Community Corner

Around the Region: Parolee Charged With Murder, Man Arrested for Shooting Brother and Walmart Shoppers Find More Syringes

A look at top Patch stories from around Georgia.

– Marietta Patch

A former Cobb County resident who was supposed to be reporting to a probation officer in Marietta has been arrested in Seattle and charged with beating his girlfriend to death.

Johnnie Lee Wiggins, 48, is charged with , Woodinville (WA) Patch reported Thursday.

Find out what's happening in Daculawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

He is accused of an “extraordinarily brutal” attack on , 55, outside her home on Christmas Eve.

Wiggins was released from Georgia’s Coffee Correctional Facility in January 2008 after serving nearly six years in prison for a series of crimes, including robbery and aggravated assault in Cobb County in August 1999 and aggravated assault in Douglas County in January 1999.

Find out what's happening in Daculawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

 

– Canton-Sixes Patch

One brother is fighting for his life while another is sitting in the after an overnight shooting in Canton's Forest Creek subdivision.

At about 11 p.m. Wednesday, the responded to a shooting at 1094 Forest Creek Dr., just off Cumming Highway.

Jeff Coker, the 42-year-old homeowner, had been shot in the face as his wife and children slept upstairs, said Lt. Jay Baker, spokesman for the agency.

Investigators don't know who fired the shot, but Baker said Coker and his brother, 37-year-old Christopher Scott Coker, were downstairs and "the only ones awake at the home.

Preliminary findings indicate the brothers may have been drinking.

 

– Cartersville Patch

The number of syringes found at has reached 14.

On Monday, a woman found a syringe in the bottom of her shopping bag when she arrived home. That's the 14th time a syringe has been found by shoppers in the last month. 

The incidents began after Black Friday when in clothing at the store. Those were discovered in pajamas, socks and a bra package. Other syringes were found in a , men's lounging pants and a greeting card. 

Walmart spokeswoman Dianna Gee has said that Walmart officials "are confident" the store's reportedly extensive surveillance system will identify those responsible.


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