Governor Expected to Sign Proposals Backed by Justice Reform Panel. The change could help some 6,600 Georgians rejected each year for food stamps because they are convicted drug felons, according to research by the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute. Every time Norvell Lawhorne applied for food stamps, he was turned down because he was a convicted drug felon. That conviction has made it harder to find a job, housing and even food. He now makes his bed in an Atlanta homeless shelter. [continues 593 words]
Moultrie - Jaime and Katerina Resendez lived in fear. They told friends they were trying to escape something from their past. A year ago, drug agents raided their trailer in Berrien County and found 138 pounds of marijuana, authorities said. The couple immediately cooperated with investigators, leading to the arrests of several drug dealers in Texas, and reportedly to the drug's source in Mexico. Since then, the couple had tried to rebuild their lives. They started settling down. After moving three times in the past year, they moved a few months ago into a one-story brick home in Colquitt County, close to Katerina's family. Both had jobs. The state had returned some of the children who had been removed from their care after the bust. The children were enrolled in school. [continues 768 words]
Before she was fired, the Clarke County child welfare director twice instructed workers to flush marijuana down a toilet to spare a teenager from criminal charges. Gwen O'Looney, who was the Family and Children Services county director in Athens since 1998, said Monday she did not formally report the two incidents involving the 15-year-old girl to juvenile court, as required by state law. The state child protection agency, which investigated the incidents, has referred the matter to Athens-Clarke County District Attorney Ken Mauldin. He could not be reached for comment Monday. [continues 667 words]
Gov. Sonny Perdue plans to push a child endangerment bill that includes penalties for parents who make methamphetamine. The governor is crafting legislation to help protect children from abusive and reckless behavior, spokeswoman Loretta Lepore said Wednesday. Georgia is the only state in the nation without a law that penalizes parents and caregivers who recklessly put children in peril or fail to keep them from danger. Efforts in recent years to pass a child endangerment law have failed. Legislators working to get a bill enacted have had to mollify various groups who fear they would be targeted by its broad language. [continues 615 words]
The mother of a boy accused of smuggling a stomach full of heroin from Nigeria to New York wants answers. Lots of answers. Alissa Walden of Norcross hopes her 12-year-old son's trial, which could get under way this week in New York, resolves questions she's had since before Prince Nnaedozie Umegbolu was arrested April 11 at LaGuardia airport. "I believe he's not telling me everything," said Walden, 33. "I want him to tell who did this to him." [continues 534 words]
The mother of the 12-year-old boy charged with smuggling two pounds of heroin in his stomach affirmed his innocence Thursday and asserted he would be coming home with her to Norcross. "He's coming home," Alissa Walden told reporters outside a Queens, N.Y., courthouse following a pretrial hearing concerning her son, Prince Nnaedozie Umegbolu. Although her words were few, it marked the first time she has talked to the media since arriving in New York after her son's April 11 arrest at LaGuardia Airport. [continues 320 words]
New York --- After more than 15 hours of driving and dread, Alissa Walden finally reached her 12-year-old son, Prince Nnaedozie Umegbolu. He was in a New York hospital room on Saturday, guarded by police, after he allegedly swallowed 87 condoms filled with heroin before beginning a 16 1/2 hour trek that saw him fly alone from Lagos, Nigeria, to London to New York City. Walden brought her son a white teddy bear. And when she walked out of his room after seeing her son, the look on her face had changed to one of relief. [continues 543 words]
Undercover Drug Sting At Harrison High Fooled Everyone Students knew him as Brent Smith. He was the tall, good-looking transfer student who lived with his mom and dad. And he liked drugs. When the 24-year-old undercover sheriff's deputy enrolled at Harrison High School in November, intent on busting its drug trade, not even the principal knew his identity. And when he came in from the cold Monday, the student who fooled them all had netted 27 people, 13 of them Harrison students, on drug possession and sales charges. The story of how he did it came to light Tuesday through interviews with law enforcement officers, school officials and students. [continues 620 words]
