Man faces new charge in officers’ poisoning

Little Gaston Stone now charged with assault against victim at church.

A man is facing a new charge nearly three months after authorities said he took paperwork containing a substance to Smyrna police headquarters, poisoning two officers.

Police said Little Gaston Stone went to the department Feb. 6, recording the visit with a tablet device and speaking about Gov. Brian Kemp. Stone presented the officers with two pieces of paper to give to Chief Keith Zgonc.

About five minutes later, both officers reported having severe symptoms like extreme fatigue and respiratory distress, according to a warrant.

Stone was arrested after the incident and charged with two counts of aggravated assault against an officer. The FBI took custody of the letters for additional testing.

In a similar incident, the 51-yearold has been charged with aggravated assault with intent to murder in a case connected to a third victim at a local church.

According to the latest warrant, the pastor at Second Smyrna Baptist Church reported that a church administrative worker came into contact with papers left by Stone. She had been out sick since the exposure, said the pastor, who told officers he had seen news coverage about Stone’s arrest.

He told police that the church worker found the papers that had Stone’s name on them near a door and placed them inside the church.

Police contacted the woman a few days later and she confirmed she had been feeling sick since Feb. 10. She told police that she didn’t initially link her illness to the paperwork because she had been getting over a cold. She had been taking antibiotics, but on that day she said her symptoms got worse.

She told police that “within five minutes of touching the papers she felt extreme fatigue, was sweating profusely, and felt like her chest was heavy,” the warrant said. She also said in the days after the exposure she had no appetite and suffered from an upset stomach and diarrhea.

The woman underwent multiple blood tests to help determine why she was ill.

Stone has been in the Cobb County jail since his February arrest.

He was already on probation for a separate case when he was arrested, according to Cobb court records. In October, he was sentenced to 12 months of probation after pleading guilty to making terroristic threats.

In April 2021, Stone was indicted and accused of threatening to blow up a building, records show.