A Gainesville woman's birthday celebration ended on a decidedly sour note after she pulled over in a Dacula subdivision to sober up before driving home. Police were called to the Mill Creek Station subdivision on May 12 after a resident reported a suspicious vehicle. The officer found Mary Hamilton, 26, of Gainesville, "trying to sleep" in the car. When asked what she was doing in the neighborhood, Hamilton reportedly said it was her birthday and she'd had a lot to drink. The woman said she had been left at the location by some friends so that she would not have to drive home. "I asked what …

A Toccoa, Ga. man is facing two felony charges after a Gwinnett County Police officer found large amounts of cocaine and marijuana concealed in his vehicle during a May 9 traffic stop on I-85. While patrolling I-85 northbound near mile marker 118, the officer noticed a 2003 Mercury Grand Marquis drift out of its lane of travel. The officer pulled the car over near the Hamilton Mill Road exit and, during his conversation with the driver, Oscila Tabor, "obtained reasonable suspicion that he was involved in criminal activity." The officer asked for and received consent to search the vehicle. …

A Dacula man said he was threatened with a gun after an angry motorist followed him to his Meridian Drive home on May 2. The man, who was a passenger in the family's vehicle along with his two young sons, said his wife, the driver, passed a slow moving Nissan Quest on I-85. According to the man, the driver of the Nissan Quest then sped up and began flashing his high beams at them. The Quest driver then allegedly followed the family to their Dacula home. The man told his wife and children to stay in the car while he spoke with the other motorist. See police or fire activity in Dacula? Find out…

A now-former Mountain View High School mathematics teacher is facing a charge of sexual assault in connection with an alleged inappropriate relationship with a student. According to Gwinnett County Public Schools Director of Media Relations Jorge Quintana, Thomas Frederick Grimshaw, of 2840 Ashton Tree Court in Dacula, resigned Monday, May 6, as a result of a human resources investigation into the alleged relationship. The investigation began May 3 after MVHS principal Keith Chaney reported a possible sexual assault, which allegedly occurred at the school on April 29. "The district did make a…

Gwinnett County Police are searching for leads in an April 30 burglary at Harbins Park. Police were contacted after an individual noticed two all-terrain vehicles -- a Polaris 250 and a Honda 300 -- were missing from a storage building. According to the GCPD report, there were no signs of forced entry. Though the storage area contained other expensive equipment, nothing else was taken. According to My Fox Atlanta, the ATVs are the property of Andy Fullard, the baseball director of the Archer Athletic Association. The ATVs were used to help groom and maintain the baseball fields. The case is …

It didn't take long for Gwinnett County Police to get a good idea of what caused a three-car parking lot accident at Del Rio on April 25. Before police arrived at Del Rio, one caller had already advised dispatch that the "gentleman" involved in the accident appeared to be impaired. According to witnesses, the "gentleman" -- later identified as Donald King, 53, of Lawrenceville -- backed out of a parking spot and hit a truck owned by a Dacula man. King then reportedly pulled forward and struck a Loganville woman's parked car. You might also be interested in reading: Man's Escape Attempt Fails …

A Loganville couple decided to send a warning text message to the person who acquired the wife's phone during an April 21 visit to Little Mulberry Park in Dacula. "The phone has been reported a stolen to GCPD, it has a tracking device on it and the police were tracking it," the text message stated according to the Gwinnett County Police report. The woman explained the phone was in her bag while she was at the park and apparently fell out at some point. When she realized it was missing, she borrowed a phone from another park visitor and called her number. The call went straight to voicemail. …

A Dacula man locked his car doors, but that wasn't enough to keep a thief from breaking into his sport utility vehicle. The April 16 incident occurred at the Hamilton Mill Golf Club. The Dacula man told police he parked his vehicle in the corner of the parking lot close to Hamilton Mill Parkway at approximately 11 a.m. According to the police report, when the man left his vehicle to head to the driving range, there were no other cars nearby. After hitting golf balls, the man returned to his vehicle, retrieved his iPad but left a backpack containing a gun and other items in the SUV. After …

A post-midnight drive landed a Buford man in trouble after he reportedly sped by a DUI checkpoint in Dacula at an estimated speed of 70 mph. Gwinnett County Police were manning a sobriety checkpoint on northbound Braselton Highway near Enclave Mill Court on April 15. While officers were checking cars travelling northbound, a car travelling southbound, driven by Steve Gosa, 50, of Buford, passed the checkpoint. "I visually estimated the vehicle's speed to be 70 mph in a 45 mph zone," the officer wrote in the report. "The vehicle then crossed over into the center turn lane getting half of the …

An attempt to avoid arrest ended badly for a Fairburn, Ga. man during an April 18 traffic stop on I-85 near Hamilton Mill Road. While patrolling I-85 northbound, a Gwinnett County Police officer spotted a black Ford Explorer closely following another vehicle. After the Explorer crossed over the right fog line, the officer initiated a traffic stop just north of Hamilton Mill Road. Upon approaching the vehicle, the officer immediately noticed the odor of raw marijuana. The officer asked the driver, Frank Mathis, 30, of Riverdale, Ga., to step out of the vehicle. "I noticed that he appeared …

A thief or thieves used a stolen debit card to have some fun at a local bowling alley on April 14. A Dacula woman told police she left Stars and Strikes at 8:45 p.m. on April 14. Approximately 10 minutes later, she realized she did not have her purse with her and returned to the bowling alley. When she asked a Stars and Strikes employee if anyone had turned in the purse, the employee advised the purse had been found in the women's bathroom with the contents spilled on the floor. The woman noticed her debit card was missing and, when she checked the recent transaction history, learned several …

An April 11 traffic stop on I-85 northbound near Hamilton Mill Road led to three arrests and the confiscation of more than six pounds of marijuana. A Gwinnett County Police officer patrolling near the Mall of Georgia exit noticed a maroon Nissan Altima cross the outside lane line with its passenger side tires. The officer stopped the vehicle for failing to maintain lane and, upon speaking with the driver, noticed a strong odor of raw marijuana coming from inside the vehicle. See police or fire activity in Dacula? Find out how you can share breaking news alerts, photos and videos on Dacula …

A Dacula woman is $1,650 poorer after falling victim to two thieves. The Tanner Road resident said she was getting ready for bed on April 8 when a young male, approximately 18-22 years of age, knocked on her door. The woman thought the man knew her 81-year-old husband because he "mentioned something about the roof." See police or fire activity in Dacula? Find out how you can share breaking news alerts, photos and videos on Dacula Patch. The woman let the man into the house and led him to the living room where her husband was. A few moments later, the woman heard another knock at the door. …

A police officer investigating multiple complaints regarding a white pickup truck driving on the shoulder of I-85 southbound had no trouble spotting the vehicle upon pulling into the parking lot of the Shell station on Hamilton Mill Road during the afternoon of March 30. "I arrived at the location and discovered a white Dodge pickup truck ... parked sideways across several spaces in the parking lot of the business," the officer wrote in the police report. The driver's side window was down and loud music was coming from inside the vehicle. The driver, later identified as Anthony Cook, 57, of …

A South Carolina woman passing through Gwinnett County took an unexpected detour to the county jail after police discovered the vehicle she was driving had been reported stolen. While patrolling I-85 northbound on March 22, a Gwinnett County Police officer ran the tag of a 2010 Ford Fusion. The tag return indicated the vehicle had been stolen. Officers conducted a felony traffic stop at the Hamilton Mill exit ramp from I-85 and placed the driver, identified as Evelyn Brinkman, 44, of Walhalla, S.C., in handcuffs.  You might also be interested in reading: Man Admits Striking Kitten With Tree …

Instead of opting for the traditional hammer or brick, a burglar decided to go a more unconventional route and use his vehicle to smash the front glass doors of a Dacula convenience store. At 3:01 a.m. on March 23, Gwinnett County Police were dispatched to the Fast Trip convenience store on Winder Highway in response to a burglar alarm. Upon arrival, the officer discovered the smashed glass doors, but no one was on the premises. A representative of the business arrived a short time later and played the surveillance footage. Security cameras showed a red passenger car pull into the parking lot…

A Dacula man is facing several charges in connection with two accidents that occurred on March 11 near the intersection of Braselton Highway and Hamilton Creek Parkway. Just after 5 p.m., an officer was dispatched to the Wells Fargo bank parking lot to meet with the victim of a hit and run. According to the woman, the driver of a silver Honda Civic, later identified as Efrain Hernandez, 49, of Dacula, rear-ended her vehicle as she slowed for a traffic light. The woman said she got out of her car to inspect the damage and Hernandez began yelling, "No! No! There's no damage to your truck." The …

A Dacula teen who said he was upset after being told he was going to hell, vented his frustration against the establishment that allegedly issued the dire warning. A Gwinnett County Police officer was patrolling the area near Hebron Christian Academy just after midnight on March 8 when he noticed a blue Ford Mustang in the parking lot of the school. The officer then saw a male walk up to the double glass doors of the building. "I thought the individuals were attempting to burglarize the school," the officer wrote in the arrest report. "I observed the blue Mustang laying drags in the parking …

An employee of the Fish House Seafood Kitchen in Dacula was apparently determined not to go quietly. Gwinnett County Police were called to the Old Fountain Road restaurant on March 9 after an employee, Tad V. Tran, 27, of Johns Creek, Ga., reportedly used profanity in front of customers and dumped a bucket of water in the floor in the front part of the restaurant. “When I arrived, I heard the employee at the door telling customers that they had an emergency and would not be able to serve any more people today,” the officer wrote in the arrest report. The restaurant owner informed the officer …

Over $600 in property was stolen when a thief struck at an Apalachee Farms home. Click here to subscribe to our free email newsletter. During the overnight hours of March 2, a thief entered a vehicle parked in the driveway of a Pathview Court home and stole a Lenova laptop valued at $500 and a cell phone charger. The vehicle owner told police her car was unlocked at the time of the theft. The thief also crawled under the partially open garage door of the residence, entered a vehicle parked inside the garage and took a GPS unit valued at $100. The resident said the garage door had been left …