Woodstock High Teacher, Paraprofessional Charged with Abusing Student

Police arrested a Cherokee County high school teacher and her paraprofessional Monday for allegedly duct taping a special education student to a chair.

Authorities allege Woodstock High School teacher Laurie Peavy and her paraprofessional, Nancy Cheek, duct taped a special education student to a chair in 2008. During the investigation, police report another allegation came out that Peavy subdued another student beneath a desk in the classroom.

Peavy, 44, was charged with two counts of false imprisonment and two counts of cruelty to children in the first degree. Cheek, 49, meantime, was charged with one count of false imprisonment and one count of cruelty to children in the first degree.

Husband Surrenders in Beating Death of Kimberly Burton

The man wanted for allegedly beating his wife to death will appear in a Cherokee County court on Monday after surrendering to authorities in Mexico this weekend.

Rodney Burton had been the prime suspect in the beating death of Kimberly Burton.

Burton's nude body was discovered in her home Jan. 19 in the 300 block of Arlington Circle in the Rivergreen subdivision, with the cause of death listed as “blunt force trauma” to the head. Burton had been employed in Canton as an optician.

Rodney Burton, 41, who is charged with murder and two counts of aggravated assault, had been on the run in Mexico before turning himself in Saturday afternoon. He reportedly spent the last two months in Cancun and Cozumel.

Fla. Resident Lands Plane in Lake Arrowhead

A Florida resident escaped catastrophe Wednesday afternoon when his single-engine plane crash-landed into Cherokee County's Lake Arrowhead.

Alan Ray Jordan, 39, of Orlando was reportedly flying from Calhoun to Lawrenceville when he developed engine trouble shortly before 1 p.m., according to information from the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office.

A local fisherman from Auburn, Ala., was fishing at the time of the incident and took Jordan, who was apparently not injured, to shore in his boat.

Woodstock Teen Arrested in Vehicle Break-ins

Police in Cherokee County have arrested a 19-year-old male and charged him with more than a dozen counts of breaking and entering.

According to authorities, Austin Stovall, 19, of Woodstock, was taken into custody Wednesday night after police discovered two bags filled with digital cameras, iPods, and GPS units in Stovall’s car. A deputy first pulled Stovall over on Bells Ferry Road for a broken tail light.

Authorities think the items discovered in Stovall’s car came from at least 40 vehicle break-ins stretching back to October.

Stovall is charged with 16 counts of entering autos and is in the Cherokee Adult Detention Center.

Arrests Made for Allegedly Supplying OxyContin to Teens

Cherokee County authorities reported the arrests of 10 individuals who allegedly took part in supplying teenagers with the prescription painkiller OxyContin.

Authorities noted the arrests of Marc Loren Peyton, 49, of Acworth, Gregory Shawn Davis, 35, of Cartersville, Larry Franklin Kines, 49, of Powder Springs, Craig Robert Jakubczyk, 26, of Kennesaw, Thomas Eugene Knight Jr., 25, of Dallas, Jason Andrew Gazaway, 26, of Acworth, Kelsey Rochelle Bos, 19, of Woodstock, Jesse James Clark, 17, of Boaz, Ala., Robert Joseph Clark Jr., 20, of Boaz, and Robert Joseph Clark Sr., 45, of Kennesaw.

Nearly 200 OxyContin pills and one and a half ounces of methamphetamine were confiscated during the drug sweep.

Authorities said that a 19-year-old white female, a graduate of Woodstock High School, was at a residence last Friday on Copperhead Road in Acworth purchasing OxyContin during the execution of a search warrant.

Bookkeeper Allegedly Stole $60K from Church

Passing the offering plate has taken on new meaning at one local church.

A Cherokee County woman was behind bars after being arrested for allegedly stealing $60,000 from her local church.

According to authorities, Susan Brooms, 40, worked as a bookkeeper at Sixes Presbyterian Church. Police believe Brooms, 40, moved $60,000 in church funds over a four year period to pay her personal expenses.

During a search of Susan Brooms' home, police reportedly discovered cocaine allegedly belonging to her husband, James Brooms. Brooms was charged with possession of cocaine and possession of marijuana and released on $12,055 bond.

Meantime, Susan Brooms, who was being held without bond, was charged with felony theft by taking and two counts of forgery.

Shaw Taken Off Life Support; Phillips Remains in Custody

Authorities reported that Julia Shaw, the Cherokee County woman who was beaten and left on a road New Year's Eve, has died. Shaw was discovered on the road on McClure Drive in Ball Ground.

Shaw's boyfriend, Robert Phillips, 46, of Jasper, remains in custody in her death. According to authorities, Shaw, who had been in critical condition since arriving at Northside Regional Hospital, was removed from life support on Saturday. Police reported that the pair had a history of domestic violence.

Phillips is looking at charges of aggravated battery, aggravated assault and criminal attempted murder.

Car Accident Claims Life of Cherokee County Teen

A second teenage girl from Cherokee County has died in a car accident in less than a week.

According to authorities, Victoria Heil, a cheerleader at Woodstock High, died when her SUV hit a guardrail and overturned Sunday morning on I-575. The single-vehicle accident was reported shortly after midnight.

Police say that Heil, who was reportedly not wearing a seat belt, was headed north on I-575 near Towne Lake Parkway when her 2002 Jeep Cherokee ran off the road, struck a guardrail and came to rest on its right side.

Early last Friday morning, 19-year-old Brittany Weiss of Canton was killed when her vehicle was struck by a driver who was reportedly fleeing police (goatlanta-ga.blogspot.com/2008/12/former-cherokee-high-student-killed-in.html).