‘SAVE OUR LIBERTY,’ 7A
Dozens arrested at Medicaid protest
IN WEEKEND Fernbank Museum features massive mastodon fossils • Page 3C
Gwinnett Daily Post FRIDAY, JUNE 23, 2017
www.gwinnettdailypost.com
75 cents ©2017 SCNI
Vol. 47, No. 146
Truck driver charged in deadly Ga. 316 wreck BY CAILIN O’BRIEN
cailin.obrien @gwinnettdailypost.com
Joseph Newson
Police have charged a truck driver involved in a massive eight-vehicle wreck that killed a Winder woman on Ga. Highway 316 near
Police say brothel run in apartments for a decade BY CAILIN O’BRIEN cailin.obrien@gwinnettdailypost.com
Until recently, three people had reportedly been running a brothel in an apartment complex on the outskirts of Gwinnett County for more than 10 years. The alleged owners, Xiaohong Huang, Chan Kong Chow and Biyun Gong lured Asian woman from as far away as New York and California to work in the two apartment rooms Huang was leasing, according to federal indictments. Once they began working, women were rotated in and out of the brothel every 10 to 12 days. Word of the brothel spread through the area by word of mouth, according to the indictments. Mostly Asian men were in and out of the complex. At one point in 2015, federal agents noticed that Chow drove from the apartment complex to an outdoor trash bin where he threw away a bag containing as many as 66 used condoms. The operation began small. On Dec. 15, 2005, Huang reportedly leased the first of the two rooms at an apartment complex just across Gwinnett’s border in Doraville. The indictment didn’t name the complex, but most complexes in the area are so close to the Gwinnett line that they advertise access to Gwinnett schools, according to media reports. It’s unclear how many girls Huang had going through the brothel in those early years, but by 2008 she’d hired an employee just to transport them to and from the apartment complex. She also appeared to be actively recruiting — mostly via cellphone. In 2011, Huang “repeatedly contacted” a woman, trying to convince her to work as a prostitute in the brothel. She even left the woman her personal cellphone number, according to the indictments. In 2012, Huang reportedly grew the prostitution business by leasing a second room in the same complex through “an associate,” according to the indictment. Men continued to come and go from the complex for the next seven years. Federal agents noticed that Chow brought women from Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport to the complex at least five times in 2015 and 2016. On Feb. 25, 2016, agents watched as Gong handed Huang a white envelope outside the apartment complex as several men arrived and departed. That envelope could have contained cash. According to the indictments, Huang
Buford Drive last week. Joseph Newson, 60, has been charged with following too closely and vehicular homicide, both of which are considered misdemeanors, according to the Gwinnett County jail log. Newson was driving a
tractor-trailer eastbound on Ga. 316 at about 3:30 p.m. June 12 when traffic around him came to a stop at HiHope Road. According to a preliminary reconstruction of the wreck by Lawrenceville police, Newson’s tractor-trailer may not have stopped.
Lawrenceville police are investigating how the bloody crash happened, but multiple agencies responded to the accident, including Gwinnett County Fire and Rescue and the Gwinnett County Police Department. When officials arrived on
the scene, they found a crash involving six cars, a van and a tractor trailer. One of the cars was stuck under the tractor trailer — and it was on fire. That car belonged to Eva Jones Wilkerson, 61. She died
See WRECK, Page 8A
‘We’re about
saving lives’
At capacity, Gwinnett Animal Shelter looks for adoptions BY KEITH FARNER
MORE ONLINE
keith.farner@gwinnettdailypost.com
The Gwinnett Animal Shelter is a busy place these days with plenty of barking dogs and a full lobby of people looking to adopt a new pet. Since June 1, the facility has picked up 479 animals, and can add up to two dozen more on a given day. That’s a 13 percent increase in dogs and cats over the same period in 2016. By comparison, March saw 414 animals taken in, while February had 348 taken in and January, 373. Officials shared on Facebook that many dogs have been rescued, adopted or reclaimed, but a full house remains.
Visit gwinnettdailypost.com for more photos.
Cindy Wienmann, assistant division manager, said most families are excited to adopt and many do during the summer. “Most people realize that adopting rather than buying from breeders and pet stores is what saves an animal’s life,” she said. “That’s kind of what we’re about; we’re about saving lives.” The facility’s medium and large dog capacity is especially high at 86 percent. Overall, the facility has 76 dogs and 84 pens. Wienmann said summer
Conrad, a treeing walker coonhound, is available for adoption at the Gwinnett Animal Shelter. The facility has reported a spike in animals arriving at the facility since Memorial Day, even higher than the normal rise in the summer. (Staff Photo: Keith Farner)
See ADOPTIONS, Page 8A
Above, Cindy Wienmann, assistant division manager of the Gwinnett Animal Shelter, interacts with Conrad. Left, Archie, a pit bull mix, plays with a tennis ball on Thursday at the Gwinnett Animal Shelter. Archie has been at the facility since April 23, the longest stay of any dog there.
See BROTHEL, Page 8A
School Board hears report, recommendations from discipline committee Northeast Missionary Baptist keith.farner@gwinnettdailypost.com Church, recently outlined for the Gwinnett School Board In reviewing its discipline what they discussed and code, a school district reviewed from October to committee report stressed the May. importance of working with The committee all segments of society as it recommended several addresses a host of issues. rule clarifications and Eric Thigpen, executive recommendations. director of Academic Support, Among them was the and two pastors, Gerard and recommendation that School Veta Blanding of Hopewell Resource Officers be notified BY KEITH FARNER
of a breaking and entering or burglary incident. The committee recommended that incidents related to rude or disrespectful conduct, such as symbolic gestures or insults to a school employee that undermined the authority, be upgraded from a Level 2 to a Level 3 consequence. The group also suggested See DISCIPLINE, Page 8A
Veta and Gerard Blanding, standing from left, pastors of Hopewell Northeast Missionary Baptist Church, and Eric Thigpen, executive director of Academic Support with Gwinnett County Public Schools, recently outlined for the Gwinnett School Board what a discipline review committee of people inside and outside of the school district discussed from October to May. (Staff Photo: Keith Farner)
gwinnettdailypost.com
INSIDE Classified .......7B
Horoscope .....4A
Nation ........... 7A
Sports ............1B
Comics...........6B
Local ............. 2A
Obituaries ......8A
Weather .........4A
Crossword .....6B
Lottery........... 4A
Perspectives ..5A
Weekend........1C
Stay connected with the Daily Post online, where you can submit news tips, browse photo galleries and sign up to receive headlines digitally at gwinnettdailypost.com/newsletter. Send us engagements, wedding, births or anniversaries under “Submit your news” on the home page.