A Cedartown teen who was convicted back in October of kidnapping a woman and forcing her to withdraw money from an ATM was sentenced Tuesday. According to court documents, then 17 year old Frank James Hawkins, Jr. of 939 Cleo St. in Cedartown was sentenced to life plus 10 years with the possibility of parole by Judge Richard Sutton. Hawkins will be eligible for parole after serving 30 years of his life sentence. He was initially charged with kidnapping, aggravated assault, armed robbery, possession of a firearm in the commission of a crime, and rape charges. Hawkins was not convicted of rape but was found guilty on all other counts. The initial investigation reveals that Hawkins was a passenger in a woman’s vehicle. The woman, whose name has not been released, said he threatened her with a gun and forced her to drive to a local bank, withdraw money from her checking account through an ATM and then force her to drive to another location where he exited the vehicle. The woman was shot at some point during the incident and was treated at Floyd Medical Center.
A Cedartown man has been arrested after he is alleged to have burglarized a shop damaged by fire on Vinson Mountain Road in Rockmart. According to jail docket reports, 35 year old Jason Heath Brogdon of a Sunset Valley St. address was arrested and is facing burglary charges after Polk County Police say they saw him pulling away from the store. According to the police report, Brogdon claimed that he was picking things up for the owner of the damaged store. When the property owner was contacted and the suspects account was proven not true, Brogdon admitted to swiping the items because he needed money. The stolen items were turned over to the owner’s son.
Two shootings in Floyd County on Tuesday have left a local community in shock. One man is dead, one injured and a third man charged with murder in the incident. The first shooting occurred in the 4500 block of Old Dalton Road in Armuchee around 4:45 p.m. The second shooting took place on East Clinton Drive off of Burnett Ferry Road in West Rome. Investigators believe that both of these shootings are related. One fatality has been confirmed, and Floyd County police detectives questioned a suspect, later identified as 26 year old Tim Spriggs, at the law enforcement center for several hours Tuesday night. He was arrested and booked on felony murder charges at the Floyd County Jail shortly after 10 p.m. last night. We’ll have more on this story as details become available.
Bremen police have arrested the men they believe are responsible for the vandalism and burglaries of at least eleven Bremen businesses over the last few weeks. Bremen residents 19-year old A.J. Meyers and 25-year old Wayne Frye were allegedly caught in the act early Saturday morning leading to a foot chase that resulted in authorities catching one of the suspects at that time and the other later. Bremen Police Chief Keith Pesnell says a combined 34 warrants against Frye and Meyers have been filed consisting of burglary, criminal trespass, damage to property and theft by taking.
The price for college is going up in Georgia. The University System of Georgia Board of Regents approved an 8 percent budget cut, along with doubling mandatory student fees that will take effect next semester. The announcement was made Tuesday to increase fees for students attending the system’s research universities from $100 to $200 per semester; those schools include: UGA, Georgia Tech and Georgia State University. Students at four year schools such as Kennesaw State and Georgia Southern will see an increase from $75 to $150. Two year and state colleges will see an increase from $50 to $100. The additional student fee is expected to generate $24 million in 2010. The 8 percent budget cut was adjusted from the 6 percent that was approved in August. This will cost Georgia’s 35 public colleges and universities $176 million. The Regents also said that an additional $12 million in savings must also be realized in the budgets either through additional employee furlough days, the elimination of positions, employee layoffs or other program and structural changes.
The workforce in Polk County is taking another hit as unemployment insurance figures for the month of October are now out. According to the Georgia Department of Labor, the number of first time unemployment insurance fillings increased 26.4%. In October, 561 Polk County residents filed for first time unemployment benefits. That is up from 457 first time claims a year ago. Floyd and Gordon Counties continue to be the worst in the number of filings, but have seen the percentage level off month-over month.
The Polk County Water Authority announced at 9 a.m. Thursday that the Boil Water Advisory was canceled as the floodwater into Deaton Springs has now subsided and all tests confirm the water is now safe.
A Cedartown man is under arrest after Rome Police say he was found with unauthorized prescription drugs in his possession. According to reports, 21 year old Charles Matthew Bridges of a Duke Rd. address in Cedartown was arrested by Rome Police at around 6:30 Monday morning. Bridges faces charges of felony possession of dangerous drugs, drugs not in their original container, and stopping in a prohibited place. A police report says that officers found Bridges asleep at the wheel of his vehicle at the intersection of the Rome Bypass and Highway 53. Upon further investigation, officers found a glass bottle containing several Klonopin pills. Bridges remains in jail on a $4,950 bail.
A Cedartown woman who was struck by a car was transported to a Rome hospital for treatment of her injuries. Cedartown Police reports show that the incident happened Sunday night at around 9:30 p.m. at the intersection of Main Street and Canal Street. Police say that 58 year old Darlene Jackson of Cedartown was taken to Floyd Medical Center by Redmond EMS. Her condition is not known at this time. Police also say that witnesses of the wreck said that the accident was unavoidable. The accident report said the driver was going on south Main Street and was in a turn lane to make a turn onto Canal Street.
Rome Police have arrested a Floyd County man on charges of aggravated assault, aggravated battery and possession of a knife during the commission of a crime for a weekend stabbing outside the Peach Palace on Broad Street. 21-year-old Cory Dean Williams, of a Bellmont Drive address, allegedly stabbed another man during an argument Saturday night. The victim sustained a puncture wound to the upper torso and was rushed to the Floyd Medical Center. At last report he was listed in critical condition. Williams was arrested without incident in the 1300 block of Martha Berry Boulevard.
