Crime

Woman charged with stealing from Duluth HS booster club

Submitted by Beth Sawicki, Where U Live Producer

Wednesday, January 21st, 2015, 1:41pm

Woman charged with stealing from Duluth HS booster club

DULUTH, Ga. -- The vice president of Duluth High School's football booster club has been charged with stealing more than $18,000 from the organization.

Christian Antonette Houston, 56, faces six felony and two misdemeanor counts. Police believe she took $18,700 from the Duluth High School Touchdown Club.

Gwinnett County Schools spokeswoman Sloan Roach said Duluth High's football coach approached school administrators to say he believed some money was missing from the booster club. An investigation revealed the money was spent through forged checks that paid for Houston's personal items.

Roach said Houston took the money between May 1 and Dec. 31 of last year. She was arrested Tuesday and booked in the Gwinnett County Jail.

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Personal Safety Tips

Submitted by Sylvia Small on Thursday, November 27th, 6:00 pm

By Greg Norred, CEO, Norred & Associates

Over the course of your life, the chances of being the victim of a crime are at least one in three, higher if you live in a large city, and higher still if you’re a woman. The criminal’s objective is to maximize gain and minimize risk, and he’ll usually pick the easiest target with the most to offer. Given these odds, it pays to take precautions by following some basic safety rules:

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Submitted by Kevin Rowson, 11Alive Reporter

Saturday, October 11th, 2014, 12:19pm

Shoplifter pepper-sprayed store employee

DULUTH, Ga -- Police are calling it a shoplifting, but it could easily be called an assault. A female shoplifter was armed with pepper spray and wasn't afraid to use it when a store associate approached her.

It was a very bold crime because it happened at about 6:00 a.m. on October 8, when hardly anyone was in the Walmart on Pleasant Hill Road in Duluth.

Duluth Police released surveillance video from the store that showed the woman walk into the Walmart with the pepper spray already in her right hand, as if she knew she was going to be confronted.

"It's our belief that she knew that loss prevention would make contact with her if in fact she was shoplifting, and they did," said Det. Bobby Johnson. "And she came prepared."

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Submitted by Beth Sawicki, Where U Live Producer

Wednesday, September 3rd, 2014, 12:02pm

Illinois murder suspect arrested in Gwinnett

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. -- A 19-year-old man wanted in Illinois was taken into custody in Gwinnett County over the weekend.

Devon Stidwell is a suspect in an Aug. 14 murder in Cook County. Gwinnett County Police received a tip that he was hiding at an extended stay hotel in the Duluth area.

Saturday, deputies spotted Stidwell and an acquaintance driving away from Extended Stay America on Venture Parkway near Gwinnett Place Mall. Gwinnett County Police Deputy Shannon Volkodav said police conducted a traffic stop and took Stidwell into custody.

The car's driver, 23-year-old Stacy Hall, was arrested on an outstanding probation violation warrant. Volkodov said Hall was also charged with giving a false name.

Both suspects are being held without bond in the Gwinnett County Jail.

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Submitted by Beth Sawicki, Where U Live Producer

Tuesday, August 12th, 2014, 8:18am

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. -- At least three Gwinnett County women have fallen victim to a recent phone scam, and now police are hoping to pass along information that could help prevent future cases.

Four people have come forward, saying they received calls from someone claiming to be Lt. Pierson with the Gwinnett County Sheriff's Office Warrants Division.

The suspect told the victims they had outstanding warrants for failure to appear for a jury summons. They were asked to use pre-paid debit cards to pay the associated fines and avoid arrest. All four victims told police the caller sounded professional and was very convincing.

Three victims purchased Green Dot MoneyPak cards over the phone in the amounts of $525, $810 and $962. The fourth victim did not make a purchase.

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Submitted by Beth Sawicki, Where U Live Producer

Friday, July 11th, 2014, 7:16pm

Suspects steal luxury cars from Gwinnett dealership

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. -- Police are looking for two people suspected of stealing expensive cars from United BMW Gwinnett.

The first incident happened May 21, when a white woman in her early 30's used a fake identity to buy a $76,000 Audi S7.

Gwinnett County Police Cpl. Jake Smith said United BMW did not discover the deception until after the woman left the dealership in the car. Atlanta Police eventually recovered the Audi, but the suspect is at large.

In the second incident, which happened May 27, a black man in his late 30's or early 40's bought a $98,000 BMW 650i under a fake name. The car was later found in Chicago.

A United BMW employee took a picture of the male suspect after the man fraudulently purchased the car. Smith said in the first case, the female suspect used a photo of herself on the fake ID, but was much heavier in person.

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Submitted by Beth Sawicki, Where U Live Producer

Friday, June 20th, 2014, 10:20am

Gwinnett hotel shooting victim dies, suspect ID'd

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. -- The man who was shot during a party at a Duluth hotel last week has died, and police believe they have identified his killer.

The shooting happened June 11 at around 2 a.m. at the Quality Inn at Pleasant Hill Road and Venture Drive, just off Interstate 85.

Gwinnett County Police Cpl. Jake Smith said 23-year-old Paris Brown was struck in the chest by a bullet after shots rang out during the party. Friends drove Brown to a nearby hospital, where he later passed away.

Police collected a number of shell casings in the hotel's parking lot and roped off a whole section of cars. Investigators executed a search warrant on the hotel room where the party occurred; they said the room was trashed. They also said party guests did not cooperate with the investigation.

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