Crime & Safety

News Nearby: Church Volunteer Gets Life; Car Stolen With Baby Inside

Top Patch headlines from around Cartersville, metro Atlanta and Georgia include a body found in refuse and a man who tried to lure children into his vehicle.

Ex-NorthStar Church Volunteer Gets Life

Former NorthStar Church volunteer Cesar Pastrana will spend the rest of his life in prison after he pleaded guilty Friday to 10 counts of child molestation, four counts of aggravated child molestation and one count of aggravated sodomy.

The 25-year-old Kennesaw man admitted in a Cobb County courtroom that he molested nine boys, including two relatives, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

It was a different story than the one Pastrana initially told church officials when asked about an allegation of inappropriate conduct during a February church lock-in for middle and high school students.

Find out what's happening in Cartersvillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Get the full story on Kennesaw Patch.

Authorities Looking for Man Who Tried to Lure Children Into Vehicle  

Authorities in Forsyth and Fulton counties are looking for a man who may have tried to lure children into his vehicle on two separate occasions.

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The man is described as Asian, in his late 30s or early 40s and wearing glasses, according to the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office.

The first incident happened on Sept. 6 in the Deerlake subdivision located off Peachtree Parkway in south Forsyth. That's where the man believed to be driving a white van pulled his vehicle near an 8-year-old boy who was walking home. The man asked the boy if he needed a ride. The child got away and told his parents who later reported what happened to law enforcement.

Visit Cumming Patch for additional details.

Car Stolen With Baby Inside

A Lawrenceville man has been arrested and charged in connection with an Aug. 8 kidnapping and theft of a vehicle.

A woman said she left her 2011 Toyota Highlander running while she quickly went inside Panaderia Jalisco at 41 Paper Mill Road in the City of Lawrenceville. The woman told Lawrenceville Police that her 17-month-old son was sleeping so she left the baby in the unlocked car along with a Coach purse reportedly containing $8,000 and a diaper bag she said contained $2,300.

The woman told police she left the car unlocked because she was only running in for a second.

While inside the bakery, someone stole the SUV with the child inside.

Read more on Lawrenceville Patch.

Body Found in Refuse Trailer at Transfer Station

The body of an unknown male was found by Monroe Public Works employees in a refuse trailer at the transfer station off Cherry Hill Road at about 9:20 a.m. Tuesday, according to a press release from the Monroe Police Department. Officials report that the City of Monroe Solid Waste Plant at this location receives refuse from surrounding jurisdictions.

Monroe Patch has more on the story.

Chatt Tech in the Top 100 List for 2-Year Colleges

Chattahoochee Technical College was recently named to the list of the Top 100 certificate-producing institutions in the United States among more than 1,800 two-year colleges that conferred such awards during the 2011-2012 academic year.

Ranking 16 out of the top 100, Georgia’s largest technical college is one of five Georgia colleges to rank in the top 20.

Acworth Patch has more.

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