Regional Roundup: Couple Pleads Guilty to Child Cruelty and Deputies Fight Dismissal

Couple Who Starved and Held Teen Captive Pleads Guilty - Dallas-Hiram Patch

A Paulding County couple, accused of locking their 18-year-old son in a bathroom and giving him little food for at least three years, pleaded guilty Feb. 28.

Under an agreement with the state, Paul and Sheila Comer pleaded guilty to four charges, including child cruelty and false imprisonment. They could spend up to 15 years in prison and 30 years on probation.

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Forsyth County Deputies Fight Dismissal - Cumming Patch

Eleven Sheriff's Office employees who were laid off in a shakeup by Sheriff Duane Piper have hired an attorney who promises legal action if his clients are not rehired.

Lance LoRusso, a former police officer and experienced litigator, according to his website, told the news station that he is appealing the former employees' dismissal. He cites at least two reasons: age discrimination and failure to give proper notification. 

Cumming Patch has more on this story.

Questions Linger for Backyard Chicken Foes - East Cobb Patch

The day after the Cobb Board of Commissioners voted to adjust its code for chicken owners on small residential lots, opponents of the measure still had plenty of questions.

At a Wednesday meeting of the East Cobb Civic Association, District 3 commissioner JoAnn Birrell outlined the new policy before an audience that wasn't thrilled to absorb the news.

The ECCA opposed the changes, which would permit owners to apply for a variance that would allow them to keep one female chicken -- no roosters -- per 5,000 square feet of property.

Visit East Cobb Patch for further details.

- Dunwoody Patch

The mansion at 8275 Jett Ferry Road is billed as "Atlanta's most spectacular 10.8-acre gated estate ever to come on the market with 1,000 feet of river frontage," as reported by Curbed Atlanta.

According to Aol Real Estate, the mansion is 12,000 square feet with eight bedrooms and 10 bathrooms. Curbed Atlanta reports that all of this can be had for a monthly payment of $36,000.

Visit Dunwoody Patch to see additional interior and exterior photos of the mansion.

Man Accused of Conspiracy to Commit Bank Bribery - Dacula Patch

A Dacula man was arrested Feb. 27 on a federal criminal complaint charging him with conspiracy to commit bank bribery.

Wilbur Tate III, 48, appeared in court today in Atlanta and was released on a $50,000 bond. Court documents indicate Tate, who served as an assistant vice president of U.S. Bank in Ohio from January 2004 to February 2011, was in charge of outsourcing collection accounts to collection agencies, including Oxford Collection Agency. 

Oxford executives reportedly provided Tate with monthly cash payments between $2,500 and $5,000 which were concealed in cigar boxes and mailed to Tate's Ohio residence as part of an effort to obtain and retain the business of U.S. Bank.

Visit Dacula Patch for more on this story.