The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Five biggest, most important, most read stories of 2018
From football champions to celebrity lawsuits, North Fulton has had itself quite a 2018.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s coverage of the area included everything from the obvious to the quirky.
So let’s take a look back at five of the biggest, most important and most read stories in North Fulton this year. Sure, there are others, so feel free to comment with your five. FBI agent is dragged by truck Just five days into the new year, North Fulton already had something to talk about.
An FBI agent shot and wounded a wanted gang member who was fleeing from a Sandy Springs hotel in a pick-up truck that dragged the agent a quarter-mile, author- ities said.
This all happened outside the Wyndham Atlanta Galleria.
“The agent tried to stop (the suspect) from fleeing in the vehicle and somehow got caught up in the vehicle and got dragged by the suspect,” an FBI spokesman said. “At that point, the agent felt that his life was in danger, so he shot the suspect.”
Both men were taken to hospitals.
Proposed 60-acre tennis complex quickly nixed
The Krause Family Founda- tion wanted to build a 60-acre tennis complex to be the larg- est concentration of clay tennis courts in the nation located at Roswell’s Big Creek Park, but residents weren’t having it.
The Angela Krause Tennis, Pickleball and Fitness Center was announced on a Thurs- day and by Sunday an online petition in opposition had garnered about 23,000 sig- natures.
Neighborhood groups com- plained of potential traffic but also how the plan would pave over woods and elimi- nate about half of the park’s biking trails.
The tennis center would have been built on about a third of the park’s 168 acres and would have included more than 135 tennis courts, including 80 clay courts and an indoor facility.
Vernon Krause, a Roswell resident and owner of four metro automobile dealerships, said the tennis center was supposed to be a memorial to his daughter, Angela, who died in 2015 after getting cancer.
Southside Steve runs light, ends cop beef
“Southside” Steve Rickman of Rock 100.5’s Bailey and Southside show ran a red light and thought he didn’t, but he did and a cop saw it.
In the process of getting pulled over by Johns Creek police, Rickman streamed his woes on Facebook Live for thousands to see.
But the Johns Creek Police Department had a rebuttal they shared on Facebook: a dash cam picture of him run- ning the light.
Rickman said he was charged with a 40-6-20, which is a violation of obedience to traffic control devices.
In acknowledgment of his wrongness, Rickman wore short-shorts on a 44-degree day, as if to evoke Lt. Dangle from the satirical Comedy Central television show Reno 911, with a sign.
“I am not the smartest fellow, I thought the light was yellow,” it read. Rickman was standing at Medlock Bridge Road and State Bridge Road, near where he was ticketed, collecting donations for Spe- cial Olympics Johns Creek.
Milton pulls off upset, few left upset
Milton, a city that isn’t yet in its teens, celebrated maybe the biggest upset in the history of Class AAAAAAA football.
The rural horse town beat south Georgia’s Colquitt High School, an undefeated team ranked as a top-five squad in the nation. Colquitt was the the 21-point favorite against Milton.
So the city went bananas when their players came home with the win.
When the bus full of win- ners pulled back up to the school that night, the parking lot was so packed it like class was in session. There was a police escort and folks honking horns and cheering.
About 100 people packed into the Olde Blind Dog, a pub less than a mile from the school that is a go-to for parents.
“It was a mess,” one parent said. “It was incredible.”
Celebrities bring big drama to North Fulton
Grammy award-winning R&B singer R. Kelly and NFL running back LeSean McCoy had North Fulton on their minds quite a bit this year.
Kelly was sued in August by an East Point-based property management company for an alleged $203,400 in damages to two homes he rented near Johns Creek: a 9,000-square-foot, 23-room house on Old Homestead Trail and a four-bedroom home on Saint Devon Crossing.
The suit claims Kelly moved out of those homes in February 2017, but he and SB Property Management didn’t agree to terminate the leases and surrender Kelly’s possession of the homes until Feb. 27, 2018. This came two weeks after the company filed a notice to have Kelly evicted.
At one point, Kelly rented a third home in Johns Creek, on Creek Wind Court. In July 2017, BuzzFeed published an arti- cle claiming that Kelly “held women against their will in a cult” there. Tim and Jonje- lyn Savage of Atlanta held a press conference outside the home. They said their daughter Joycelyn was “beat” by Kelly and “part of the R. Kelly cult.” Joycelyn later released a video through TMZ saying she was “in a happy place.” More accusers of Kelly have come forth since the original report. He has denied all allegations.
As for the football player, McCoy was initially accused by his ex-girlfriend of being behind her beating during a July home invasion at his Milton home. He denies the allegations and says he was in Miami at the time.
She sued McCoy in August, claiming he is “liable” for her injuries.
Milton police haven’t said much about the investigation since early fall.