Crime

5 Gwinnett gang members charged with extortion

Submitted by Beth Sawicki, Where U Live Producer

Friday, September 20th, 2013, 12:30pm

5 Gwinnett gang members charged with extortion

NORCROSS, Ga. -- A federal grand jury has charged five metro Atlanta men with terrorizing business owners in Gwinnett County.

Investigators said 39-year-old Eugene Thomas "Yoo Jin" Chung was the ringleader of the crimes. He and four fellow gang members -- 24-year-old Athith "Andy" Vorasith, 48-year-old Jong Sung "John" Kim, 30-year-old Ye El "David" Choi and 32-year-old Thomas Jungwon Lee -- have been charged with extortion, drug trafficking and firearm possession.

According to information presented in court, in July 2009, Chung and his co-defendants began threatening the owner of the Gah Bin Korean restaurant. They demanded monthly payments between $400 and $800 in exchange for protection.

Chung threatened to harm the victim and vandalize the restaurant if he did not receive the money, according to U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates. The gang members started carrying guns and tormenting other Korean business owners to make their point.

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Submitted by Beth Sawicki, Where U Live Producer

Monday, August 26th, 2013, 9:43am

Wrong-way driver causes 4-car wreck on I-85

DULUTH, Ga. -- A woman faces several charges after driving the wrong way on Interstate 85 and causing a serious accident over the weekend.

The wreck happened at around 4 a.m. Sunday near Pleasant Hill Road.

Gwinnett County Police Sgt. R. D. Work said Alysha Harvin began driving south in the northbound lanes at mile marker 106.

The Jonesboro woman's wrong-way driving resulted in a four-car accident. Work said one car flipped several times while the others collided. No one was seriously injured.

Harvin was eventually caught at Beaver Ruin Road and arrested. She was charged with DUI, hit and run, reckless driving and driving on the wrong side of the road.

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Submitted by Beth Sawicki, Where U Live Producer

Thursday, August 8th, 2013, 4:37am

Police ID possible witness in Gwinnett murder

DULUTH, Ga. -- Gwinnett County Police would like to speak with a woman who may be a witness in a recent homicide case.

The woman was spotted on surveillance video with murder victim Darinel Martinez Lopez, who body was found July 28 in a wooded area near the Bella Vista Apartments in unincorporated Duluth. Investigators said he died of blunt force trauma.

The video was taken at around 7:30 p.m. July 27 at a restaurant at the intersection of Satellite Boulevard and Liddell Road. It shows the victim and the possible witness entering the restaurant at around the same time.

Gwinnett County Police Cpl. Jake Smith said investigators believe the woman was driving a black car, possibly an SUV, and may have been experiencing car trouble.

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Submitted by Beth Sawicki, Where U Live Producer

Thursday, August 1st, 2013, 12:34pm

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. -- Gwinnett County Police have determined that the man whose body was found near an apartment complex on Sunday was murdered.

The body of 26-year-old Darinel Martinez Lopez was found in a wooded area of the Bella Vista Apartments on Satellite Boulevard in unincorporated Duluth, a little more than a day after he was last seen.

Gwinnett County Police Cpl. Jake Smith said an autopsy determined Lopez died of blunt force trauma. His death was ruled a homicide.

Lopez lived at The Falls at Gwinnett Place apartment complex, which is adjacent to the property where his body was found.

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Submitted by Kevin Rowson, 11Alive Reporter

Monday, July 29th, 2013, 11:26pm

Gwinnett homicide rate doubles over the weekend

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga -- Gwinnett County Police were on a pace this year to have one of the lowest homicide rates in recent history. Through nearly seven months of this year there were only three homicides in the county. That changed this weekend when the number was more than doubled in a 48 hour period.

Murders are the hardest crime for police to prevent. That's because it is usually a crime of passion. "Things like burglary we can put a bunch of vehicles in a neighborhood to discourage burglars," Corporal Jake Smith said. "Murders are a lot more difficult to police preventively."

In 2012 there were 30 homicides in Gwinnett County. Through nearly seven months in 2013 there were only three. The county was on a pace for only six homicides, but that changed this past weekend with four homicides in less than 48 hours.

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Submitted by Kevin Rowson, 11Alive Reporter

Thursday, May 9th, 2013, 1:34pm

NORCROSS, Ga. -- Police in Gwinnett County have captured an accused serial rapist who lured his victims into a vacant apartment.

Joseph Tyler Sivonda, 23, was taken into custody Thursday morning at an apartment in Duluth.

He was staying with 30-year-old Tiffany Martin, who was also arrested and charged with hindering the apprehension of a felon.

Police said Sivonda hired female escorts online and arranging to meet them in a vacant apartment in the complex where he lives.

When the women showed up, police said Sivonda pulled out a gun, robbed them and raped them. Gwinnett police are investigating three incidents in the Bradford Gwinnett apartments off Beaver Ruin Road in unincorporated Norcross.

Police searched the apartment last week after not finding Sivonda at home. Neighbors said he lives in one of the apartments with his brother and mother. A SWAT team battered in the family's door and searched the apartment.

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