Man arrested twice in one day

Mark Anthony Lance, 28, of 4533 Bennefield Road in Braselton, was stopped by Winder police just before 8 a.m. on April 16 after an officer ran Lance’s tag and discovered it returned to a Chevrolet Lumina instead of the S10 Blazer on which it was displayed.

Lance told the officer he had just purchased the vehicle and had not yet had time to register it. Lance produced the title to his vehicle along with his Texas driver’s license.

Though the title checked out, Lance did not. Dispatch confirmed that the Jefferson Police Department held an active warrant for Lance’s arrest. Lance was handcuffed and transported to the county line and turned over to a Jefferson officer.

Less than five hours later, Lance was pulled over again after a different Winder officer noticed the window tint on Lance’s vehicle was very dark.

When the officer checked Lance’s license, he discovered that the license was not valid. Lance was placed under arrest and transported to the Barrow County Detention Center on charges of driving while license suspended and window tint violation.


Air conditioner thieves strike area businesses
Deputies were called to several area businesses recently in response to stolen air conditioning units.

On April 19, deputies responded to Enterprise Drive after an air conditioning unit valued at $4,500 was noticed to be missing.

That same day, six air conditioning units were reported stolen from multiple businesses on Harry McCarty Road. The units had a total combined value of $15,000.

Also on April 19, a deputy was dispatched to Tucker Road after a business owner discovered his air conditioning unit was missing. The complainant said the only suspicious person he had seen recently was a man who built a sign for the business. The complainant said the man seemed to be “scoping” out the business while on the property working. The suspicious man drives a black Nissan Pathfinder with a Kentucky plate but provided the business owner with a Buford address.

Earlier this month, a deputy was called to West Winder Industrial Parkway after two air conditioning units valued at $4,000 were discovered to be missing.



Skateboard seized, teens cited
Three local teens were cited for unlawful entry to property after police received a complaint about skateboarding in an East Midland Avenue parking lot.

When police arrived, they located Jacob Stovall, 18, of Hoschton in the parking lot. Stovall told the officers he was alone, however, an anonymous caller said two other teens had fled before police arrived.

Police located Michael Heggood, 17, of Winder on Lightning Bug Alley. The third teen, David Bowers, 20, of Winder, was found in front of Bob’s Tires.

The teens were issued citations for unlawful entry to property. The teens had one skateboard with them which the officer noted was “taken into custody until court date.”


Woman arrested after leaving children in car
A Dacula woman was arrested after leaving her children unattended in a running car.

A deputy was dispatched to the Atlanta Highway Walmart after a concerned citizen reported seeing two children inside the car.

Forty-five minutes later, the mother, Shannon Swierczek, 26, of 2530 Harbin Springs Cove in Dacula, returned to the vehicle.

She was arrested and charged with two counts of second degree cruelty to children. The children were released to a relative and Swierczek was transported to the detention center.


Communications officers ask for help
Communications officers with Barrow County 911 dispatched a deputy to a Thornbrook Ridge location after receiving numerous calls from the homeowner asking questions about a report which had been filed earlier that day.

According to communication center records, the woman has called 12 times since the beginning of the year – often asking to speak with a particular deputy.

On April 17, the woman filed a report regarding a neighborhood complaint. After filing the report, the woman called the communications center seven times regarding the complaint.

Communications officers asked that the deputy speak with the woman about calling for non-emergency issues.


Winder man convicted in insurance scam
Steven Edward Strobel, 47, of Winder was recently sentenced to ten years in prison for his role in an insurance scam.

Strobel and his girlfriend, Pamela Morrow Graf, were accused of burning Graf’s Forsyth County home in order to collect insurance money. Graf, whose case has not yet gone to trial, initially said the January 2009 fire was a hate crime motivated by her support of Barack Obama.

Strobel will also serve ten years on probation and has been ordered to pay a $2,000 fine and an as yet undetermined amount in restitution.


Group cited after street scuffle
Police were called to Holly Drive after numerous callers reported a disturbance at the location.

One of the callers advised a group of people were yelling in the street.

Upon arrival, an officer encountered an intoxicated woman who said someone had yelled “[expletive] you” at her as she stood on her front porch. The woman said she responded in kind and was then pushed to the ground by her cousin. A man came to her assistance and was allegedly hit.

The cousin told the officer a different story. He said the woman was yelling at him. He walked across the street to confront her and she attempted to hit him. The cousin said he sidestepped her blow and she fell to the ground. At that point, the cousin said he was attacked from behind by two men.

The officer wrote that all the parties appeared to be intoxicated. Due to the fact that the parties involved provided different accounts of what had transpired, the officer issued all four citations for disorderly conduct so that they could settle their argument before a judge.