Thursday, July 9th

Wednesday was the 11^th day of testimony in the Jamie Hood murder trial, with the jury hearing an audio recording of Hood confessing to the murder of Kenneth Wray, an Athens-Clarke County government employee who was shot and killed in December of 2010. Hood is facing a death penalty trial for the March 2011 murder of Athens-Clarke County Police Officer Buddy Christian. He is acting as his own attorney in the trial that is set to continue this morning in Clarke County Superior Court.

Officials at the University of Georgia are trumpeting their latest fundraising efforts, saying the $144 million raised during the fiscal year that ended June 30 is a record for UGA.

It is only a drill: the University of Georgia will be testing its emergency alert system around 10:15 this morning, sending out test alerts via text and e-mail.

The Athens-Clarke County Board of Assessors meets this afternoon: a 5:30 session at City Hall.

The Athens-Clarke County Leisure Services Department launches a concert series this evening at Sandy Creek Nature Center: every Thursday at 6 for the rest of July.

Oconee County’s Board of Tax Assessors meets this morning, 9 o’clock at the Oconee County Courthouse in Watkinsville.

Investigators say two forgery suspects booked into the Jackson County jail are also facing charges in Stephens County: 29 year-old Anwaan Hill and 24 year-old Tanisha Hill are from Commerce. They allegedly used documents from an identity theft victim in Toccoa to buy a car from a Jackson County car dealership.

Hall County Commissioners are meeting this evening, 6 o’clock at the Hall County Government Center in Gainesville.

Hall County state Senator Butch Miller is scheduled to preside over an evening ceremony in Oakwood: upwards of four dozen Vietnam veterans will be honored for their service in a 6 o’clock dinner at the Legacy Link building in Oakwood.

There are animal cruelty charges in Hall County, where upwards of five dozen dogs were found by animal control officers in a mobile home in north Hall: 59 animals were taken out of the house trailer; Richard Vaught and Kimberly Halulka are facing a long list of animal cruelty and neglect charges. Hall County Animal Control says the dogs are recovering and recuperating and will eventually be put up for adoption.

The Hall County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the death of a man who was killed while operating a tractor at a Fieldale Farms facility in Murrayville: victim Ricardo Aburto was 31 years old. He died after being taken to Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville.

A man wanted for a murder in North Carolina is arrested in northeast Georgia: 30 year-old Brandon Hogan is from White County; he was arrested in Rabun County, charged in the murder of a man who was killed in Madison County North Carolina. 67 year-old victim Edward Praytor was from the town of Marshall North Carolina. Police there say he died of blunt force trauma to the head; they say he was also stabbed by Hogan.

Investigators in Dawson County say it looks like a murder-suicide: two people were found dead in a home in Dawsonville.

A former Murray County magistrate judge is going to federal prison for five years, convicted of planting drugs in a woman's car in Chatsworth.

A Georgia appeals court hears arguments today in a case in Union County: the Ku Klux Klan wants to be allowed to adopt a stretch of highway near Blairsville and put up a sign as it cleans trash of Highway 515. The DOT has denied the Klan’s application.

The man who once headed the DeKalb County government is now headed to prison: suspended DeKalb County CEO Burrell Ellis drew a 5-year prison sentence with 18 to serve, his punishment for his conviction of last week. Ellis was found guilty on perjury and obstruction charges stemming from allegations that he shook down county contractors for campaign cash.

A person of interest in the July 4 death of a teenager in College Park has surrendered to police in Atlanta: police were looking for Marcel Smith in the shooting death of 16 year-old Rasheedah Evans. She was struck by a stray bullet apparently fired in celebration of the Independence Day holiday. She was watching a movie in her home at the time.

A memo from the state Department of Human Resources says spouses in same sex marriages are now eligible for the same benefits as offered to other spouses in Georgia.