Georgia Criminal Law News January 2018

In January 2018, citizens watched Georgia lose to Alabama in the National Championship, multiple snow days, and numerous criminal incidents. Some of the events include: 

On January 9^th, 2018, a Gilmer County Sheriff's deputy was arrested on rape charges. Sergeant Greg McClure faces sodomy and aggravated assault charges resulting from an incident that occurred on December 27^th, 2017. McClure's status with the department is unknown. He will need a Gilmer County Criminal Lawyer.

Georgia hosted the College Football National Championship game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on January 8^th, 2018. Atlanta police made eight arrests during the game. Five of the arrests were a result of people trying to enter the game with counterfeit tickets. The other three arrests were related to two separate fights. Luckily, there were no noteworthy incidents during the game. Our community should be proud of the fact that there were so few incidents, none of which were violent. 

The Georgia Bureau of Investigations has been examining a shooting in Gwinnett County on January 24^th, 2018. Gwinnett police received a call about a suspicious man with a gun walking down Peachtree Industrial Boulevard. When the police confronted the man, Steven Hutchins, they noticed he had a gun tucked in his waistband. The suspect took the weapon out and started pointing it at the officers, according to officers. An officer fired multiple shots, and one hit Hutchins and killed him. The GBI is investigating the incident. 

On January 24^th, 2018, a serial burglar was caught after months of being pursued by multiple police agencies. Armani Hickson, 20, is part of a crew that has allegedly been a part of more than 20 burglaries and car break-ins. Officers have been searching for the crew since the fall. Multiple agencies have evidence tying Hickson to more than 20 car thefts and home burglaries. Hickson was found at a Union City Motel where officers recovered a stash of stolen keys, credit cards, guns, and drugs. When he was being arrested, he had a gun on him and tried to elude officers. 

In Loganville on January 25^th, 2018, a nine-year-old boy was attacked by three pit bulls while playing in his front yard. A neighbor saw what was going on and jumped in to save the boy. She was able to push the dogs off the boy but suffered injuries to her face and arms. The boy received severe injuries to his face and was airlifted to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. The neighbor was hospitalized for her injuries. The dogs were taken to animal control and will be euthanized. The owner of the dogs has been charged with three counts of animals at large, having a dog with no rabies vaccination, and public nuisance. The City of Loganville also charged the owner with two counts of reckless conduct. 

Police are searching for a man accused of sexually assaulting a teenage girl at a library in DeKalb County. The incident occurred on January 25. The girl was 19 years old, and the suspect approached her and said he knew her from elementary school. He then convinced her to go to a hallway with him and allegedly exposed himself to her and grabbed her buttocks. 

On January 30, Atlanta police officers along with DEA agents raided an apartment in Brookhaven in search of drugs. They found hundreds of pounds of drugs inside the apartment consisting of around 300 pounds of crystal methamphetamine and cocaine. They also found weapons and cash. DEA agents estimated that the street value of the drugs at half a million dollars or more. 

A double shooting occurred January 30 in South Fulton County. One man was found dead and the second man was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital with a gunshot wound to the arm. Police are still investigating to try and determine what happened. 

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