Author: On Common Ground News

by Mark Brock, DCSD Athletics Department A 13-4 run in the final three minutes of the second quarter helped propel the No. 4 ranked Miller Grove Wolverines to a 54-41 Class 5A boys’ semifinal victory over the Hiram Hornets at Fort Valley State University on Saturday. The win sends the Wolverines (23-7) to their eighth state championship game in 12 playoff appearances for a school that just started playing basketball in 2005. Hiram had cut a nine-point Miller Grove lead to just five (18-13) with 4:22 left in the first half on a pair of Devon Wilkerson free throws and a…

Congressman Hank Johnson has formally filed to run for re-election. The congressman filed his qualifying papers at the Georgia State Capitol this morning (March 5). “I have no doubt that when the voters look at my record fighting for the Fourth District – fighting for small businesses, consumers, women’s rights, equal pay and middle-income and working people – I will be re-elected,” said Congressman Johnson. Congressman Johnson serves on the Transportation & Infrastructure (T&I) and Judiciary Committees. He is the top Democrat on the Judiciary subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet (IP). Georgia’s Fourth Congressional District includes portions…

The Family of Willie Whonya Lowery, Jr. is calling for a GBI investigation into Lowery’s death, which occurred at the DeKalb County Jail, the Davis Bozeman Law firm said. “While in the custody of DeKalb County jail, Mr. Willie Lowery was hung to death and the family deserves the Sheriff’s full cooperation with the GBI so the truth can be exposed,” said Attorney Mawuli Davis, who is representing the family. The Sheriff’s Office said the death of Lowery, 19, remains under internal investigation by the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office of Professional Standards. Lowery had been in custody at the DeKalb County…

The MARTA Police Department has made an arrest in the Feb. 25 shooting aboard an eastbound train near Kensington Station. Thoth Gray, 34, was taken into custody on March 2, by MARTA’s Special Operations Response Team and the U.S. Marshals Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force. Gray was charged with aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. “Although I regret this incident occurred, our detectives with very few leads were able to identify the suspect in less than 32 hours,” said MARTA Police Chief Wanda Y. Dunham.…

DeKalb County author Leslie Royal and former Chick-fil-A owner husband Tony Royal recently traveled to the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, NC to attend the viewing and pay their respects to Rev. Billy Graham who died on Wednesday, Feb. 21 at his home in the North Carolina’s mountains at age 99. The Lithonia residents, who attend Berean Christian Church, said they are long-time supporters of Graham’s ministry and that they dropped everything on their schedule to attend the wake. “When Tony learned that there would be a public viewing, it was important to him to go and pay his…

By Valerie J. Morgan Rockdale County voters will no longer cast their election ballots at school precincts. The county is taking voting out of schools and moving precincts to other locations effective May 22, when the General Primary and non-partisan elections will be held. Supervisor of Elections Cynthia Welch said the Board of Elections and Voter Registration approved the moves to ensure the safety of students and staff. Although the moves come in the wake of the recent mass high school shooting in Parkland, Florida that claimed 17 lives, Rockdale has been working on a plan since last summer, Welch…

Angelo Taylor, four time Olympian track star and Southwest DeKalb High School alum, has been inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame. Taylor, who received three gold Olympic medals and one silver, was inducted during the 62nd Annual Induction Ceremony on Feb. 24 at Macon City Auditorium. Taylor joined seven others in the 2018 class of inductees: NFL players Champ Bailey and Tracy Rocker; NBA’s Kenny “Sky” Walker; UGA’s women’s golfer Terri Moody Hancock, the first female to receive a full athletic scholarship to the University of Georgia; UGA’s golf coach Chris Haack; Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United owner…

Kendall Robinson, 17, is on a roll. DeKalb County employees and residents teamed up to help Robinson collect rolls of toilet paper for the homeless during a February drive sponsored by the office of DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond. DeKalb County collected 7,000 rolls exceeding its goal of collecting 3,000 rolls of toilet paper for Love Rolls, Inc., a nonprofit that Robinson founded. The toilet paper was collected at several locations throughout DeKalb County from Feb. 12 to Feb. 23. Various county departments, along with the offices of District Attorney Sherry Boston and Solicitor-General Donna Coleman-Stribling. Additionally, Cedar Grove High…

The DeKalb County Police Department is looking for a suspect wanted in the alleged rape of a 13-year-old girl on Feb. 23. The incident is reported to have occurred on South Stone Mountain / Lithonia Road, at Walker Road, along the railroad tracks.  The suspect is described as a black male in his early twenties.  He is 5 feet 5 inches tall, with a short Afro.  He was dressed in all black clothing. Anyone with information leading to the identification or location of the suspect is asked to call the DeKalb county Police Department’s Special Victims’ Unit at 770-724-7710.

The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office Fugitive Unit has arrested a suspect in connection with a Stone Mountain motel shootout that left one man dead. Warrants were issued by DeKalb Police on Feb. 24 for 22 year-old Neenahjah Rae-Kwon Purvis of Stone Mountain on charges that he caused the death of Maliki Jawuan Holt during the commission of a home invasion at an extended stay motel on Feb. 23. The warrants allege that Purvis was armed when he entered a motel room at 4893 Memorial Drive in Stone Mountain and that an exchange of gunfire occurred with the occupant, fatally injuring…