Man sentenced to five years in prison for child molestation

DALTON, Ga. — A Dalton man has pleaded guilty to child molestation and sexual battery against a child under 16 and was sentenced to five years in prison and then 20 years on probation, the district attorney’s office said. Eduardo Leon-Cruz, 35, was indicted by a grand jury last year for aggravated sexual battery, child molestation and sexual battery. Leon-Cruz was charged in September of last year with aggravated child molestation and sexual battery against a child under 16 following a domestic dispute in July. He was charged on July 26 with misdemeanor battery. Dalton Police Department spokesman Bruce Frazier said the July incident had been under investigation and resulted in the new charges. According to an incident report, officers responded to a 911 hangup call and discovered “some domestic dispute” had occurred, but neither of the people involved spoke English. Noting “all parties … were crying” and “emotions were high,” an officer was eventually told a person had “been touched inappropriately” and “these happenings had been going on for approximately five years with the latest incident being two weeks ago.”

Man arrested after threatening children with gun

LIVE OAK, Fla. — Pointing a gun at four children and making a sound mimicking a shot landed a Live Oak man in jail Sunday. According to the Suwannee County Sheriff’s Office, 25-year-old Samuel Richard Mills pointed a handgun in the direction of four small children Sunday night and one by one went “bang, bang, bang, bang” as if he was shooting them. The SCSO report states that the presence of the gun and the verbal threat created a well-founded fear in all four of the children. During the SCSO investigation, a black BB handgun was recovered, which was used in the threat. The report states the BB gun was loaded and operable. The suspect allegedly admitted to threatening the children, according to the report. Mills was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill.

Wiregrass Farmers Market opens April 6 at ABAC’s Georgia Museum of Agriculture

TIFTON, Ga. — Choose from farm fresh items ranging from eggs to produce at the Wiregrass Farmers Market when it opens for a ninth season at 9 a.m. on April 6 at the Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College Georgia Museum of Agriculture. Museum liaison Polly Huff said free range eggs, small-batch fresh roasted coffee, locally grown meats, fresh produce, artisanal breads and baked goods, homemade jams and jellies, goat cheeses, cold-pressed oils, and honey will all be offered directly by their producers. For more information on the Wiregrass Farmers Market or to apply to be a vendor, interested parties can visit the Market’s site at www.wiregrassmarket.org or contact Huff at phuff@abac.edu.