A recent Georgia Supreme Court ruling could have implications for property owners and law enforcement agencies across the state, including here in Northwest Georgia, by rejecting the idea that the state is automatically protected from compensation claims whenever private property is damaged during police activity.
A Summerville man who was acquitted of murder in the 2025 shooting death of Christopher “DJ” Chapman has now been sentenced on the two charges for which a Chattooga County jury found him guilty.
A Centre, Alabama woman has filed a lawsuit against Chattooga County Sheriff Mark Schrader and a sheriff’s office employee, alleging she suffered serious injuries when a prisoner transport van crashed in July 2025.
A Rome woman has been sentenced to two years in prison and 18 years on probation after being convicted of abandoning three adults with intellectual disabilities outside their group home on a cold January night.
A Summerville man has pleaded guilty to charges stemming from an incident in which he admitted striking a Summerville Police officer in the face.
According to Chattooga County Superior Court records, John Howard Trammel, of 19 Church Street in Summerville, pleaded guilty to obstruction of an officer and simple assault.
Trammel was indicted by a Chattooga County Grand Jury on August 11 and entered his guilty plea just two days later, on August 13, before Superior Court Judge Melissa Hise.
Judge Hise sentenced Trammel to three years of probation and ordered him to pay a $1,716 fine. He was also ordered to avoid alcohol and illegal drugs, submit to random drug testing and treatment, and complete 40 hours of community service.
Court records state that Trammel admitted to striking Summerville Police Officer Joshua Mitchell in the face during a call on May 8.
Records also state that Trammel damaged property belonging to Kaileigh Painter during the same incident, including breaking an air conditioner and a window.
The guilty plea resolved the charges against Trammel in Chattooga County Superior Court.
The latest indictments from the Chattooga County Grand Jury include charges ranging from burglary and criminal damage to property to aggravated stalking, fleeing and terroristic threats.
The owner of a used car lot in Summerville has pleaded guilty in Chattooga County Superior Court to a serious injury by vehicle charge stemming from a February 2024 traffic crash that left a local woman with significant injuries.
Governor Brian Kemp has appointed Kathleen Van Pelt Davis to serve as district attorney for the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit, which includes Chattooga, Catoosa, Dade and Walker counties.
Charges have been dismissed in connection with a 2023 fatal crash that claimed the life of a LaFayette motorcyclist, according to documents filed in Floyd County Superior Court.
A 22-year-old Rossville man has been sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to Malice Murder in the killing of a fellow inmate inside the Catoosa County Jail.
