Two Killed In NE Ga Plane Crash

Two people are dead after a light sport airplane crashed near Cedartown late Thursday afternoon. Kathleen Bergen with the Federal Aviation Administration says officials are unsure exactly when the plane went down, but 9-1-1 calls about a low flying aircraft were received about 4:30 p.m.Thursday. The two victims, whose identities are unknown, were found Friday morning by authorities.

Bergen says the plane is a Quikr registered to Atlanta Sport Aviation Inc. of Cedartown, in northeast Georgia.

Five drug gang members convicted in Rome

Five men were convicted Monday in Rome for their part in a violent drug gang that was responsible for five murders, attempted murder and kidnapping in northwest Georgia. A federal prosecutor says the ring was based in Cedartown, and had a hand in half of the murders in Polk and Floyd counties in 2003.

The five men, all in their 30's, were convicted of conspiring to engage in a racketeering enterprise from March 2000 to December 2006. They were also found guilty of conspiring to distribute and distributing methamphetamine and cocaine. The five will be sentenced in May--15 others have pleaded guilty in the case, while another 10 await trial.

Paulding Co. official among plane crash victims

Post Commissioner Hal Echols (Courtesy Paulding Co.)

(Updated: 8pm, 01/01/08)

A twin-engine plane crashed Friday as it tried to land amid low fog at a small airport in northwest North Carolina, killing all six people on board, officials said.

The FAA says all six aboard died, including John Wesley Rakestraw, the owner of the plane and a pilot.

Others aboard the aircraft were identified as Frank Ruggiero, Steve Simpson, Hal Echols, Robert Simpson and Tony Gunter.

The Georgia governor's office says RaKestraw, Simpson and Echols were prominent Georgia Republicans. Rakestraw was the CEO of Blue Sky Airways in Dallas, Georgia, which owned the plane. Steve Simpson was a developer and Echols a county commissioner in Paulding County.

"Gunter worked for Raker Construction, Butler was with the Georgian Bank and Rogerrio worked for the Facility Group," according to Paulding County.com.

The craft was en route from Cedartown, Ga. to Meadows of Dan, Va., officials said.

Stephanie Conner, a Surry County emergency services shift supervisor, said investigators had confirmed there were no survivors. No one on the ground was hurt, said Warren Woodberry, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration.

(Andy Matthews/AP)

The King Air C90A split in half after falling into a grassy area between two homes near the Mount Airy airport around 11:30 a.m., the Surry County Sheriff's Office said.

The passengers were on their way to Primland, a hunting and golf resort about 25 miles north of the Mount Airy airport.

"The hunting resort van was actually waiting for them, and he was the only person who saw the plane come out of the clouds," according to airport manager Kelvin Boyette.

A woman who identified herself as a Primland resort manager but declined to give her name said the company had no comment.

The plane — the only one scheduled to land at Mount Airy on Friday — missed its approach and may have been trying to circle back for another attempt before it crashed, Boyette said.

"There was a really low fog, it was raining a little bit and an occasional sleet pellet. But visibility was more than a 2 1/2 miles," he said.

The plane is registered to Blue Sky Airways in Dallas, Ga., according to FAA records. One of the men on board was identified by his cousin, Ronald Rakestraw, as John Rakestraw, a pilot who owned a construction company that had the same address listed on the plane's registration.

(with The Associated Press)

Captain Charged With Possessing Stolen Firearms

Wallace, released on a $10,000 bond. (Ken Caruthers/Rome News Tribune)

Barry Wallace, 40, of Cedartown, Georgia, was indicted on Friday by a federal grand jury on charges of stealing firearms while employed as a captain by the Polk County Police Department.

Wallace made his initial appearance and was granted $10,000 bond by a United States Magistrate Judge Friday afternoon.

United States Attorney David E. Nahmias said of the case, “The integrity of law enforcement officers, the vast majority of whom serve with great distinction, is essential to the administration of justice. Wallace used his position as captain in charge of the evidence room to steal guns from the evidence room that he either kept for himself or gave away to others. His actions were dishonest and dangerous to the community. We will continue to prosecute officers who violate the public trust.”

FBI Special Agent in Charge Gregory Jones said:

"Public corruption investigations are an unpleasant but very vital tasking of our agency. Law enforcement officers are often faced with difficult decisions and presented with opportunities that might challenge their integrity and ethical foundations. While we, as members of the law enforcement community ourselves, understand this, we also understand the tremendous damage that can result, to include the public's loss of confidence, when an officer strays from those foundations."

According to the indictment, from in or about April 2003 through July 2007, Wallace knowingly received, possessed, concealed, stored and disposed of twenty firearms that he knew were stolen. Information at Friday's hearing indicated that Wallace was demoted from Captain to Sergeant, and resigned the police department three months ago.

The indictment charges seven counts of stolen firearms. Each count carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

Assistant United States Attorney Glenn D. Baker is prosecuting the case. This investigation is being handled by Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, according to a Department of Justice statement.

Cop sentenced for stealing from Latinos

In North Georgia, a former Cedartown police officer has been sentenced for stealing money from Latino motorists during illegal traffic stops.

Douglas Damiano will have to spend two years in prison, and repay his victims about $2,300.

Damiano confessed after he tried to steal $100 from an undercover officer posing as a motorist.

Cedartown soldier's body returns for burial

The 102nd Georgia solider to die in Iraq returned home for the final time on Thursday evening.

Staff Sergeant Shannon Weaver was supposed to return to the U. S. for an extended leave in July. Last night, he returned a month early, in a flag draped casket.


A crowd of flag-waving citizens stood on the tarmac at Russell airport in Rome as the plane bearing Weaver's body landed. A motorcycle and police procession escorted the hearse 30 miles to Cedartown.


Weaver died on May 21 when roadside bombs exploded near his vehicle in southern Baghdad. The explosion also killed Sergeant Brian Ardron of Acworth.

Terry Vaughn, Weaver's mother-in-law, said he wanted the soldiers under him to take leave before he did.

If he would have come home before that, this might not have happened. But it did. And I believe that things happen for a reason. But I, I, I don't know what that reason would be at this time, other than serving his country, and he gave the ultimate sacrifice.

Weaver will be buried in a small country churchyard with full military honors on Sunday.