Around the Region: Gardener Grows Pot in Pots, Man Poses as Girl on Facebook and Monument Dedicated to Civil War Dead

– Alpharetta Patch

Eric Price Leef, 41, of Milton, was arrested and cited for possession and manufacturing of marijuana after police found pot growing in Leef’s patio garden.

Leef’s ex-wife called Milton police when her daughter told her there were pot plants growing on the home's back patio. The juvenile said she was curious about the plants and asked her father what they were and he said "pot." His ex-wife was told the same thing when she asked.

A Milton police officer heard a different story when he asked, as the suspect said he found seeds in a box in the garage and decided to grow them.

– Cumming Patch

A Cumming man faces 11 sex crimes for allegedly posing as a teenage girl on Facebook to elicit sexual images from middle-school age boys, according to authorities.

investigators arrested 31-year-old Brendan J. Spaar Tuesday night and charged him with four counts of child molestation, four counts of sexual exploitation of children and three counts of computer pornography.

Spaar used his Facebook page to meet boys and begin a relationship. Spaar is accused of convincing boys to provide their cell phone numbers and then sending explicit photos of a female teen in order to convince the boys to send explicit photos and video of themselves to Spaar. The victims believed the images were going to the fictitious teenage girl.

No physical contact ever occurred between Spaar and the four victims that have been identified.

– Oconee Patch

A monument that serves to remember the lives of George Jarrell and Jacob Klutts, two civilians from Watkinsville who died and were buried in Union camps during the Civil War, was unveiled Sunday. 

The Laura Rutherford Chapter No. 88 of the United Daughters of the Confederacy held a dedication during a Confederate Memorial Day Service in front of , the location of the monument. Dr. David Evans, an historian and author, gave a presentation entitled, "When the War Came to Watkinsville."