Archived News

Stolen East Point Police officer's gun found in Dunwoody apartment

Dunwoody Police responding to a domestic altercation April 7 found a stolen police officer’s gun.

Police were called to Two Block Apartments, located at 4000 Dunwoody Park, at 2 p.m. to respond to an assault in progress, according to Sgt. Mike Carlson, Dunwoody Police spokesman.

When officers entered the apartment, they noticed a Glock pistol in plain sight, Carlson said. After checking the gun’s registration, police learned that it was reported stolen by an East Point police officer.

Twannez Newton, a 28-year-old female, and Davveonta Ponds, an 18-year-old male, were charged with simple battery, obstruction, and theft by receiving a stolen firearm.

Rape suspect to be arraigned April 19

A man described by the county’s District Attorney’s Office as a serial rapist will face a judge on April 19.

Gary Wendale Mincey, 35, of Decatur will be arraigned before Judge Gail Flake on charges that he raped four women in late 2011.

Detectives have said they believe that on Nov. 29, 2011, Mincey followed a woman, in her 20s, from the Publix grocery store at 3649 Flakes Mill Road to her home in the Columbia Drive area.

According to investigators, as the victim unloaded her groceries from the car, Mincey entered the victim’s home through the garage area and then sexually assaulted her and stole various items including a cellphone and laptop.

On Nov. 30, 2011, detectives were following up on leads and saw Mincey’s car near Flakes Mill Road.  After a brief pursuit, Mincey was arrested and charged with rape, armed robbery, burglary and false imprisonment.

Murder suspect’s bond hearing set for April 11

A bond hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. April 11 for Jason Emanuel Bryant, of Lawrenceville, accused of killing his wife, according to the county district attorney’s office.

Bryant, 26, allegedly shot his wife, 23-year-old Angelina Bryant, several times in the head and stabbed her best friend, 20-year-old Trina Nwoke, before fleeing the scene to his child’s school.

The incident occurred outside the Windchase apartment complex in the Pine Lake area.

He was arrested March 7 in Gwinnett County and charged with murder and aggravated assault.

Bryant is scheduled to appear before Judge Michael Hancock.

DeKalb County Senior Olympic Games scheduled

The DeKalb County Department of Recreation, Parks & Cultural Affairs will host the 26th  annual Olympic-style sports festival for participants ages 50 and older.

Registration is currently under way and will close Friday, April 20.

Participants will compete in a variety of sports, including free-throw and three-on-three basketball, bowling, golf, track and field, billiards, swimming, tennis and water volleyball.  Other sports and activities available include horseshoes, a line dancing competition, talent show, Wii bowling and a health expo. Participants are encouraged to compete as a team or enter individual events for friendly competition. Gold, silver and bronze medals will be awarded to the top three finishers in each event.

The DeKalb County Senior Olympic Games is open to the public.  DeKalb residents, as well residents from surrounding counties, are encouraged to participate. Applications are available online at www.dekalbcountyga.gov/parks and at all DeKalb County recreation centers, libraries and select senior centers. 

For more information, contact Jackie Swain at (404) 687-2751.

County recreation department hosts summer food program

DeKalb County’s summer food service program, sponsored by the recreation department, will run June 4-Aug. 3 as part of an ongoing effort to enhance the quality of life of DeKalb County youth.

Funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the program ensures that children up to age 18 continue to have access to nutritious meals during the summer. 

Agencies with summer camps that are interested in becoming a site for this program should contact Rose Myrick at (678) 698-1114.  To qualify as a site, 50 percent of the children served must meet the income guidelines for free and reduced price meals in the National School Lunch Program.  Children who are members of households that receive food stamps or Aid for Dependent Children (AFDC) assistance automatically qualify.

The deadline to apply for the summer food program is Friday, May 25. Applications are available online at www.dekalbcountyga.gov/parks or can be picked up Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. at Tucker Recreation Center, 4898 LaVista Road, Room 12; and in the administrative office of the Department of Recreation, Parks & Cultural Affairs in the Manuel J. Maloof Center, 1300 Commerce Drive, Decatur on the third floor.

Completed applications must be returned or mailed to the above locations by Friday, May 25. For more information, call Rose Myrick at (678) 698-1114.

Decatur radiation oncology practice settles false claims act investigation

The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced April 3 that it has reached a settlement with Radiotherapy Clinics of Georgia (RCOG), LLC, a radiation oncology practice in Decatur, and its affiliates RCOG Cancer Centers LLC, Physician Oncology Services Management Company, LLC, Dr. Frank A. Critz and Physician Oncology Services.

RCOG agreed to pay $3.8 million to settle claims that they violated the federal False Claims Act by billing Medicare for medical treatment that it provided to prostate cancer patients in excess of those permitted by Medicare rules and for billing for services that were not medically necessary.

Sally Quillian Yates, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, said, “This settlement demonstrates our office’s continued commitment to stop Medicare fraud.

“Unfortunately, otherwise legitimate businesses continue to take advantage of federal healthcare programs for their private profit,” Yates said. “We will not ignore these violations.”

The civil settlement resolves complaints filed by two whistleblowers, who both worked for RCOG.  The whistleblowers, R. Jeffrey Wertz and Dr. Rebecca S. Tarlton, will receive $646,000 as their share of the proceeds.

The government alleged that RCOG overbilled Medicare for X-ray images of the treatment area and for simulations. 

Additionally, it was alleged that the practice overbilled Medicare for the production of complete consultative reports for an individual patient and for pre-plans ordered by Critz that were not medically necessary and/or never reviewed by the doctor.

The claims settled by Monday’s agreement are allegations only; there has been no determination of liability, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.