Georgia Briefs – Nov. 26, 2014

UGA breaking ground on new annex

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — University of Georgia and state officials will break ground next week on a new building for the School of Public and International Affairs.

The ceremony is planned for Dec. 2. UGA officials say the addition to Baldwin Hall will provide more classrooms, space for graduate teaching assistants to hold office hours and common areas for academic presentations and events.

The main building will be renovated to provide modern updates and more access for individuals with disabilities. Baldwin Hall was built in 1938 to serve as a Navy pre-flight school during World War II and was home to several UGA programs.

Police identify woman fatally shot at bus stop

LITHONIA, Ga. (AP) — Authorities have identified the woman shot and killed at a MARTA bus stop outside Atlanta as 19-year-old Marcaysia Dawkins, a recent graduate of Lithonia High School.

Police say officers were called to the bus stop on Fairington Road in the Lithonia area around 10 a.m. Sunday. They found Dawkins lying on the bench with a gunshot wound at the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority stop.

WSB-TV reports that surveillance video shows a man crossing the street and standing next to the woman. In the video, the two appear to speak for a few minutes before a struggle ensues, and the woman is shot. The man appears to take something and run away.

Relatives said Dawkins was trying to catch a bus to run an errand when she was killed.

Dawson County man shot to death during fight

DAWSONVILLE, Ga. (AP) — Authorities are investigating a fatal shooting in the foothills of the north Georgia mountains.

Sheriff’s officials say 37-year-old Alan Brandon Weaver Dawsonville was shot at a home in Dawson County.

Dawson County Sheriff Billy Carlisle tells The Times that investigators know who shot Weaver, but no arrests had been made yet as they interviewed witnesses to find out what led to the shooting.

Sheriff’s Capt. Tony Wooten said Weaver was shot twice at close range with a handgun during a fight at the home on Whitney Place.

Weaver was well-known in the community as a father and a coach of youth sports.

Clemency hearing set for Georgia death row inmate

ATLANTA (AP) — A clemency hearing has been set for a Georgia death row inmate convicted of killing a sheriff’s deputy following a convenience store robbery.

The State Board of Pardons and Paroles has invited representatives for Robert Wayne Holsey to advocate for clemency for him on Dec. 8 at 9 a.m. Holsey is set to be executed Dec. 9 at 7 p.m. at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson.

A jury in February 1997 convicted Holsey of killing Baldwin County sheriff’s deputy Will Robinson.

Holsey robbed a Milledgeville convenience store early on Dec. 17, 1995. The clerk called police right after he left and described the robber and his car.

Robinson pulled Holsey over minutes later. Authorities say Holsey fired at Robinson as the deputy approached the vehicle.

Weather Service: At least 3 twisters struck Georgia

ATLANTA (AP) — Forecasters say at least three tornadoes struck Georgia as part of a storm system that crossed the state on Sunday.

The National Weather Service said in a statement Tuesday morning that three twisters have been confirmed after surveys of damage, and that damage assessments were still ongoing.

Forecasters said the strongest tornado began in Alabama and crossed into Stewart County, Georgia. They say it reached its peak intensity, with winds estimated at 130 mph, as it traveled north of the Thomaston area of Upson County, where it destroyed a building.

Another tornado struck Monroe County, where it snapped trees and damaged barns.

The third twister began in Houston County and ended in Pulaski County. Forecasters said it pushed a mobile home off its foundation and peeled off its roof.