GBI Files Complaint Against Judge

The director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation has filed a judicial complaint against Superior Court Judge Kristina Cook Connelly. In the complaint, Vernon Keenan alleges the high-profile judge violated judicial ethics by repeatedly cursing at law enforcement officers about their handling of a drug investigation. The complaint says Connelly was upset because she thought agents investigating illegal drug activity asked a confidential informant about her. GBI spokesman John Bankhead said the agency has never investigated Connelly for illegal drug activity.
-AP-

GBI Review: No Security Breeches of Vital Records

A Georgia Bureau of Investigation review of the State Office of Vital Records is in. State officials were concerned about security breeches after the chief of the office, Richard Wheat, was fired last month for his “gross mismanagement and a lack of professional integrity.” According to the GBI review there were no breeches and Wheat was just disorganized about records. The vital records office handles certificates of birth, death, marriage and divorce.

(The Atlanta Journal Constitution)

GBI Nabs Top Pot Prize

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation crime lab is being honored for an innovative marijuana testing program. GBI Director Vernon Keenan said Wednesday the August Vollmer Excellence in Forensic Science Award from the International Association of Chiefs of Police recognizes the program developed by the lab's chemistry section for local law enforcement agencies in Georgia. More than 1,600 officers certified by the GBI analyze marijuana seized in their jurisdictions and testify in their localcommunities. That enables marijuana cases to move through the courts quicker than other controlled substance cases and has reduced the GBI lab's load of marijuana cases by 98 percent. The award will be presented in October at the annual IACP Conference in Denver.

(Associated Press)

Georgia Records Chief Fired

The head of Georgia’s Office of Vital Records has been fired. Richard Wheat lost his job, following an investigation by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation into allegations that documents had been mishandled. Wheat’s office controls records on births, deaths, marriages and divorces. The GBI found no evidence of criminal activity.

GBI Probes State's Vital Records

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is looking into allegations the state’s birth and death records have been mishandled. Officials called for the probe after a whistleblower said that names were changed on birth certificates without proof of identity and that applications for birth and death certificates were discarded without any action taken. Another allegation… checks were mishandled. Birth and death certificates are maintained by the Department of Human Resources Office of Vital Records. The office also amends records and adds to birth certificates when an adoption is completed or when paternity is acknowledged.

(Associated Press)

Some GBI Criminal Cases In Jeopardy

Dozens of criminal cases in the state could be in jeopardy following the resignation of a state firearms examiner for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. The GBI says Bernadette Davy admitted to not fully testing guns. Firearms examiners are supposed to pull the trigger 12 times before testifying about a piece of evidence. Officials say Davy admitted she had pulled the trigger only 10 times. The GBI has contacted local prosecutors and offered to retest firearms handled by Davy. Some 20 requests for retesting have been received. Davy was an examiner with the GBI since 1991.

Murder at Central State Hospital

A patient at Central State Hospital in Milledgeville has been arrested and charged with the murder of a fellow patient. The suspected killer was in the mental facility awaiting trial for another murder, and after being booked on the latest murder charges, he's back at the hospital.
Thirty year-old Saleeban Adan allegedly murdered Christopher Yates. Yates' body was found Sunday night in his room. He died from strangulation and blunt force trauma.
The murder took place in the Cook Building. It's where the state houses criminal defendants who are also mentally ill. On the outside it looks like a prison, but on the inside it's more like a hospital according to the GBI's Marc Mansfield who is helping investigate the murder.

"They're at liberty to go and visit with the other clients that are being housed there. The rooms themselves are not locked at all times and so one client could go and you know, visit and see another client."

Police say this may be Saleeban's third murder, and at issue is why he is still being allowed such close contact with fellow patients.
Saleeban was sent to Central State three months ago for evaluation after being accused of killing his cellmate in the Dekalb County Jail. He was in that jail awaiting trial on separate murder charges.
In 2001 he was found incompetent to stand trial in that murder, but seven years later a state psychologist ruled him competent. Later on another psychologist reversed that decision.
Saleeban was booked into the Baldwin County Jail in Milledgeville and then returned to Central State Hospital.

Statewide Sweep Nets Arrests In Child Porn Ring

A three-month investigation into distribution of child pornography on the Internet led to the execution of more than 40 search warrants and a series of arrests statewide Tuesday. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has been assisted by local and federal authorities in the sweep, which so far has netted 18 arrests and the seizure of 60 computers. The GBI says Operation Shattered Innocence used software tools to find Internet users sharing computer files with child porn.

Members of Assisted Suicide Group Charged over Death

Georgia authorities have charged four members of an alleged assisted suicide ring with helping a 58-year-old man there end his life.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said Claire Blehr, 76, and Thomas E. Goodwin, 63, were arrested Wednesday at a home in Dawson County in the northern part of the state.

GBI spokesman John Bankhead also said Dr. Lawrence D. Egbert, 81, of Baltimore was arrested. Nicholas Alec Sheridan, also of Baltimore, has been charged but is not in custody.

Bankhead said the four are members of the Final Exit Network.

They were charged with assisted suicide, tampering with evidence and a violation of Georgia's anti-racketeering act. Authorities in at least eight other states are executing search warrants related to the investigation.

(AP)

GBI Says No to Investigation While Docs Show More Peanut Problems

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation will not investigate Peanut Corporation of America’s Blakely operations. The head of GBI says any criminal investigation is best handled at the federal level.

Meanwhile, federal documents showing the plant had sanitary and contamination problems as far back as 2001.

According to the Food and Drug Administration documents, peanut products processed at the Blakely facility contained Aflatoxins, a common fungus in peanuts that in very rare cases can cause death. The documents also show federal inspectors found cobwebs, dead insects and spaces large enough for rodents to crawl through in the facility.

In 2007, inspectors cited a leaky roof at the plant over where peanuts were stored. Many of the problems appear in more report. The documents raise questions as to why the plant was allowed to continue operating without correcting the findings.

Officials at the FDA are not commenting, and PCA says it broke no law, and brought all violations into compliance.

Peanut Plant Hot Topic At Ag Event

Georgia’s top elected officials will mingle with leaders of the state’s agriculture industry this morning in Atlanta. The occasion is the annual breakfast of the Georgia Agribusiness Council. But this year, a hot topic of discussion is expected to be the salmonella outbreak linked to a southwest Georgia peanut processing plant. Governor Sonny Perdue is scheduled to speak at the event and make his first public comments on the matter. Other officials on-hand this morning include Lieutenant Governor Casey Cagle and Agriculture Commissioner Tommy Irvin.

Other news concerning the peanut plant--The Georgia Bureau of Investigation will meet with federal officials involved with the criminal investigation into the plant and the owner—Peanut Corporation of America. Governor Perdue has called-on the GBI to review whether any state laws were broken.

Jump in Gun Permit Applicants 2008

Many more Georgians requested gun permits last year according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

The GBI reports 121 thousand applications were submitted in 2008. That’s up almost 80 percent from the roughly 68 thousand the year before.

The reasons for the jump may vary. Some people say they thought it would be harder to get a gun under the Obama administration. Others say they just want to be able to protect their families especially in high crime areas. The Atlanta Journal Constitution shows the numbers in Georgia are consistent with national trends.

Hostage Standoff Ends in Madison

A hostage standoff has ended at a Madison, Georgia hotel. A man who was holding three people hostage, including his infant son, surrendered Monday morning. It ended a 12-hour-plus ordeal that began 8pm Sunday night at a motel off Interstate-20 in east Georgia’s Madison.

Multiple agencies were on the scene of the standoff, including the FBI, GBI and Morgan County Sheriff’s Department. Authorities say the alleged abductor, 25-year-old David Dietz, is accused of a weekend kidnapping of his estranged wife, his seven-month old infant son, and a teenager. Authorities say Dietz is a former South Carolina police officer.

Hostage Standoff Continues in Madison

Multiple agencies are currently involved this morning in an armed standoff with a kidnapping suspect in Madison. Officials with the FBI, GBI and Morgan County Sheriff’s Department are on the scene trained on a motel room in the east Georgia town just off Interstate-20. The standoff has now extended to about 11 hours.

Authorities say 25-year-old David Dietz is a former South Carolina police officer--he’s accused in a Saturday night abduction of three people in South Carolina, including the man’s estranged wife and a seven-month-old infant.

Authorities in an updated briefing this morning say they are making progress in negotiations with the alleged abductor.

Telfair Co. Sheriff charged with corruption

Federal prosecutors have charged a Southeast Georgia sheriff with taking bribes and embezzling fine and bail money. The indictment against Telfair County Sheriff Jim Williamson comes more than a month after the Georgia Bureau of Investigation served search warrants on Williamson's house, office and the county jail. The G-B-I had been investigating Williamson since May.

U.S. Attorney Edmund Booth says Williamson is charged with taking funds intended for Telfair County courts and using them for his personal use. He's also charged with accepting bribes from people arrested in Telfair County in exchange for reducing or dismissing charges against them or granting them special priviledges while in the county jail. He faces federal charges because the alleged corruption involved the U-S mail.

Williams decided not to seek re-election and steps down this month after two-terms as Sheriff.

Father of two still missing

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has joined the search for a middle Georgia man missing for two weeks. Authorities say 41-year-old Donald Clark of Lamar County disappeared Nov. 18. Clark's relatives and coworkers with a utility subcontractor said the divorced father would never leave his sons, ages 8 and 10. The GBI has assisted in an examination of Clark's house to determine if there was foul play but has nothing conclusive. Clark's car also is missing. The Herald-Gazette of Barnesville reported that Clark's first cousin, Helen Ann Morgan, vanished in May 1984.

(Associated Press)

Telfair County Sheriff under investigation

Authorities are investigating allegations of financial impropriety in the Telfair County Sheriff's Office. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation says search warrants were served at the home of Sheriff Jim Williamson, his office and the county jail on Thursday. Greg Harvey, in charge of the GBI office in Eastman, said the investigation began May 20 and revealed documents and other
evidence that public funds were improperly converted and spent. Harvey said in a news release that the funds "appear to have been taken" from traffic citation bonds and the sheriff's operating budget. Williamson, who leaves office next month after two terms, could not be reached immediately Friday to comment.

(Associated Press)

Explosion Update 2

According to officials, Lloyd Sylvester Cantrell tried to ram his SUV into the building. He loaded up the truck with natural gas, gasoline and propane. Vernon Keenan, director of the GBI, says the body is being transferred to the GBI facility in Decatur.

Cantrell was launching a suicide attack, according to a spokesman, after some dispute with a worker at the law firm.

Officials are looking at Cantrell’s property in North Whitfield County. An ATF spokesman says they are proceeding with caution. Law Enforcement officials are concerned the property might have hidden explosive devices, although they say there is no evidence yet to affirm that concern.

Changes to GAs gun bill possible in '09

Changes to the state's gun laws could be in the works as the State Senate Firearms Committee looks at re-writing House Bill 89, passed earlier this year. One proposal under consideration … speeding up the application permit process. In a working copy of a revised gun bill, the Senate is considering cutting in half the number of days probate judges must get permits to would-be gun owners after fingerprints have been cleared by the FBI and the GBI. Current law says ten days. The proposal now being considered is five days. If a licensed is not issued within five days, the gun owner can sue.

William Self is Bibb County's probate judge. He also chairs the Georgia Probate Judges Council. He opposes the switch.

"I am quite frankly gentlemen, at a complete loss to understand why probate judges became the apparent enemies of gun rights' advocates."

Testifying before the Senate Firearms Safety Committee on Tuesday, Self asked lawmakers to remove the threat of lawsuits from gun enthusiast now hanging over the heads of the state 159 probate judges.

"This is the only statue I know of in the entire state of Georgia which purports to award attorneys fees to a plaintiff without any defense whatsoever if 10 days have expired from receipt of the reports."

Among other changes the committee will consider is including some misdemeanor offenses currently now trigger a reject on a gun permit application.

"There are literally hundreds of misdemeanors under GA law, which even with multiple convictions, do not by themselves disqualify an applicant, such as assault and battery, third degree cruelty to children…"

Here's how state Senator Don Balfour of Snellville responded to the testimony.

"Some of those things seem like whoa, we missed that one? Wow. Some of those we ought to think about putting under there."

The Senate committee now wants a list of misdemeanors to consider as part of the law. Meanwhile another idea is to leave judges completely out of the gun license procedure and hand it over to the Secretary of State. One drawback say Probate Judges is that the Secretary of State's office is not a law enforcement agency. Finally, a representative from the Georgia Council of Probate Court Judges asked the committee to consider raising gun permit application fees above the current $15, to cover actual administrative and processing costs. The Senate committee is expected to make recommendation to changes in Georgia gun laws by January.

GBI criminal tip sheets go 'Minority Report'

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is joining seven other state law-enforcement agencies using an automated intelligence-gathering and evaluation system.

“We required a system that could help us improve our decision-making capabilities and operational effectiveness,” said Don Robertson, GBI Project Administrator. “We also manage vast amounts of data across multiple systems, so breaking down barriers to real-time data sharing is of paramount importance.”

The system analyzes numerous sources of collected data, according to the manufacturers, Memex, Inc., of Vienna, Va.

The system “enables law enforcement to efficiently predict, prevent and respond to threats in real-time,” company officials say, by allowing officials to sift through massive amounts of intelligence data, including emails tips, leads and other clues, in order to predict patterns of possible future criminal behavior.

Police departments in Albany, Cobb County, Columbus, Gwinnett County, the Lowndes County Sheriff's Office, and the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office are also using the system, the company said in a release.

The system's touted prediction abilities echo the 2002 science fiction film, Minority Report, in which a “precrime” unit apprehended criminals just prior to the commission of their deeds.

In the movie, however, psychics were relied upon for their ability to visualize a violent crime before it occurred.

Click here for more GPB News coverage of the GBI.