Armed driver eludes Milton police

By AMBER PERRY amber@appenmedia.com

MILTON, Ga. — Milton Police attempted to conduct a traffic stop on a yellow 2002 Chevrolet Monte Carlo Jan. 29 at around 5:40 p.m. traveling northbound on Cogburn Road.

The suspect continued after police activated emergency equipment, the police report said, and made a right on Oakstone Glen. After ignoring police for some time, the suspect made a left onto North Stone Close, where he pulled into a

Senate committee to examine funding for public education

By CANDY WAYLOCK candy@appenmedia.com

ATLANTA — The formula for funding public schools in Georgia dates back to 1985 when the Legislature passed Quality Based Education. It was considered landmark legislation at a time when schools were funded primarily by local taxes.

QBE determines the cost to educate a full-time, public school student. It uses that figure to calculate how much a district “earns” each year in state funding.

With nearly $11 billion of state revenue budgeted for public schools this year through QBE, getting the formula fully funded and fair is important.

“It’s a plurality of the state budget,” said Stephen Owens, education director at the Georgia Policy and Budget Institute. “But it’s in the [Georgia] constitution as a primary obligation to provide an adequate public education free of charge.” driveway.

An unidentified Black male driver, with a slim build, wearing a black jacket with white stripes, exited the vehicle where he fled north on foot toward the wood line behind the residence.

Police pursued the suspect on foot but lost sight of him when he jumped the fence headed toward Ga. 9.

Milton officers and Alpharetta Police K-9 responded on scene to set up a perimeter where they continued to canvass the area for the suspect, but he was not located.

Police checked the car’s dirty tag, which came back to a green 2005 Ford LGT Truck with ceased ownership. Police then checked the vehicle’s vin to contact the registered owner, where the owner said she sold the car two years before to a young Black man off Facebook marketplace.

While conducting an inventory of the vehicle, a black Sig P320 handgun was found inside a black book bag on the front passenger’s seat. The handgun had

See PURSUIT, Page 4

In developing the “per pupil” cost each year, QBE considers a variety of factors including grade level, teacher staffing and experience, class size, special services, like special education or gifted classes, student-teacher ratio and other direct and indirect costs of education.

While QBE determines how much a school earns in state funding each year, the state’s economy and budget determine how much the school systems actually receive. Since 1985,

See FUNDING, Page 4

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Customer calls in threats over restaurant order

MILTON, Ga. — Milton Police listened to irate voicemail messages on Bobby G’s restaurant answering machine complaining about an incorrect order.

The restaurant manager said the restaurant received an online order Jan. 21, which was later picked up at the take-out window. After the order was filled, the manager said four messages were left. The messages “sounded like an obnoxiously rude customer ranting about an incorrect order,” according to the police report.

The male suspect leaving the messages seemed to be upset about paying for an extra egg on a salad, the report said, but only receiving the standard egg.

The messages also implied the customer would report the issue to management, the report said, but strangely seemed irate over an egg and spoke about how the employees were not worth anything and the business would no longer be open.

The manager then played the fourth recorded voice message for police, and there were statements about breaking legs and either getting the employees “fired” or setting them on fire.

At the time of the report, the manager did not move forward with pressing charges.

Woman says helpers may have taken jewelry

MILTON, Ga. — A Milton woman told police Jan. 24 she left her wedding ring and a pair of gold earrings in her jewelry box but hadn’t seen them since October.

The woman hired a company to provide her 24-hour care for 10 days. She told police there were a lot of nurses and helpers in and out of her home and bedroom during that period.

After the contract with the company ended, she hired an individual because she only needed a few hours of help a day. She hired the woman based on a reference from a family friend, and she worked from late September to early December.

The woman was not sure who took the jewelry and had no suspects, however she stated that she noticed some of her kitchen items missing during the time that the single employee was working.

The victim also explained that the employee’s boyfriend came over to speak with her husband about his time in the war and stayed in the residence for about three to four hours with the employee.

The jewelry had been missing since October, but the woman did not file a report then because she did not have any suspects and didn’t think she needed a report until she contacted her insurance company.

The ring or the earrings do not have unique serial numbers, the woman said, and the last time the ring was appraised was 1994 for $8,700 and has a receipt from when the earrings were purchased for $550.

The woman described the ring as yellow gold with a round 1.12-carat diamond in the center and the earrings as yellow gold hoops.

Phone scammer targets registered sex offender

MILTON, Ga. — A registered sex offender, required to follow annual reporting, said he received a voicemail Jan. 24 from a man claiming to be from the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office.

The victim told Milton Police the caller stated his name and badge number and called him regarding a bond that needed to be paid.

The man said when he called back, the phone number was set up with prompts as if it were the Fulton County Sheriff`s Office. He said he asked a person on the line what the bond was for and was told it was failure to appear and failure to comply with registry requirements.

The fake officer told him if he did not pay the bond then there would be a warrant issued for his arrest, the report said. He was also told that the “Financial and Accounting Department” would text him a QR code to pay the bond.

The man confirmed with the Sex Offender Unit at the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office that he had no outstanding citations and that he was in good standing with the registry.

Man’s identity used to get job with Uber

MILTON, Ga. — Milton Police responded to a call Jan. 30 about a Social Security number fraudulently used to apply for an Uber driver position.

Police met with the fraud victim who said he received a letter on Jan. 27 from the IRS regarding taxes. On the form, it showed that the man applied for an Uber driver position and had earned $2,581.20.

The man said he never applied for an Uber driver position, the report said, and when he noticed that his Social Security number was involved in the IRS document, he contacted Uber for support.

At the time of the report, the man had still been waiting on a follow-up email from Uber.

The man said he is usually good about keeping his personal information secure and is not sure how it was obtained.