Starlight Cafe Owner in Custody After Cobb Bomb Threat

Just before 1 p.m. today, Col. Milton Beck with the Cobb County Sheriff's Office told Patch that officials had someone in custody.

The person in custody in connection with today's bomb threat is the owner of a local restaurant across from the Cobb County Courthouse, according to the Marietta Daily Journal. Just before 1 p.m. today, Col. Milton Beck with the Cobb County Sheriff's Office told Patch that officials had someone in custody, but did not elaborate because Cobb County Sheriff Neil Warren and Marietta Police Chief Dan Flynn had scheduled a 4 p.m. press conference outside the new Cobb County Courthouse on Haynes Street. The MDJ learned that the person is Jody Wilson of Woodstock.  Wilson is the owner of The Starlight Café. According to online jail records, he was arrested around 3 p.m. today. The Cobb County Courthouse and Cherokee Justice Center were evacuated …

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Man Allegedly Threatened Cobb Judge

Paul Lavalle Nally, 67, was arrested at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday at his Rydal residence on a charge of terroristic threats.

Officials with the Cobb County Sheriff's Office on Wednesday arrested a Bartow County man who authorities said threatened a Cobb County Superior Court judge. Paul Lavalle Nally, 67, was arrested at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday at his Rydal home on a charge of terroristic threats, Nancy Bodiford, the spokeswoman for the Cobb County Sheriff's Office, said in a statement. According to Cobb Sheriff Neil Warren, the Cobb Sheriff’s Office began an investigation in early February 2013 after receiving a complaint alleging Nally sent an email to the Cartersville City Schools Board of Education, threatening Cobb County Superior Court Judge Adele Grubbs. Nally allegedly typed the following message: It's beginning to look as if we're going to have to make use …

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Ex-Cobb Sheriff's Deputy Indicted on Rape, 20 Other Charges

He is accused of having sexual encounters with four female inmates at the Cobb County jail and other places for more than three years.

A Cobb County grand jury has indicted a former sheriff's deputy from Douglasville on charges of rape, sexual assault against persons in custody, violation of oath by public officer, and other charges. In a warrant, Cobb authorities alleged that 51-year-old Alvin Blake Sutherland made physical contact with an unamed female inmate at the Cobb jail on Jan. 11. He was fired from his job and arrested Jan. 18. But Kim Isaza, the spokeswoman for Cobb District Attorney Vic Reynolds, said this afternoon that the indictment alleges that Sutherland had sexual encounters with not just one, but four female inmates. The incidents allegedly occurred at the Cobb County jail and other places between June 2009 and Jan. 11, 2013. Sutherland is charged with …

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Kennesaw Police Officer First in Class

He was among 32 metro area law enforcement officers who graduated from the North Central Georgia Law Enforcement Academy.

Thirty-two officers graduated Friday from the North Central Georgia Law Enforcement Academy, and 10 are from Cobb-area law enforcement agencies. Kennesaw Police Department Kennesaw State Police Department Cobb County Sheriff's Office Marietta Police Department The 10-week academy covered state laws, criminal procedures, firearms, emergency vehicle operations, defensive tactics, search and seizure, and other law enforcement related subjects. Kennesaw's Steketee finished at the top of the class and was elected class president. Marietta's Van Ness was given the Marksmanship Award for scoring the highest overall average on the firing range. Other graduates were Lance W. Kinsey and Kayla M. Silvers of the Bartow County Sheriff’s Office; Megan D…

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Sheriff: Man Speeds Through School Zone, Strikes Deputies' Vehicles

The incident occurred just after 9 a.m. Wednesday.

Cobb County Sheriff's Office deputies Wednesday arrested a 28-year-old man who allegedly sped through a school zone and ignored deputies' requests to stop. Just after 9 a.m. Wednesday, a deputy saw a Toyota SUV driving in a reckless manner on Powder Springs Road, said Nancy Bodiford, the spokeswoman for the Cobb County Sheriff's Office. The driver, Ryan A. Sample of Marietta, ignored that deputy's request to stop and increased his speed, Bodiford said. That's when a second deputy started to pursue the SUV for approximately one-half mile. Sample slowed his vehicle, allowed the second deputy to move in front of him, stopped the SUV and backed it into the first deputy's vehicle, which was behind him, Bodiford said. "Still attempting an escape…

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Report: Girl, 2, Left Alone While Kennesaw Man Sold Drugs

Darnell Anthony Marshall allegedly sold 7.9 grams of marijuana to an undercover agent in the parking lot of the Greenhouse Apartments last Thursday.

Report: Kennesaw Man Left Toddler Alone, Sold Drugs

He was arrested Feb. 14.

A Kennesaw man allegedly left a toddler alone in an apartment while he sold drugs, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The AJC, citing an arrest warrant, reported that Darnell Anthony Marshall allegedly sold 7.9 grams of marijuana to an undercover agent in the parking lot of the Greenhouse Apartments last Thursday. After the exchange, Marshall and three others ran from authorities and into one of the units at the complex, which is on George Busbee Parkway. In addition to two felony drug charges and one misdemeanor obstruction of a law enforcement charge, Marshall was arrested on a charge of first degree child cruelty after investigators found a girl believed to be about two years old in one of the apartments. The three suspects…

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Sheriff's Office Fires Deputy Charged with Sexually Assaulting Inmate

The Douglasville resident remains in the Bartow County Jail without bond.

The second deputy accused of sexually assaulting a female inmate has been fired. Sgt. Kristopher Travitz's 14-year-old career with the Cobb County Sheriff's Office came to an end on Saturday, the same day that authorities arrested him on charges of violation of public oath, aggravated sexual battery, sexual assault by a law enforcement officer and false statements, Col. Milton Beck said in a news release. An internal investigation initiated after last month's arrest of Sgt. Alvin Blake Sutherland on similar charges led authorities to Travitz, who was brought in for questioning. Initially, according to a criminal warrant, he allegedly told officials that the inmate never came to his Douglasville home. But a GPS tracker that the inmate was …

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Update: Missing Cobb Teen Is Safe

Wilford Hardnett was last seen on Dallas Highway near Lost Mountain Park Friday afternoon.

At about 3:30 p.m., 16-year-old Wilford Hardnett was located in good condition walking on the Marietta Country Club golf course off Stilesboro Road, Sgt. Dana Pierce, spokesman for the Cobb County Police Department, said just before 7 p.m. Saturday. Cobb County authorities are asking for the public’s assistance in helping them locate a missing 16-year-old special needs boy. According to Cobb Police, Wilford Hardnett was last seen walking eastbound on Dallas Highway towards Lost Mountain Park after jumping out of the window of a Cobb County special needs school bus about 4:25 p.m. Friday.  Hardnett may have also been sighted Friday between 6:30 and 7 p.m. in the area of Lost Mountain Park, and again Saturday morning in the area of East …

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