Authorites investigate fatal accident at Chamblee Charter

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. -- Chamblee Police and Dekalb Schools Police are investigating a fatal construction accident that occurred on Wednesday night. 

The incident happened on the campus of the new Chamblee Charter High School. According to reports, a construction worker fell from the roof of the new building and died.

The company in charge of constructing the new building, Turner Construction, released a statement saying: 

We are deeply saddened to confirm that a worker died in an accident on May 7, 2013, while working on the Chamblee High School construction site. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family during this very difficult time and our immediate and highest priority is supporting the family in their time of need.

The incident is under investigation and we are fully cooperating with the investigation being conducted by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Police Department. Turner is also conducting its own investigation of the circumstances surrounding the incident.

The safety of our workforce is always our top priority as demonstrated by our safety record and our performance at the Chamblee High School project prior to this unfortunate accident. Prior to this incident we have not had any lost time incidents at the Chamblee High School project. Safety is a part of our culture and we take it very seriously. We are holding safety stand-down meetings with all workers on site to review safety procedures.

Grief counselors were on site today and will be available to support friends and co-workers in the days and weeks ahead and we will be collaborating with the subcontractor that employed the deceased and with his family to create opportunities to provide support to the family.

No further information was immediately released. 

15.20 | 0 komentar | Read More

Rockdale Sheriff launches investigation, apologizes for racial slur

WARNING: The video of this story above contains a racial slur that 11Alive would normally bleep out.  But because of the nature of this story we have chosen to air it uncensored.  Press the pause button on the video above now if you do not wish to hear it.

===========================

A second metro Atlanta law enforcement agency has launched an internal investigation in reponse to our special report which exposed a DeKalb County Police detective using a racial slur during a videotaped police interrogation.

Rockdale County Sheriff Eric Levett tells 11Alive News he's ordered an investigation into the Sheriff's Office handling of the incident. Sheriff Levett says Rockdale County Investigator Tracy Radford was present in the interrogation room when the racial slur was used. The Sheriff says the investigation will check to see if Inv. Radford ever reported the incident to his supervisors.

 Sheriff Levett also issued an apology for the incident. "On behalf of the Rockdale Sheriff's Office, I would apologize to Mr. Dwight for those words being said." Sheriff Levett said.

The videotape shows DeKalb County Detective Michael Hellerman threatening an African-American suspect with the prospect of being convicted by a "jury full of white people," who will only see him as a "straight-up n*****."

DeKalb County Police Chief Cedric Alexander says any disciplinary action for Det. Hellerman is pending the outcome of the department's internal investigation into the incident.

In 2009, Nathan Dwight was accused of carjacking a woman in DeKalb County and then using that stolen car in a violent armed robbery of a convenience store in Rockdale County.

He was tried, convicted and sentenced to life in prison for the robbery in Rockdale.

Eyewitnesses identified him, even though the robber was wearing a disguise.

Nathan spent more than two years behind bars before DNA evidence found in the stolen car convinced a judge to overturn his conviction.

During a blistering police interrogation, the then 21-year-old adamantly maintained his innocence.

The police, however, were convinced they had their man and turned up the heat in hopes of getting a confession.  In stark, unflattering terms, Detective Michael Hellerman paints a picture of Dwight's chances before a jury.

"We're going to get a whole jury -- a whole jury full of white people," Detective Hellerman told an visibly agitated Dwight.

"I'm not confessing to nothing I didn't do," Dwight interjected.

"I'm going to put this picture," Detective Hellerman said, referring to a still image from the security cameras at the convenience store, "...next to your photo lineup and you know what they're going to see? They're going to see a straight-up n*****!"

"That's not me!" Dwight replied, his voice rising. "That's not me, sir."

Dwight sat down with 11Alive's Devin Fehely, saying "Morally, in my eyes, that was wrong.  I mean he looked me dead in my face and called me, 'a n****.' It was just blatant."

In the interrogation video you can see a desperate Dwight make one final plea to convince detectives hey had the wrong guy.

"Please. I mean this is my life on the line. I know I didn't do this. And I watch too many movies seeing folks going to jail for 20 and 30 years for some crap they didn't even do," the tape shows Dwight saying.

DeKalb County Police Chief Cedric Alexander said, "It sent a chill up my back that an investigator in this police department would use such language."

11Alive News showed the interrogation video to Chief Alexander and his reaction was a mix of embarrassment and outrage.

"Quite frankly, I shouldn't be the only person upset with this. I think anybody in the judicial system should be absolutely outraged by this," he said.

The jurors at Dwight's original trial saw parts of the videotaped interrogation, but neither the prosecution nor the defense played the segment where Detective Hellerman used the n-word.

Defense attorney Mawuli Davis said, "They needed to see how far this officer would go to get this young man to confess to something that he has always said he did not do."

The tape is controversial to be sure, but the courts have ruled police have lots of leeway in how they talk and what they say to suspects in their custody, allowing them to misrepresent evidence and even to lie, if it helps get a confession.

11Alive News asked Jessica Gabel,  a law professor at Georgia State University, to conduct a top-to-bottom review of the case.

"I think he absolutely crossed a line. He crossed a line and implied you're not going to get a fair trial in this town because you're black," she said. "What the police and perhaps the prosecution suffered from in this case was a bit of tunnel vision."

Despite Dwight's case being overturned in Rockdale County he's not in the clear yet.  He could still be charged in DeKalb where the carjacking case remains open.

The DeKalb County DA's office has not decided what it intends to do with this case.

15.20 | 0 komentar | Read More

Suspect arrested in NW Atlanta shooting

Dominique Benton (Courtesy of Fulton Sheriff)

ATLANTA, Ga. -- Authorities have arrested a suspect they say robbed and killed a man one day after Christmas, last year. 

Dominique Benton was arrested on Wednesday and charged with armed robbery and felony murder.

Authorities discovered the victim lying beside the sidewalk near James Jackson Parkway and Northwest Drive in the Carey Park neighborhood around 1:50 p.m. The victim sustained one gunshot wound to the upper left side of his shoulder.

Benton is currently being held in the Fulton County Jail. 

15.20 | 0 komentar | Read More

78-year-old man found dead, grandson and girlfriend charged

MABLETON, Ga. -- A young Cobb County couple were charged with the murder of a 78-year-old Lilburn man on Tuesday evening. 

According to Cobb County Police, 78-year-old Edward Smith was reported missing on May 5 by family members. Authorities say Smith nor his truck had not been seen by his family since May 2. 

Authorities located Smith dead inside of his truck in South Cobb County. Smith's 30-year-old grandson Casey Collins and his 23-year-old girlfriend Sarah Cook have been charged with his death. 

Cobb County authorities will conduct an autopsy to determine Smith's manner and cause of death. 

Collins and Cook are being held without bond at the Cobb County Adult Detention Center. Both are being charged with one count of Felony Murder. 

15.20 | 0 komentar | Read More

Why I put my kids in Abduction Prevention Camp

ATLANTA -- Inside the Carl Sanders YMCA in Buckhead, the kids and their instructors are sitting in chairs all facing forward, pretending they are riding in a bumpy car.

The teacher, playing the role of a child in the backseat, starts poking the six year old driver in the shoulder, whining "Mom, Mom, Mom!" 

The six year old looks over her shoulder and the instructor asks, "What just happened?" One of the kids in the back answers, "We just wrecked."

Skits like this make up the week-long camp. But the children will also spend a lot of time poking imaginary eyes, butting invisible heads, blocking potential blows. And there is lots of yelling. Yelling, "No!" Yelling, "You're not my Mom!" Commotion is encouraged.

I enrolled my eight-year-old son Jude and my six-year-old daughter Iris in the camp. Run by the national nonprofit RAD kids -- RAD stands for Resisting Aggression Defensively. My son has been preoccupied with so called bad guys breaking into our house,

"I'm afraid they're going to take me and Iris. Because we'll never see you guys again." 

The RAD kid instructors say, "We don't scare. We prepare." 

Trained instructors run these camps around the country; where children learn home safety and 9-1-1 safety, but they also hammer at noses, free themselves from imaginary arms, and jam their tiny sharp elbows into chests. 

Belise Michel,  Donna Goss, and Maureen Pierce are the instructors. Their job is not easy and for Pierce, it's personal. 

"I was abducted when I was in third grade and I was at a safe park in my small town. Broad daylight. My mom was there and I was with a friend," she said.

While her mother read a book on a nearby bench in that Kenosha, Wisconsin park, Maureen decided to pick her mother some flowers. 

"I just walked around a corner, bent over and before I know it this man had covered my eyes, covered my mouth and was just dragging me to his car," she said.

That man, Michael Knipe, drove little Maureen Pierce to a cornfield and raped her. 

"I said are you going to kill me? And he said when I'm done with you," Maureen said.

At one point when Knipe went to his car, Maureen ran another way through the cornfield and got to the road and flagged down a car. Knipe was caught and convicted and sentenced to 46 years in prison. 

But the damage was done to a little girl who returned to third grade, who grew up, got married, and had four boys. Then eight-year-old Jorelys Rivera was abducted and murdered by the maintenance man in her Canton apartment complex in December of 2011. 

"I turned on the news and they had found her body."

The death of Jorelys, who was one year younger than Maureen when she was abducted, made Pierce realize she needed to do more.  So she got certified as an instructor.

"Had I had some training I would have known, do not get in that car."  

Michel and Goss and Pierce trained together. Also in their class,  Elizabeth Smart, the Utah woman abducted from her bedroom at knife point when she was 14 years old.  

Goss says told all of them that, "She wished somebody had given her permission to fight back. She did not know she had the right to hit or strike an adult. And that just resonated with me."

That's why drills are repeatedly run, and the children urged to react quickly and loudly."You just keep on going until he lets you go!"

At the end of the week, David Resendez, a trained instructor, poses as the bad guy and it's time to put the training to action. 
The children are remarkable, fighting back, yelling and making a commotion to draw attention.

It's my son's turn and I'm shocked and impressed and stressed as I watch him fight back against the huge hulk of a man  holding him dangling above the floor. Jude gets free and runs away.

When it's Iris's turn, she fights equally hard, kicking and screaming and running away. 

It is difficult to watch, but the kids are so proud of themselves. After camp, at home, the talk of bad guys goes away. 

For Maureen -- what happened to her all those years ago will never make sense. But it led her to help her own children -- and other people's children stay safe.

 "I just feel so connected to them and want to see them become more empowered. They are special and no one has the right to hurt them," she said.

15.20 | 0 komentar | Read More

DeKalb detective caught on tape using racial slur still on the job

WARNING: The video of this story above contains a racial slur that 11Alive would normally bleep out.  But because of the nature of this story we have chosen to air it uncensored.  Press the pause button on the video above now if you do not wish to hear it.

===========================

11Alive News has learned that a DeKalb County Police detective caught using a racial slur during a videotaped interrogation remains on the job despite an internal investigation that's been launched into his conduct.

11Alive News uncovered the disturbing videotape from a police interrogation of suspect in a 2009 carjacking and armed robbery of a convenience store.

DeKalb County Police Chief Cedric Alexander says any disciplinary action for Det. Michael Hellerman is pending the outcome of the department's internal investigation into the incident.

In 2009, Nathan Dwight was accused of carjacking a woman in DeKalb County and then using that stolen car in a violent armed robbery of a convenience store in Rockdale County.

He was tried, convicted and sentenced to life in prison for the robbery in Rockdale.

Eyewitnesses identified him, even though the robber was wearing a disguise.

Nathan spent more than two years behind bars before DNA evidence found in the stolen car convinced a judge to overturn his conviction.

During a blistering police interrogation, the then 21-year-old adamantly maintained his innocence.

The police, however, were convinced they had their man and turned up the heat in hopes of getting a confession.  In stark, unflattering terms, Detective Michael Hellerman paints a picture of Dwight's chances before a jury.

"We're going to get a whole jury -- a whole jury full of white people," Detective Hellerman told an visibly agitated Dwight.

"I'm not confessing to nothing I didn't do," Dwight interjected.

"I'm going to put this picture," Detective Hellerman said, referring to a still image from the security cameras at the convenience store, "...next to your photo lineup and you know what they're going to see? They're going to see a straight-up n*****!"

"That's not me!" Dwight replied, his voice rising. "That's not me, sir."

Dwight sat down with 11Alive's Devin Fehely, saying "Morally, in my eyes, that was wrong.  I mean he looked me dead in my face and called me, 'a n****.' It was just blatant."

In the interrogation video you can see a desperate Dwight make one final plea to convince detectives hey had the wrong guy.

"Please. I mean this is my life on the line. I know I didn't do this. And I watch too many movies seeing folks going to jail for 20 and 30 years for some crap they didn't even do," the tape shows Dwight saying.

DeKalb County Police Chief Cedric Alexander said, "It sent a chill up my back that an investigator in this police department would use such language."

11Alive News showed the interrogation video to Chief Alexander and his reaction was a mix of embarrassment and outrage.

"Quite frankly, I shouldn't be the only person upset with this. I think anybody in the judicial system should be absolutely outraged by this," he said.

The jurors at Dwight's original trial saw parts of the videotaped interrogation, but neither the prosecution nor the defense played the segment where Detective Hellerman used the n-word.

Defense attorney Mawuli Davis said, "They needed to see how far this officer would go to get this young man to confess to something that he has always said he did not do."

The tape is controversial to be sure, but the courts have ruled police have lots of leeway in how they talk and what they say to suspects in their custody, allowing them to misrepresent evidence and even to lie, if it helps get a confession.

11Alive News asked Jessica Gabel,  a law professor at Georgia State University, to conduct a top-to-bottom review of the case.

"I think he absolutely crossed a line. He crossed a line and implied you're not going to get a fair trial in this town because you're black," she said. "What the police and perhaps the prosecution suffered from in this case was a bit of tunnel vision."

Despite Dwight's case being overturned in Rockdale County he's not in the clear yet.  He could still be charged in DeKalb where the carjacking case remains open.

The DeKalb County DA's office has not decided what it intends to do with this case.

15.20 | 0 komentar | Read More

An improper police interrogation?

WARNING: The video of this story above contains a racial slur that 11Alive world normally bleep out.  But because of the nature of this story we have chosen to air it uncensored.  Press the pause button on the video above now if you do not wish to hear it.

===========================

Nathan Christopher Dwight was accused of carjacking a woman and using the car in a violent armed robbery.

He maintained his innocence but was tried and convicted of the robbery. He was sentenced to life in prison.

The cornerstone of the prosecutor's case... several eyewitnesses who identified Dwight as the attacker.

After more than two years behind bars, DNA evidence found in the stolen car ruled Dwight out as a suspect. And a judge overturned his conviction.

11Alive's Devin Fehely spent months digging into this case and found a disturbing videotape of the police interrogation.

15.20 | 0 komentar | Read More

3 missing women found in Cleveland, 3 arrested

UPDATE: -- Cleveland Ohio's police chief says three people have been arrested after three women missing for years were found in a home and one said she'd been kidnapped.

A 52-year-old man from the home was among those arrested. Police have released no names and given no details about the others arrested or what charges they might face.

Police Chief Michael McGrath says a 6-year-old also was in the home.

Dozens of police officers and sheriff's deputies remained at the scene late Monday awaiting a warrant to search the building.

Authorities say the women have been taken to a hospital to reunite with relatives and seem to be in good health. Michelle Knight had been missing since 2002, Amanda Berry since 2003 and Gina DeJesus since 2004.

CLEVELAND (AP) - Three women who went missing about a decade ago were found alive Monday in a residential area just south of downtown, and a man was arrested.

Cheering crowds gathered Monday night on the street near the home where police said Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michele Knight were found earlier in the day.

Police didn't immediately provide any details of how the women were found but said they appeared to be in good health.

Berry disappeared at age 16 on April 21, 2003, when she called her sister to say she was getting a ride home from her job at a Burger King. DeJesus went missing at age 14 on her way home from school about a year later. They were found just a few miles from where they had gone missing.

The Plain Dealer newspaper reports Knight had been missing since 2002.

Police said a 52-year-old man was arrested. There was no immediate word on charges.

In January, a prison inmate was sentenced to 4 1/2 years after admitting he provided a false burial tip in the disappearance of Berry, who had last been seen the day before her 17th birthday. A judge in Cleveland sentenced Robert Wolford on his guilty plea to obstruction of justice, making a false report and making a false alarm.

Last summer, Wolford tipped authorities to look for Berry's remains in a Cleveland lot. He was taken to the location, which was dug up with backhoes.

Berry's mother, Louwana Miller, who had been hospitalized for months with pancreatitis and other ailments, died in March 2006. She had spent the previous three years looking for her daughter, whose disappearance took a toll as her health steadily deteriorated, family and friends said.

Two men arrested for questioning in the disappearance of DeJesus in 2004 were released from the city jail in 2006 after officers did not find her body during a search of the men's house.

One of the men was transferred to the Cuyahoga County Jail on unrelated charges, while the other was allowed to go free, police said.

In September 2006, police acting on a tip tore up the concrete floor of the garage and used a cadaver dog to search unsuccessfully for DeJesus' body. Investigators confiscated 19 pieces of evidence during their search but declined to comment on the significance of the items then.

No Amber Alert was issued the day DeJesus failed to return home from school in April 2004 because no one witnessed her abduction. The lack of an Amber Alert angered her father, Felix DeJesus, who said in 2006 he believed the public will listen even if the alerts become routine.

"The Amber Alert should work for any missing child," Felix DeJesus said then. "It doesn't have to be an abduction. Whether it's an abduction or a runaway, a child needs to be found. We need to change this law."

Cleveland police said then that the alerts must be reserved for cases in which danger is imminent and the public can be of help in locating the suspect and child.

15.20 | 0 komentar | Read More

Austell student missing from MGSC campus

Jmaal Malik Keyes (Courtesy WMAZ)

MACON, Ga. -- A metro-area church is organizing a search party on Monday evening for a 19-year-old college student missing in Middle Georgia. 

According to WMAZ-13, Jmaal Malik Keyes went missing about two weeks ago from the Middle Georgia State College campus in Cochran.

RELATED | 19-year-old MGSC student still missing 

Reportedly, Keyes' belongings are untouched in his dorm room on campus; he was last seen leaving the room about two weeks ago without them. Keyes does not have a car. He was last seen wearing a yellow and white shirt, black jeans and black and white shoes. 

On Monday evening, Destiny World Church in Austell is gathering to organize a search effort to find Keyes or to learn more about his disappearance. According to WMAZ, the Keyes family are members of the church.

Wilbur Purvis, pastor of Destiny World Church says the church plans to organize a search party that will travel to Cochran, via bus, on Tuesday to search for the missing student.

The Destiny World Church in Austell will also be offering a $2,000 reward. The church is located at 7400 Factory Shoals Road in Austell.

15.20 | 0 komentar | Read More

Flooding, trees down, power out after three days of rain

ATLANTA -- Power crews, police and firefighters scrambled overnight on Sunday to respond to a series of emergency calls about flooding, fallen trees and power outages after three days of steady rain.

One car stalled out on the entrance ramp to I-285 at Jonesboro Road after the driver tried to go through high water.

In DeKalb County, firefighters requested help from Georgia Power after a transformer caught on fire at Oak Forest Drive and Ashwoody Trail just South of I-285.

Crews with 11Alive News found trees down on Cahaba Drive, Harwell Road, Rock Springs Road NE and Charlotte Place NW in Atlanta.

Atlanta firefighters and police responded to a tree down on the road at Peachtree Battle Avenue and Old Field Road. The tree brought down a power line.

Another tree fell early Sunday at 529 Gresham Avenue SE near Glenwood. 

In Marietta, crews responded to a tree across the road on Polk Street.

Georgia Power sent out this Tweet late Saturday night: "Today's rains have left heavy, wet trees in soggy ground. A wind gust can bring them down."

At last report, 2100 Georgia Power customers were without service, with 1400 of them in metro Atlanta.

Peachtree Creek in Buckhead remained several feet below flood stage early Sunday, but there was ponding on nearby Northside Drive.

The National Weather Services reports Big Creek is now above flood stage in South Forsyth County and continuing to rise, causing minor flooding.

The Big Creek Greenway is closed with up to four feet of water in some areas.

The NWS has also issued a flood warning for Suwanee Creek near Suwanee from Sunday morning until Monday morning.

Areas behind Suwanee Elementary School and George Pierce Park could flood.

15.20 | 0 komentar | Read More