Chattanooga Update - May 30, 2014

A Varnell police officer is back on the job today after crashing his patrol car into another vehicle, throwing the other driver onto the pavement. A preliminary report from the Georgia State Patrol blames officer Patrick John Hayes for the crash, saying he cut off the other driver while trying to turn. But Varnell Police Chief Lyle Grant says the crash wasn't the officer's fault. He says Hayes flipped his emergency lights on before the crash, and the other driver must not have noticed. That information isn't in the preliminary report, but it has since been confirmed by the Georgia State Patrol. According to the report, 22-year-old David Nathan Gambrell was not wearing a seat belt when the crash happened. He was flown to Erlanger hospital and is reportedly making - a fast recovery. ____ Two people are headed to jail after a $44 million dollar land fraud case. From 2008 to 2010, hundreds of buyers bought lots at The Preserve at Rising Fawn in Dade County. And hundreds believed what Josh Dobson and Paul Gott were selling. Their company, Southern Group, even promised to pay the down payment and mortgage payments for buyers, in exchange for using those buyers' credit to obtain loans. Lots valued at 6 to 9 thousand dollars sold for $150 to 200 thousand, undeveloped. And of the more than 300 lots sold, most remain vacant. Had the real estate market crash not exposed the scheme, hundreds more lots could have been sold. A Florida pastor set on retiring lost her life savings. A 70-year-old retired doctor in California declared bankruptcy. And those are just a few of the stories. The FBI says the sales brought in $40 million dollars of loans that were likely obtained fraudulently. Both Dobson and Gott were convicted of conspiracy, wire fraud and money laundering. Dobson has been sentenced to 10 years in prison. Gott - is sentenced to six. _____ It's been 2 years since a baby was beaten to death in Marion County, and still, no arrest has been made. 3-month-old Colin Eugene Russell died in June 2012. The baby had blunt force injuries of the head, hemorrhaging in his brain, multiple rib fractures and spinal injuries. A medical examiner's report described battered-child syndrome, and called the manner of death: homicide. District attorney Mike Taylor says the baby's father, Chris Russell, remains the only person of interest in the case. _____ All three members of the Board of Tax Assessors in Fannin County Georgia have been removed from office. The firings come after some major blunders. For one, no one ever paid property tax on a $2.2 million dollar log cabin near Blue Ridge. Why? Well, the mansion is recorded on tax rolls as unimproved land worth just $52,000 dollars. That means roughly $100,000 dollars in property taxes has gone uncharged on the house since its construction in 2008. And in Mineral Bluff, the Nicholson Tire shop got a $796 thousand dollar property tax bill. The shop itself is only worth around $100,000 dollars. After the mistake, co-owner Dennis Nicholson got what he was told was a corrected bill - for $795,000 dollars. In all, 63 structures, including four owned by employees of the assessors' office, had their property values incorrectly lowered in 2013. Now board members David Lewis, Jerry Whitehead and Mary Jo Towe are out - and new assessors have been sworn in. ___ The new track built at Dade County High School will have to be torn down and rebuilt. Why? Well, because it's too short - the length and width didn't actually meet regulations. Superintendent Cherie Swader told WRCB there should be no extra costs involved in rebuilding the track, because the contractor is doing the right thing - by fixing the mistake. ____ Some major sports awards have been presented at the Best of Preps banquet in Chattanooga. Jake Yost, the coach of Cleveland's wrestling team, won coach of the year. In two seasons, his team has won four state titles. Brooke Copeland was awarded female athlete of the year. She's a star player in basketball and volleyball, and the overall female winner for the second year in a row. She's heading to the University of Florida to play basketball. And Slade Dale won Male Athlete of the Year. Dale plays baseball and football at Ringgold High School. He's headed - to the University of Georgia. ____ Part of Highway 153 that crosses the Tennessee River will be closed for 3 days next month. Thrasher Bridge over Chickamauga Dam will be closed from the evening of June 19 until the morning of June 23. TVA is closing the road to make its first major repairs to the bridge - in 15 years. ____ Finally, a local barista was given 13 hundred dollars in a random act of kindness. Molly Williams' shift had just ended at Cadence Coffee when a customer pointed out an envelope on the floor addressed to Williams. Williams doesn't know who left the thirteen $100 dollar bills, but the cash is paid out to the dollar for a bill she owes UTC.