Barrow News-Journal

07/30/2024

CHILD MOLESTATION RING BUSTED IN WINDER, SIX IN CUSTODY
The Barrow County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO), with the assistance of several law enforcement agencies, executed early morning search warrants Tuesday, leading to the arrests of six individuals on charges of child molestation. The investigation, which spanned several months, focused on allegations of abuse occurring at 243 Englewood Road over approximately five years.

The suspects are identified as:

• Paul Andrew Bean, 32, of Winder: Charged with multiple counts of child molestation, so**my, aggravated sexual battery, cruelty to children and in**st. Bean was apprehended at The Whits Inn in Loganville.

• Ashley Nicole Neese, 22, of Winder: Charged with multiple counts of child molestation and cruelty to children. Neese was arrested at 121 Hunter Road in Jefferson.

• Kavin Eugene Neese, 55, of Winder: Charged with multiple counts of child molestation, false imprisonment, aggravated sexual battery and cruelty to children. Neese was taken into custody at 276 Nathaniel Drive in Jefferson.

• Jerry Lee Neese, Jr., 24, of Winder: Charged with multiple counts of child molestation, aggravated sexual battery and cruelty to children. Neese was arrested at 121 Hunter Road in Jefferson.

• Keith Allen Neese, 57, of Winder: Charged with multiple counts of child molestation and aggravated sexual battery. Neese was arrested at a Waffle House at 7415 Spout Springs Road in Flowery Branch.

• Felisa Michelle Bailey, 50, of Winder: Charged with multiple counts of child molestation and cruelty to children. Bailey was also arrested at the Waffle House in Flowery Branch.

The investigation began when a total of four juveniles disclosed the allegations of sexual abuse to forensic interviewers following their removal from the home last year by the Department of Family & Children Services (DFCS), according to a press release from BCSO.

Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith commended the collaborative efforts of the agencies involved in bringing the suspects to justice. “I want to thank the Loganville Police Department, and the Jackson County and Hall County Sheriff’s Offices for their assistance in getting these suspects behind bars,” said Smith. “The effort to arrest these suspects simultaneously at four different locations required incredible coordination between our deputies and law enforcement partners.”

The investigation remains ongoing as authorities work to uncover further details. Additional charges are anticipated.

07/01/2024

❗TRAFFIC ALERT❗
Athens Street is currently closed to traffic due to a tree in the roadway. Lanes are blocked between Horton Street and Beulah Street.

06/20/2024

𝐔𝐏𝐃𝐀𝐓𝐄 – Hall County Sheriff’s Office investigators located and safely recovered Maria Gomez-Perez, of Gainesville, in Dover, Ohio, on Thursday, July 25. Further details can be found at https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=812984740970992&set=a.204077371861735

𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐆𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐓 - 𝐍𝐄𝐖𝐒 𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄
𝐉𝐮𝐧𝐞 𝟏𝟗, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒

𝐔𝐏𝐃𝐀𝐓𝐄: 𝐑𝐞𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐬, 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐚 𝐆𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐳-𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐳 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐞

As the investigation into the disappearance of 12-year-old Maria Gomez-Perez of Gainesville enters its third week, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥’𝐬 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐰 $𝟓𝟎,𝟎𝟎𝟎. All of the reward money has been contributed by business and community members who wish to remain anonymous.

Sheriff Gerald Couch extended his appreciation for the ongoing community support of law enforcement efforts to bring Maria home.

“As I said last week, someone in the community has that single clue or one piece of information that could lead to finding Maria. I am hopeful the increased reward will prompt that person to come forward,” Sheriff Couch said. “Meanwhile, our personnel remain vigilant in their investigation.”

To date, investigators with the Hall County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO), in partnership with other local, state and federal law enforcement officials, have fielded 142 tips in Maria’s case. Many of those tips have been vetted with negative results; others remain under investigation.

HCSO reminds community members who are on the lookout for Maria that the girl’s general appearance may have changed in the last three weeks. Those who are searching on their own should be very cautious and not conduct their own investigations into Maria’s disappearance. Individual searches could be dangerous for citizens and for Maria as well. 𝑰𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒅, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒇𝒇’𝒔 𝒐𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒖𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒊𝒏𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒏 𝑴𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒂’𝒔 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍 (770) 503-3232 𝒐𝒓 𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒍 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒓𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒔𝒕@𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒚.𝒐𝒓𝒈. 𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒊𝒑𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒚 𝒂𝒍𝒔𝒐 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍 911 𝒐𝒓 𝑯𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝑪𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒚 911/𝑪𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝑪𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒕 (770) 536-8812. 𝑻𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒐𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒊𝒑𝒔 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒏𝒚𝒎𝒐𝒖𝒔.

Follow this link for the updated flyer:

https://www.hallcounty.org/DocumentCenter/View/13203/LATEST-Flier-missing-GOMEZ-PEREZ-85x11

06/20/2024

06/04/2024

04/27/2024

Welcome to Barrow County, Dr. LeDuff!

After an extensive process to identify the next superintendent of the Barrow County School System (BCSS) announced Friday the Barrow County Board of Education (BOE) has named Dr. Dallas LeDuff

04/11/2024

🚧 STORM DAMAGE ON SIMS ROAD 🚧
Power crews are on scene to replace utility poles and power lines damaged on Sims Road between Hwy. 53 and Buena Vista. Use caution when passing through the area.

02/28/2024

🏀🎉 FINAL FOUR BOUND 🎉🏀
The HoopDoggs punched their ticket into the Final Four after a nail-biting 66-64 victory in Tuesday's Elite 8 contest against Warner Robins, which marks a historic win for the Bulldoggs. The Winder-Barrow community is bursting with pride as the Doggs head to the University of West Georgia to face Kell in the highly anticipated Final Four showdown Friday night. ❤️🖤

02/26/2024

🚨 UPDATE (3:52pm:)🚨 The emergency repair is complete and the roadway is open.

A section of Alexander Street from 3rd Avenue to 2nd Avenue will be closed today, Monday 2/26/2024, to through traffic to perform emergency repairs on the sewer infrastructure and road.

The closure will take place at 9 a.m. and will remain closed until the work is completed.

Please expect delays and use an alternate route.

02/25/2024

🏀🐾 HoopDoggs secure a 94-73 playoff win in Saturday night's Sweet 16 game against North Springs. For the first time since 2002, the Doggs (25-4)advance to the Elite 8 on Tuesday night as they host Warner Robins (21-7).🏀

02/24/2024

🏀SWEET 16🏀
The Bulldoggs (8-2) host the North Spring Spartans (6-4) in the GHSA AAAAA Sweet Sixteen basketball tournament tonight at the Harrison Activity Building. Tip-off is at 7:30 p.m.

02/18/2024

More photos of the HoopDoggs in action during the Region Championship game on Friday night.

02/17/2024

Tough loss for Winder-Barrow in the Region Championship against Clarke Central Friday night with a 65-60 finish. Despite the setback, they're heading into the state tournament as the #2 seed and will host Tuesday.

02/08/2024

TRIPLE SHOOTING IN BARROW COUNTY LEAVES TWO DEAD

An early morning triple shooting has resulted in the deaths of two people and landed a
third person in the hospital.

At 5:42 a.m., Barrow County Sheriff’s deputies responded to 843 Kendall Park Drive in reference to a 911 call reporting that several individuals inside the home had been shot.

Upon their arrival, deputies discovered a deceased 66 year old female and a deceased 64 year old male. The 35 year old male who made the call to 911 was injured and transported to an area hospital.

The incident was isolated to this single address.

The investigation is continuing and more details will be released as they become available.

02/06/2024

01/29/2024

🚨 MISSING TEEN 🚨
The Winder Police Department is searching for 16-year-old Kaelyn Phillips, last seen Monday morning around 1:30 a.m. at Campground 2 in Fort Yargo State Park. Phillips is described as a white female, 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighing around 140 pounds. Phillips may have braids in her hair and could be wearing glasses along with white Puma shoes.

If you have any information about Phillips' whereabouts, please reach out to Detective Wayne Manthe at 470-201-9914 or via email at [email protected].

01/09/2024

🚧 Travel Advisory 🚧
A stretch of Marion Street near Winder-Barrow High School is currently inaccessible due to a washout beneath the road. Sims Road has also sustained damage from today's storms.

01/05/2024

BASKETBALL PHOTOS: Bulldoggs (14-3) crush Falcons 79-35

12/09/2023

🎁👮‍♂️👩🏿‍🚒 SHOP WITH A HERO 🎁👮‍♂️👩🏿‍🚒
Local public safety agencies joined forces this morning for the beloved annual Shop with a Hero event. Local heroes teamed up with dozens of children for a Christmas shopping spree at WalMart, made possible through the generosity and support of local businesses and individuals.💙🖤

12/08/2023

BCSS BIDS FAREWELL TO SUPERINTENDENT DR. CHRIS MCMICHAEL, EFFECTIVE DEC. 31

Message from BOE Chair:

"After many successful years of partnership, the Barrow County Board of Education and Superintendent Chris McMichael realize we have accomplished so many wonderful things for the students and staff of the schools in Barrow County, much more than we ever dared to hope when Dr. McMichael joined the school system almost ten years ago.

After much deep and mutual reflection, we both realize that we have traveled as far as we can together, and it is time for Dr. McMichael to apply his many talents to the benefit of new schools and new school systems, and for the Board of Education to seek his worthy successor. His shoes will not be easy to fill.

I want to assure you that Dr. McMichael will continue to lead our school system through December 31, 2023."

12/08/2023

👏 Congratulations to our Superintendent, Dr. Chris McMichael! 👏 The University of Georgia's Mary Frances Early College of Education has awarded Dr. McMichael with the 2024 Lifetime Achievement Practitioner Award for distinguished alumni. The award recognizes a graduate and leader who has made a significant impact through service, contributions, and accomplishments. Read more about this well-deserved honor: www.barrow.k12.ga.us/news/1778978/dr-chris-mcmichael-honored-with-2024-lifetime-achievement-award

12/07/2023

PRESS RELEASE FROM CITY OF WINDER:

City of Winder officials are continuing to review Saturday's weather forecast.

The parade is scheduled for 4 p.m. Saturday afternoon in downtown Winder, however the current forecast includes thunderstorms and high winds.

In the case of inclement weather, the City of Winder puts the public's safety first.

Over the next 24 hours leaders at City Hall along with Winder's public safety agencies will continue monitoring the reports from the National Weather Service along with local and state weather agencies.

A final decision on cancelling or postponing this year’s Christmas Parade will be made by Saturday, December 9, 2023, by 10 a.m.

12/06/2023

ELECTION RESULTS: Winder City Council at-large runoff

Taffy McCormick - 210

John Burns - 74

12/04/2023

GBI INVESTIGATES OFFICER-INVOLVED SHOOTING IN BETHLEHEM

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) is currently investigating an officer-involved shooting that took place on Dec. 3 at a residence on Thorn Brook Circle in Bethlehem.
A lieutenant and three deputies from the Barrow County Sheriff's Office responded to a 911 call reporting a domestic disturbance. The caller, identified as the wife of the deceased, reported a verbal argument that had escalated into violence.
The wife told dispatch that her husband, later identified as Robert Reynolds, Sr., 60, had a firearm.
Upon arriving at the scene, officers knocked on the door and identified themselves. Simultaneously, the garage door of the residence began to open, and the deputies found themselves face-to-face with Reynolds, who was seated in a chair, holding a firearm in his lap.
Reynolds grabbed the gun and pointed it at the officers while yelling at them. In response, three deputies discharged their weapons, resulting in Reynolds sustaining fatal injuries. Immediate aid was administered, but Reynolds succumbed to his injuries after being transported to a local hospital.
Barrow County Sheriff’s Office has placed the three deputies involved in the shooting on paid administrative leave, pending the outcome of the investigation. A stress management team has also been deployed to assist the deputies in coping with the aftermath of the incident.
The GBI is actively investigating the circumstances surrounding the shooting, and the case will be forwarded to the Piedmont Judicial Circuit for review upon completion.
An autopsy on Reynolds will be conducted at the GBI crime lab as part of the ongoing investigation.
According to GBI, the incident marks the 96th officer-involved shooting it has been requested to investigate in 2023.