Georgia Senate passes measure to keep lottery winner identities secret
ATLANTA - The Georgia Senate has passed a bipartisan proposal that would allow Georgia lottery winners to remain anonymous.
The bill was amended before passing the Senate on Monday to remove a clause that called for a charge of up to 4 percent of the winnings in order to keep the information anonymous. The bill was also changed so that only winners of prizes over $250,000 would be able to be kept anonymous.
The proposed legislation has been criticized by open government advocacy groups, who say it is a bad idea to allow the government to hand out millions of dollars to private citizens without a public record.
It is unclear when the House will take up the proposal.
GBI: Georgia man killed baby, woman before shooting himself
BYROMVILLE, Ga. - Authorities said a Georgia man used a rifle to kill a woman and a toddler before fatally shooting himself.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation released its findings in the Jan. 25 slayings Monday in rural Dooly County.
News outlets reported investigators found 47-year-old Priscilla Adams and 17-month-old Jashun Ingram dead in the woman's front yard in tiny Byromville. A neighbor, 60-year-old Willie Merrell, was found dead nearby with a .30-caliber rifle nearby.
GBI agent J.T. Ricketson told a news conference evidence shows all gunshots in the slayings were fired from Merrell's rifle. Ricketson said Merrell also shot and wounded a 17-year-old girl in Adams' yard who later spoke to investigators.
Man pleads guilty in connection with heroin trafficking ring
HARTFORD, Conn. - The U.S. attorney in Connecticut said a man has pleaded guilty to facilitating heroin trafficking and illegally entering the United States.
The office said Monday 44-year-old Onel Arana-Gervacio, a Mexican citizen, pleaded guilty in Hartford to conspiracy to distribute heroin and illegal re-entry.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said he is one of five people charged with participating in a trafficking ring in Alabama, Connecticut and Rhode Island.
Prosecutors say Alabama police stopped a car hauler carrying a vehicle registered to Arana-Gervacio in 2016 and found a hidden compartment commonly used for contraband.
The car was tracked to Connecticut and Rhode Island.
Authorities say in January 2017, they seized $260,000 from the car and heroin, cocaine and drug distribution materials from the Hartford residence where it was parked.
Arana-Gervacio was removed from the U.S. in 2013.