NE Ga police blotter: UGA bomb unit works in Winder, arson suspect arrested in Commerce

A bomb unit from the University of Georgia helped Barrow County Sheriff’s deputies and Winder police defuse a potentially explosive situation at City Pond Park in Winder. A man who appeared to be suicidal was wearing what looked to be a vest packed with explosives. The UGA bomb squad detonated the vest after the negotiations that ended with the man in police custody. No injuries were reported.

There is an arson charge for a man from Commerce, arrested after a blaze that burned a home in Madison County: 66 year-old James Tarpkins is accused of setting the June 2 fire that destroyed a house on Minish Road in Madison County. He’s also facing burglary charges.

A Hall County teenager is rescued from a suspected west coast sex trafficker. Oakwood Police Sergeant Chris Campbell says the 14 year-old was abducted by a man she met on social media. The 29 year-old California man is in police custody.

A Hall County teenager is arrested on sexual assault charges: 19 year-old Zachary Wainwright is the accused in the case of a girl under the age of 16 who says the assault happened in January in a restroom in Flowery Branch. Wainwright is in the Hall County jail.

A Hall County man pleads guilty in Gainesville: Chester Willis gets 10 years in federal prison, his punishment for dealing cocaine.

He’s already facing a murder charge in Hall County: there are now new assault charges leveled against Diandre Dreyden. The 23 year-old Gainesville man is charged in the death January 23 of Latasha Smith, who was killed at an apartment complex in Gainesville. Police say the new assault charges stem from an incident that allegedly happened days before she was killed.

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