesday, waiting for bond to be set. DeKalb County Sheriff Jimmy Harris said agents with the DeKalb County Drug Task Force and Marshall County Drug Enforcement Unit stopped a 1991 Plymouth Acclaim, being driven by Ramirez, at the intersection of Highway 68 and Highway 168 around 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, for a traffic violation. Harris said Ramirez consented to a search. He said Crossville Officer Ada Hamilton performed a pat down and allegedly found a pound of meth, in “ice” form, hidden inside Ramirez’s bra. Harris said the street value of the meth is about $13,000.
Law enforcement agencies in Northwest Georgia are receiving a share of the $1 billion dollar federal stimulus money designated nationwide Tuesday. Two officers will be added to the Cedartown Police Department with an allocation of more than $366,000 in federal stimulus money. The Calhoun Police Force will be able to add two additional officers with an allocation of just less than $300,000. An additional officer in Adairsville is anticipated with an allocation of almost $157,000. The funding is designed to cover the cost of hiring and train officers, covering the cost of salary and benefits for three years. There were no allocations designated for Rome or Floyd County included in this stimulus package. Throughout the U.S. about 7,200 agencies submitted requests for about $8.3 billion dollars, although the stimulus package met less than 25-percent of those requests.
The four men accused in the May 6 murder of 19 year old Jeffery Xavier Pledger have now been indicted. According to a previous report on WGAA News, 39 year old Bryan Edward Williams and 37 year old Eric Bernard Hightower both of Rome and 28 year old Chiresco Rodriguez Montgomery of Cedartown face charges of murder, conspiracy to commit armed robbery, aggravated assault, aggravated battery, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, and theft by receiving. Additionally, both Williams and Hightower are charged with firearm possession by a convicted felon. The final man, 18 year old Trenton Tyrice Williamson is charged with conspiracy to commit armed robbery. Police think the four men involved arranged to rob Pledger and one of the men shot him. At about 5:15 p.m. on May 6, a call came in to 911 that an individual had been shot at 506 E. 19th St. while he was in his car. Pledger was rushed to the hospital where he died from his injuries.
A four vehicle wreck on Highway 278 close to Old Cedartown Road in Fish Creek has resulted in major injuries to three people and an Emory LifeFlight being called to the scene. According to scanner reports, police were dispatched at approximately 2:40 Tuesday afternoon to a wreck involving a tractor-trailer hauling a mobile home. An official from the Georgia State Patrol said that they believe the tractor-trailer was along the side of the road changing a flat tire when it became involved in the accident. The other three vehicles included a 1996 Chevy Blazer, a 2008 Dodge Ram 1500 pickup, and a 1996 Ford F-150 pickup. The wreck tied up traffic as Polk County Fire prepared to use the westbound lanes of 278 for a landing zone for the LifeFlight. The identities of those involved have not yet been released as no citation has been issued. The investigation into the cause of the wreck is still under investigation by the Georgia State Patrol.
The state Board of Education has approved flexibility for Georgia’s school districts, paving the way for systems to furlough teachers and other employees. The board voted Tuesday morning to allow districts to fall short of the number of days the state requires educators to work each year. Gov. Sonny Perdue called last week for the state’s 128,000 public school teachers to take three unpaid furlough days by the end of the calendar year. The school districts are not required to enact the furloughs, but the state is cutting the sum of those days’ salaries from the districts’ funding. Most of the state’s 180 school districts are expected to go along with the furloughs.
A Bartow County man was murdered early Sunday morning at a Glade Road address in Cartersville. Reports state that 19 year old Lann Gann was shot in the chest, according to Bartow County deputy coroner Brandon Duncan. He was taken to Cartersville Medical Center by Bartow EMS, where he was pronounced dead at 1:48 a.m. A release from the Bartow County Sheriff’s Office states that 22 year old Lakeisha Arnita Talley of Cartersville was charged with the murder and was jailed pending a bond hearing. The release stated deputies were sent at 12:50 a.m. to 6415 Glade Road after receiving reports of a shooting. Duncan said Gann’s body would be sent to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation crime lab in Atlanta for an autopsy.
In compliance with the No Child Left Behind act, Cedartown High School, Cedartown Middle School and Van Wert Elementary School will give parents a choice of schools this year. A letter was recently sent to parents after the schools failed to make Annual Yearly Progress (AYP). Beginning with the 2009-2010 school year, parents of students enrolled in Georgia public schools may request to transfer their child to another school within the school district if the district determines there is classroom space available. If a transfer is approved, the parent must assume the responsibility and cost of transportation to and from the school. Cedartown High School begins classes on August 14.
The two former Model High School teachers, 28 year old Matthew Blanton 30 year old and Daniel Brown, who are charged with sexual assault will appear in front Floyd County Superior Court Judge J. Bryant Durham on August 14. The two former basketball coaches are accused of having relations with students. However, an issue with the charges was raised after a Richmond County school teacher overturned a case of sexual assault when she was not allowed to argue that the romantic relationship was consensual. A juvenile officer with the Floyd County Police Department has said that in both cases the sexual contact was consensual. Brown is accused of having a sexual relationship with a 17 year-old female student on two different occasions at the school and his home. Blanton was accused of kissing and fondling a 16 year-old student on school premises. Both teachers resigned their positions prior to being arrested.
WGAA has learned from Ponders Funeral Home in Dalton details about the funeral for Specialist Raymundo Morales, who died Tuesday while serving in Operation Enduring Freedom. According to defense department officials, Morales died Tuesday as a result of injuries sustained when the vehicle he was riding experienced a roll-over near Methar Lam. He was a member of Delta Company, 148th Brigade Support Battalion located in Cedartown. Visitation will be at Ponders Funeral Home from 6 to 9pm tonight. There will be a Rosary at 8pm. Funeral services for Specialist Morales will be tomorrow morning 11 a.m. at St Joseph Catholic Church in Dalton. Specialist Morales leaves behind a wife and children.
Authorities are investigating a domestic murder-suicide in Dallas. Police said 35-year-old Brad Armstrong shot and killed his 22-year-old ex-girlfriend Heather McCarthy Thursday afternoon after the couple had broken up. Then Armstrong fatally shot himself. Police spokesman Sgt. Bill Gorman said the couple had been together for about a year until McCarthy ended the relationship two weeks ago. Gorman said relatives told police that Armstrong was physically abusive and had attacked McCarthy days before the breakup. Gorman said police had no reports of domestic violence between the couple.
