Regional Roundup: Two Families Lose Homes to Fires and Mail Thieves Sentenced

-- Loganville-Grayson Patch 

Gwinnett County Fire and Emergency Services responded to a fire in a home at a Loganville address in Unincorporated Gwinnett just before 10 p.m. Sunday night. According to a press release, firefighters arrived to find heavy flames showing from the attic of a single-story wood frame house in the 1900 block of Streamwood Drive, SW, in Loganville. Firefighters were forced back and had to fight the fire in a defensive mode due to the intense flames and a partial roof collapse. All the occupants, however, were out of the home already after being alerted by the smoke alarm.

The homeowner reported opening the attic door from the bonus room and seeing heavy flames in the attic. He was evaluated and released at the scene after being treated by paramedics for minor smoke inhalation. No other injuries were reported.

Officials said there was significant damage to the attic and roof as well as extensive water and smoke damage to the living area. Three adults and one child were displaced by the fire and are being assisted by family members and neighbors. The cause of the fire is undetermined and currently under investigation.

– Duluth Patch

A Duluth family narrowly escaped an early morning fire Sunday that ravaged their top floor second-story apartment at the Madison at Breckinridge Apartments by jumping from the balcony.

A man and his fiancé jumped from the second floor balcony of the burning apartment after discovering they and their infant daughter could not safely exit out the front door. The man went over first and the woman lowered the child before jumping herself. An adult male cousin in a separate bedroom was able to escape out the front door.  No one was injured. 

– East Cobb Patch

A federal jury in Atlanta found Cobb County residents Opeoluwa Adigun and Chukwuka "Gabriel" Anyekaba guilty late Thursday of stealing the identities of more than 85 people in the Atlanta area.

From May 2006 to March 2010, U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said, Adigun and Onyekaba, 34, both living in the Marietta area, stole mail, credit cards and other personal information and opened bank and other financial accounts in the victims’ names.

After a seven-day trial, the jury returned guilty verdicts on all 44 counts, including conspiracy, access device or credit card fraud, aggravated identity theft, bank fraud, mail theft, immigration fraud, Social Security fraud and passport fraud.

Each charge carries a maximum prison sentence ranging from five to 30 years, plus a fine of up to $1 million. The aggravated identity theft convictions require a mandatory minimum sentence of two years in addition to any other sentence imposed.