Crime

Jewelry store owner scares off would-be robbers

Submitted by Blayne Alexander, 11Alive Reporter

Friday, January 17th, 2014, 8:40pm

Jewelry store owner scares off would-be robbers

DULUTH, Ga. -- Gwinnett Police are searching for two men who tried to rob a Duluth jewelry store last Thursday.

Surveillance video shows the suspects entering Armen and Joseph Jewelers, smash the cases and try to steal the jewelry. The store's owner stopped the would-be thieves dead in their tracks.

Police say it takes a bold person to try to rob a jewelry store - that's because jewelry stores usually have security guards, surveillance cameras, and, as in this case, the staff is usually prepared.

Surveillance video shows the suspects trying to smash the jewelry display case with a hammer, but then the two drop the hammer and run - that's because the store's owner pulls out a gun. The two take-off running out the store, straight into the view of another surveillance camera, leaving clear images of their faces.

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Submitted by Beth Sawicki, Where U Live Producer

Friday, December 20th, 2013, 8:08am

3 MS-13 members sentenced to life in prison

ATLANTA -- Three members of the MS-13 gang have been sentenced to life in prison for committing murders in two counties.

Ernesto Escobar, 30, of Norcross was sentenced Thursday in federal court. He goes by the street names "Flaco" and "Pink Panther."

Two co-defendants -- 25-year-old Miguel "Joker" Alvarado-Linares of Norcross and 30-year-old Dimas "Toro" Alfaro-Granados of Duluth -- were sentenced in October.

U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said the three men were charged with murder, attempted murder and armed robbery for several incidents in DeKalb and Gwinnett counties.

Evidence presented in court showed Alvarado-Linares and Alfaro-Granados killed a fellow MS-13 member in October 2006 because they believed the victim was cooperating with police.

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Submitted by Beth Sawicki, Where U Live Producer

Thursday, December 5th, 2013, 11:36am

PELHAM, Ala. -- Investigators believe two men arrested in Alabama last month are responsible for multiple car break-ins in metro Atlanta.

Oscar Moses Badger, 37, and Bobby Hanna, 24, were arrested Nov. 14 in Pelham, Ala. Police said they were caught trying to break into a car in a daycare center parking lot. They led Alabama authorities on a brief chase, but were soon captured.

Cherokee County (Ga.) Sheriff's Lt. Jay Baker said investigators believe Badger and Hanna are behind at least six car break-ins at local parks and daycare centers in early November.

They may also be responsible for thefts in Gwinnett County and Peachtree City, Baker said.

Badger and Hanna are both from south Florida. At their time of their Alabama arrest, they were out of jail on bond for similar crimes in Pennsylvania and Texas. Because of this, they are being held on $2 million bond.

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Submitted by Beth Sawicki, Where U Live Producer

Friday, September 20th, 2013, 1:30pm

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, 10:43am

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, 5:37am

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, 1:34pm

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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