Author: On Common Ground News

The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Fugitive Unit located and arrested 29-year-old Robert Lee Hamilton, Jr. of Lithonia at an apartment complex near Decatur, officials said A warrant had been issued for Hamilton on Aug. 28 charging him with the felony murder of a man who was killed after being shot several times on Aug. 27 at the Wesley Club Apartments in Decatur. Hamilton also had an outstanding warrant from June 3, 2017 charging him with family violence battery against a woman who allegedly lived with him at some time. Hamilton was transported to the DeKalb County Jail without incident.

The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office Fugitive Unit has arrested a suspect in the May 15 shooting of two victims on Chupp Road in Lithonia. Lithonia resident Quinton Bentford, 30, is charged with murder and aggravated Assault involving two victims, one of whom died as a result of the shooting.  Warrants were issued on Aug. 26 for Bentford’s arrest.  He was located and taken into custody without incident by the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office Fugitive Unit on Sept. 1 at a bus stop near Panola Road in Lithonia.

Women in labor at DeKalb Medical now have a new option to manage pain. Nitrous oxide, frequently used in dentist’s offices, has been proven advantageous for pain relief during labor. DeKalb Medical is the first hospital in metro Atlanta and the second in Georgia to offer nitrous oxide. Northeast Georgia Medical Center became the first in August of 2016. “Patients like using nitrous oxide because it’s safe for them and their baby. It is self-administered and allows women to manage the discomfort of labor and post-birth while remaining alert and conscious,” said Rose Horton, executive director of DeKalb Medical’s Maternity…

Vince Evans, who is running for mayor in the City of Conyers, is setting up donation site to collect goods to help Houston, Texas residents recover from Hurricane Harvey. Evans the community to come out and make donations on Labor Day from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Jack’s Auto Repair, 937 South Main Street in Old Town Conyers. Donations that are needed include diapers, socks, towels and toiletries. The donations will be loaded on a truck and transferred to the American Red Cross for distribution. Refreshments will be provided during the donation drop-off. “ This is not a time…

Stonecrest City councilman Rob Turner, District 2, participated in Panola Gardens Senior Apartments annual mission day. It was a fun day for seniors to enjoy food, fellowship, comedians and other entertainment. He and his wife, DeKalb School board member Vickie Turner, had a chance to meet and greet constituents during the free, three-hour event, which was held Aug. 25.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, DeKalb County residents have opened their hearts and wallets to help residents of the flooded areas of Houston, Texas and along the Gulf Coast. With thousands of evacuees in shelters and others trapped in their homes by flooded roads, help is pouring in from around the country, according to news reports. The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office announced that it is accepting donations of water and nonperishables at its headquarters and jail lobby at 4415 Memorial Drive in Decatur The headquarters lobby is open 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. on weekdays and the jail…

DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston said jurors returned guilty verdicts against 49-year-old Darrow Brown and his wife, Laura Whitesell, 33, for abusing and starving their four children. The abuse came to light on May 6, 2015, when paramedics were called by Whitesell to the family’s Tucker motel room where they resided. The couple’s 13-year-old daughter was found unresponsive in the bathroom where she slept. The child, who weighed only 52 pounds, was rushed to the hospital where she spent weeks in recovery and rehab. According to the investigation, three of the couple’s other children, who ranged in age…

  Gov. Nathan Deal has appointed DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond to the Stone Mountain Memorial Association board, which oversees the country’s largest monument to the Confederate war dead. The appointment makes Thurmond the only African-American member of the 10-member board. One member who is not pictured on the boards’ website is Roy N. Roberts. Thurmond could not be reached for comment, but county spokesman Andrew Cauthen confirmed that Thurmond had accepted the appointment. Thurmond is a historian and author. His book, Freedom: Georgia’s Antislavery Heritage, 1733-1865, was awarded the Georgia Historical Society’s Lilla Hawes Award. The Georgia Center…

DeKalb County officials said a tree growing out of a sewer pipe and a concrete junction box caused the massive sewage spill–6.4 million gallons of raw sewage—at Snapfinger Creek in unincorporated Lithonia. County workers discovered the spill on Aug. 23 and officials now say it is worse than the Nancy Creek spill, which spewed 3.9 million gallons of raw sewage and was initially reported last week as the biggest spill recorded in the last 10 years since the county’s consent decree. The consent decree is DeKalb’s binding agreement with federal and state authorities to improve its sewer system. County…

After a special called meeting that lasted more than four hours, the Tucker City Council voted against an 88-acre mixed-use development called “The Rise.” A packed house of supporters and opponents attended the Aug. 30 meeting, awaiting a decision on the proposed project. The plan called for retail and office space, apartments, a senior living center, new elementary school and daycare at the Sears warehouse site, located off Hugh Howell Road and Mountain Industrial Boulevard. Supporters said they believe the project would spur growth in Tucker, while opponents said they were concerned about traffic, parking, green space and worried…