Archived News

Police sergeant arrested, charged with interfering with investigation

A DeKalb police sergeant has been arrest and charged with interfering with a police investigation.

The DeKalb Police Major Felony Unit was investigating a reported case of terroristic threats and acts involving Cherise McMoore, 33, on May 25. While detectives were executing a search warrant at her residence at 6752 Browns Mill Ferry Road in Lithonia, McMoore arrived at the home, accompanied by Sgt. Jerry R. Banks, 42, whom police describe as her companion. While there, Banks interfered with the investigation and was arrested, according to police.  He is charged with misdemeanor obstructing or hindering law enforcement officers.

McMoore was also arrested and is charged with terroristic threats and acts, a felony. The investigation is continuing.

Dunwoody police catch five retail stores in underage alcohol sales sting

The Dunwoody Police Department conducted an underage alcohol operation over the Memorial Day weekend involving 27 alcohol sales locations. Undercover officers had teenagers make an attempt to purchase alcohol.

During the operation five locations sold alcohol to the teens and 22 locations refused to sell alcohol to the underage decoys.

Where alcohol was sold to a minor, the cashiers responsible were cited and released on site. They also were educated on checking identifications and the dangers of selling to minors.

The illegal sales occurred at Exitos Latinos on Peachtree Industrial Boulevard, a Texaco station on North Peachtree Road, a CVS on Mount Vernon Road, Cost Plus World Market on Ashford Dunwoody Road and Mini Food Mart on Peachtree Industrial Boulevard.

Suicide call nets $2.5 million drug bust

Responding to a phone call reporting a possible suicide attempt, Doraville Police discovered more than 400 marijuana plants with an estimated street value of $2.5 million.

After receiving a call from a man saying he thought his girlfriend was trying to kill herself, police went to the address the caller had given. Doraville officers tried for approximately 20 minutes to make contact with the woman before someone came to door. Police officers asked if the woman was in the house and was told that she was not. They then asked to check the house to make sure and the person who answered the door refused.

In what police describe as “an abundance of caution,” a warrant was obtained to confirm the woman was not in the house. Because the officers detected a strong odor of marijuana, the warrant authorized them to check the house for the woman and for drugs.

Police said they discovered nearly every room in the house on the 3400 block of Pin Oak Circle was being used to grow marijuana. Police reported no further information on the supposedly suicidal woman.

Closing science center considered by school board

The DeKalb County School Board is holding a called meeting this afternoon, May 29, to discuss measures to close a projected $73 million gap in the school district budget. Among the measures under consideration is closing the Fernbank Science Center and its planetarium.

The center costs approximately $4.7 million a year to operate and employs 56 people. An estimated 160,000 people visit the center each year, many of them school children. A public hearing on the proposed budget is scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday, May 30, at school district headquarters in Stone Mountain.