Winter weather factors in death of north Georgia police chief

Winter weather conditions are to blame for a fatality in north Georgia Monday. The police chief of the small town of Nelson in north Georgia was killed in an accident along the Pickens-Cherokee County line. 32-year-old Clay Adams and a female passenger were on Georgia Highway 515 in Blue Ridge around noon when they were struck by another driver who lost control on a patch of ice. Adams’ car was struck head-on. Adams had been chief of Nelson for a little more than a year.

Former Arcade police chief cleared

A former Arcade, Georgia police chief has been cleared of accusations he fixed traffic tickets. The Jackson County district attorney has closed the book on the file of Dennis Bell. A six-month investigation by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation found no evidence to support the accusation that Bell destroyed original documents in a 2006 DUI case.

Bell resigned from his position as chief in November after the Arcade City Council got an anonymous letter from a former employee accusing Bell of fixing traffic tickets and falsifying his time cards. The council's internal investigation found that most of the
allegations were unfounded. But council members asked the GBI to look into an accusation that Bell disposed of citations in the DUI case.

Special prosecutor vs. former Jefferson police chief

A special prosecutor plans to ask a Jackson County grand jury for an indictment against the former police chief of Jefferson. In September, the grand jury indicted Darren Glenn on charges that he used police department computers and equipment in 2005 to run background checks for his wife’s private investigation firm. However, a week and a half ago, a Superior Court judge dismissed the 30-count indictment, because Glenn was not allowed to testify. When the grand jury reconvenes later this year, the special prosecutor plans to recall the same witnesses. Glenn this time will be allowed to make a statement to grand jurors afterward.

Prosecutor may appeal case against police chief

In the former criminal case against a former northeast Georgia police chief, the special prosecutor is still deciding whether to appeal a judge's order dismissing the charges. A Jackson County judge dismissed a 30-count indictment against former Jefferson Police Chief Darren Glenn. The judge dismissed the charges because prosecutors failed to allow Glenn to testify before the grand jury that indicted him last month. The jury indicted Glenn on charges that he used department computers and equipment to run background checks while working for his wife's private investigation firm during 2005.