Man found guilty of stabbing 2 over dishes

MARIETTA — A Marietta man convicted Monday of stabbing his stepson and step-grandson because of a sink full of dirty dishes will spend the rest of his life in prison, the Cobb County District Attorney’s Office announced.

After a full day of deliberations and a weeklong trial, a Cobb jury convicted Aaron Edward Strong, 69, of felony murder, two counts of aggravated assault, and two counts of possessing a knife during the commission of a felony, acquitting him on charges of malice murder and aggravated battery, said Kim Isaza, spokeswoman for the Cobb DA.

On Aug. 24, 2015, Strong stabbed both his 32-year-old stepson, Maurice Arnold, and his 22-year-old stepgrandson, Deandre Arnold, multiple times with a 12-inch Colt bowie knife outside a Terrace Drive home.

Maurice Arnold died of his injuries and Deandre Arnold was seriously wounded, Isaza said, noting the assault began over an argument about dirty dishes that were left in the kitchen sink. Strong was arrested at the scene. Senior Superior Court Judge Shepherd Howell sentenced the Marietta man as a recidivist to life in prison without the possibility of parole, plus five years. Strong’s prior felonies include a 1973 conviction for seconddegree murder in Florida.

Marietta Daily Journal

‘Twisted Cyclone,’ a wood-steel hybrid, coming to Six Flags

AUSTELL — Six Flags Over Georgia has revealed details on the roller coaster set to replace the now-closed wooden thrill ride, Georgia Cyclone.

Twisted Cyclone, set to arrive in spring 2018, will be a hybrid woodensteel coaster, which park officials said will combine a classic wooden structure with a modern steel track, allowing for a more thrilling thrill ride.

Those features will include a 75-degree initial drop from nearly 100 feet into reverse cobra roll sending riders perpendicular to the ground. Riders will experience a feeling of weightlessness as they fly through a 360-degree zero gravity roll.

The coaster trains, modeled after a classic 1960s sports convertible, will travel through three upside down inversions and 10 airtime moments along 2,400 feet of track at speeds of 50 miles per hour.

Construction on Twisted Cyclone is underway and the ride is expected to debut in the spring of 2018.

Ross Williams, Marietta Daily Journal

Chattanooga man accidentally shoots himself, friend

DALTON — A Chattanooga man is in jail in Whitfield County after Dalton Police Department officers said a gun he was carrying discharged, shooting himself through a hand and injuring a friend in the scrotum and both legs.

Curtis Brandon Barnes, 32, of 809 Cicero Trail, was charged Tuesday by the Dalton Police Department with aggravated assault, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and discharging a firearm on or near a public highway or street.

According to an incident report, Barnes originally told police he was carrying a bullet in his pocket and when he went to pull the bullet out, loose change caused the bullet to go off.

“We let them tell their story,” DPD Detective Aaron Simpson said. “I asked him if he had a hammer and a nail with his change to make it go off.”

Investigators were able to get what they said was the real story out of Barnes and Justin Davenport, who was the other victim of the bullet.

According to the report, Barnes was “handling” a Taurus 9mm pistol when it discharged. Both men later showed up at Hamilton Medical Center and a nurse told police there were two gunshot victims. Barnes originally told the responding officers he didn’t have a gun and told the story of the loose change and the bullet.

The report said after the gun discharged, Davenport pulled into the fire station for help and Barnes threw the gun across the street. Detectives found it “covered in blood.”

Barnes was being held Wednesday at the Whitfield County jail on a $5,000 bond.

Chris Whitfield, The Dalton Daily Citizen