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Gwinnett Daily Post FRIDAY, JULY 24, 2015
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Vol. 45, No. 179
Cops: Pimp accused of human trafficking By Joshua Sharpe
joshua.sharpe @gwinnettdailypost.com
With a forced dip in an “extremely hot” bathtub, police believe a pimp and human trafficker maintained his control over an 18-yearold captive in Norcross. Until this week. Warrants released Thursday accused Randy Michael Bell, a 35-year-old
Randy Carl Edward Michael Bell Sanders
Atlanta resident, of holding the young woman against her will in “sexual servitude” and using the tub as a
means to make her “respect him and teach the victim a lesson.” Assisted by other agencies, undercover Norcross Police Department officers arrested Bell at the Guest Inn Hotel on Peachtree Industrial Boulevard on Tuesday, said Norcross Lt. Randa Hafez. The department had received a call from the woman’s mother, who said her daughter was
being forced into prostitution at the hotel near Medlock Bridge Road. “The investigation is ongoing, and it is possible that additional charges will be filed and that additional victims may be identified,” Hafez said in an emailed statement Thursday. Officers found the 18-year-old in a room at the hotel and Bell in another room with another woman.
It wasn’t immediately clear how the alleged victim ended up with the accused pimp or how long the situation had been going on. In an interview at the scene, the 18-year-old told reportedly police about the bathtub. Warrants for Bell’s arrest said he “would not let the victim remove her feet from the hot water until she told the said accused that she
was sorry.” Charged with human trafficking and pimping, Bell, now held in the county jail without bond, is accused of forcing the girl to prostitute herself at rates from $80 to $200. A second alleged pimp, Carl Sanders, was also arrested from the scene. He and Bell arrived at the Gwinnett County jail after 4 a.m., records showed.
Local libraries to implement strategic plan By Curt Yeomans curt.yeomans@gwinnettdailypost.com
Landon Wallace, center, waves an American Flag during a United States naturalization ceremony held at the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center in Lawrenceville on Thursday. Over 65 countries were represented by the ceremony’s participants. (Staff Photos: David Welker)
American & Proud Hundreds granted U.S. citizenship in ceremony
Gwinnett County library leaders released new details this week about their plan to make the county’s libraries into “the place to be.” The system’s plan for implementing its strategic plan includes many of the previously announced initiatives, such as a smart phone app, kiosks and minibranches. It also delves a little deeper into how the library system plans to reach a diverse population, though. “While the Strategic Plan more broadly outlined the direction of the library system, the Implementation Plan details what strategies and tactics we’ll use going forward to meet our goals,” library system spokesman Clifford Ibarrondo said in an email to the Daily Post. One of the system’s plans is to boost its marketing efforts, including an initial 18-month marketing plan followed by annual marketing plans.
See LIBRARIES, Page 5A
By Danielle Ryan
danielle.ryan @gwinnettdailypost.com
LAWRENCEVILLE — Excitement was in the air as people from 68 different countries came together to become Americans, an assortment of languages and dialects providing a diverse sound to the event. On Thursday afternoon at the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center in Lawrenceville, more than 200 people became naturalized U.S. citizens through a ceremony officiated by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service. “This is the culmination of a long process to become a citizen,” said Pamela Wilson, public affairs officer for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. “This is why we do what we do. It gives meaning to our work.” Becoming a U.S. citizen requires interviews, tests and requirements that can take six months or longer to fulfill, but many in the auditorium Thursday believed it was worth it. “It’s the greatest country in the world,” Bob Menzies said. “There’s no price on freedom and I feel freer here than any other country in the world.” Bob and his wife, Patti, came to Gwinnett from Canada, but both were born in Jamaica. They have lived in
Rising sixth-grader Elizabeth Lor works at a collaboration station on Thursday during a week-long summer camp at Jones Middle School to ease the transition to middle school. (Staff Photo: Keith Farner)
Jones Middle hosts camp to ease transition By Keith Farner keith.farner@gwinnettdailypost.com
Erin Landford, 2, sits on the lap of her mother, Mle, as they watch a video during a United States naturalization ceremony held at the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center in Lawrenceville.
Citizenship applicants were given a packet containing inVisit gwinnettdailypost.com formation on their new rights for a photo gallery. and responsibilities, as well as Gwinnett for 19 years, openan American flag and a card to ing an auto shop in Sugar Hill. help them recite the Pledge of Bob Menzies recently became Allegiance, “The Star-Spana Keller Williams Realtor and gled Banner” and the Oath of was thrilled that he and his Allegiance. wife are finally U.S. citizens. The ceremony opened with “It’s like a weight lifted off a short patriotic film showof our shoulders,” Patti said. ing old photographs of early MORE ONLINE
U.S. immigrants with quotes about their decision to become citizens, followed by a group singing of the national anthem. Family members crowded into the back of the auditorium to watch their loved ones become citizens, cheering loudly as each nation of origin See CITIZENS, Page 8A
BUFORD — It’s an antidote for those middle school butterflies and has a near 100 percent success rate. Jones Middle School this week held a summer MORE ONLINE camp for rising Visit us online at sixth-graders to gwinnettdailypost.com help familiarize for a photo gallery. them with their new school, to learn how to use a locker and to make at least three new friends. The school has put on the camp, led by sixth-grade counselor Karen Bevak, each summer since it opened a decade ago. “I can tell a difference,” Bevak said of the way attendees transition once the school year begins. “These are the ones who will tell others … this is how they do
See CAMP, Page 8A
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