ATLANTA – Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr Wednesday announced his office’s Gang Prosecution Unit has secured a 52-count indictment charging three alleged gang members with a variety of drug and weapons offenses.
Chiquille Bell, Contrellis Books, and Marcus Thornton are accused of violating the state’s Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act, trafficking oxycodone, possession with intent to distribute amphetamines, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, as well as other charges.
The three allegedly took part in criminal street gang activity while associated with the Rollin 60s Neighborhood Crips, a street gang based in Los Angeles with a large presence in Atlanta.
The indictment in Fulton County stems from Operation Heatwave led by the Atlanta Police Department (APD), a summer-long effort that brought together local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies to target gangs, guns, and drugs in the most violent parts of the city.
Working with Gov. Brian Kemp, Carr created Georgia’s first statewide Gang Prosecution Unit last year. In its second year, the seven-agency operation made 96 arrests, including the apprehension of 41 suspected gang members and the recovery of 62 guns.
“This indictment is further proof of the results we’re able to achieve when all levels of law enforcement come together to do one thing – protect the people of our state,” Carr said Wednesday. “We’re proud to be part of this effort alongside our partners at APD.”
Carr credited Operation Heatwave with reducing homicides in Atlanta this year by 24% compared to 2022, while robbery fell by 40% and aggravated assault dropped by 11%. Violent crime overall in the city is down 21% so far this year.
KENNESAW – Georgia’s low literacy rate can be fixed despite the dismal statistics currently plaguing educators, the head of a council of state legislators, literacy experts, teachers, and school district officials said Tuesday.
“We will not shrink back from our mission,” Scott Johnson, chairman of the Georgia Council on Literacy, said at the 30-member panel’s second meeting on the campus of Kennesaw State University. “We will not fail.”
The General Assembly created the council this year to look for ways to improve literacy in Georgia. Under legislation that cleared the legislature unanimously last March, the panel has until the end of 2026 to achieve its goal.
As it begins its work, the council is facing some discouraging numbers. Fifty-six percent of Georgia third graders cannot read proficiently, Bill Reed, a partner in the consulting firm Deloitte, told council members Tuesday.
Students who can’t read are more likely to drop out of school at a time when 75% of new jobs expected to be created by 2028 require at least some post-secondary education, Reed said.
Johnson said he’s encouraged by the success educators both inside Georgia and out of state are having with efforts to improve literacy.
Two years ago, the Marietta City School District launched a program that involved hiring two reading coaches for each of the district’s eight elementary schools, as well as 37 reading specialists to work with students at a ratio of one to 10.
The program identifies students in grades one through five who aren’t reading at grade level and gives them 90 minutes of direct reading instruction five days a week, Superintendent Grant Rivera said. Students who need extra help also are offered four and a half hours of tutoring each week after school, he said.
Rivera said 90% of the parents offered after-school tutoring for their children have taken advantage of the opportunity.
“Families know when their kids are struggling,” he said. “Families desperately want their kids to get help.”
The extra work is paying off. Christina Wagoner, principal at Westside Elementary School in Marietta, said 82% of her third graders are now proficient readers, putting the school among the top 1% in Georgia.
Carey Wright, former state school superintendent in Mississippi, told council members about “The Mississippi Miracle,” a literacy effort initially funded with $3 million from the state legislature that was quickly boosted to $34 million per year.
It, too, involved hiring literacy coaches, 53 who were assigned to 103 low-performing schools. Mississippi also put a heavy emphasis on professional development, hiring coordinators who worked with teachers across the state, she said.
Wright said the program has helped Mississippi reduce teacher turnover.
“Teachers will stay in schools and districts where they feel supported,” she said.
As a result of the program, Mississippi improved from 50th in the nation in fourth-grade reading proficiency in 2013 to 21st last year.
Johnson pledged the new council will put together an aggressive, transparent effort to tackle the problem of low literacy in Georgia.
“We are not here to play small ball,” he said. “We will give Georgia the facts. … We will not cook the numbers.”
ATLANTA – For the second month in a row, Georgia tax collections last month were in the black compared to September of last year only because the state’s tax on gasoline and other motor fuels wasn’t in force then.
While tax revenues in September rose by 6.4% compared to the same month a year ago, when adjusted to account for the gas tax money collected last month, adjusted revenues were actually down by 3.2%.
Individual income tax receipts for last month compared to September of last year declined by 10.5%. The decrease was driven by the combination of a 70.4% increase in refunds issued by the Georgia Department of Revenue and a 25.4% decline in tax return payments.
Net sales tax revenues rose by 9.5% in September, while corporate income taxes were up by 13.8%.
Motor fuel tax receipts for September increased by $199.8 million compared to September of last year, when Gov. Brian Kemp’s executive order suspending collection of the tax was in effect for the entire month.
The suspension of gas taxes was in effect only during part of last month. Kemp reimposed the suspension on Sept. 13 of this year, citing inflation, and renewed the order this month to run through Nov. 11.
The same dynamics clouded the state’s revenue outlook for the first quarter of the current fiscal year. Tax revenues were up 6.1% for the three months ending Sept. 30, but that was only because the motor fuels tax was being collected for most of that time.
Without counting the gas tax money, tax collections in July, August, and September declined by 1.3% compared to the first quarter of the last fiscal year.
ATLANTA – Attorney General Chris Carr is warning Georgians of an imposter scam targeting faith-based communities in which fraudsters pose as religious leaders to try to trick congregants into sending them money.
There are different variations to these imposter scams. In one version, scammers set up Gmail accounts that display the actual name of a rabbi, priest, pastor, or imam. The fraudster then emails the members of the congregation asking for emergency donations to help someone in need.
In another version, scammers pose as real religious leaders and send texts or emails to congregants requesting they send money via gift cards.
“With advancements in technology, it’s easier than ever for criminals to hide their true identity, which is why we continue to hear about imposter scams,” Carr said Monday. “Consumers should be very suspicious of any emails or texts asking them to send money even if they appear to come from a trusted source.”
While it may be difficult to get money back once it’s in the hands of a scammer, victims can take steps to boost their chances of recovering lost funds. Carr’s office urges victims to report the fraud as soon as they become aware of a scam. Immediately contact the appropriate financial provider, money transfer company, or gift card provider.
Also, file a report with the appropriate law enforcement agency, the attorney general’s Consumer Protection Division at (404) 651-8600 or consumer.ga.gov, and the Federal Trade Commission at reportfraud.ftc.gov.
Those who find scam transactions are hurting their credit should visit AnnualCreditReport.com to request free credit reports from the three major credit reporting agencies – Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. Freezing credit is also a good way to stop unauthorized accounts from being opened.
ATLANTA – The Justice Department has awarded more than $1.2 million in grants to law enforcement and public safety initiatives in South Georgia.
The grants include funding for the Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, a key component of the Justice Department’s strategy for reducing violent crime, said Jill Steinberg, U.S attorney for the Southern District of Georgia.
“In addition to fueling the fight against violent crime through Project Safe Neighborhoods, these grants will assist local agencies and communities in keeping their residents safe and improving outcomes for vulnerable citizens,” Steinberg said.
The largest of the grants – $500,000 – will go to the Waycross Area Shelter for Abused Persons to improve the greater Ware County area criminal justice system’s response to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. The collaborative effort with the city of Waycross will implement a project that serves communities throughout the region.
East Georgia College in Swainsboro will receive $399,117 to work with Sunshine House and the Swainsboro Police Department to provide planning, education and training activities to prevent and respond to incidents of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.
The city of Savannah is getting a $119,429 grant to purchase two new bomb suits for the Savannah Police Department’s Bomb Unit, replace outdated equipment used by the Savannah police Underwater Search and Recovery Team, and to buy new traffic enforcement equipment for the Garden City Police Department.
The Liberty County Sheriff’s Office will get $99,990 for a program using its K9 Unit to locate or prevent the wandering of individuals with dementia or developmental disabilities.
An end-of-fiscal-year 2023 PSN grant to the Southern District of Georgia of $98,657 will distribute funding to Savannah, Augusta, and Brunswick, the three most populous cities in the Southern District, in collaboration with local public safety agencies to help achieve reductions in violent crime.
