Behind the Investigation with Atlanta News First

Since state lawmakers approved a measure allowing cities to install school zone speed protection cameras about five years ago, the number of cameras have exploded, from 39 permits for cameras approved in 2019 to 290 last year. Public records uncovered by Atlanta News First Investigates reveal the cameras have generated more than $112 million in revenue for Georgia municipalities.

Read the full story here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2024/11/07/atlanta-drivers-getting-refunds-following-traffic-sign-malfunction/.

Thieves are targeting airport parking lots, stealing mostly high-end sports cars and pick-up trucks, some of which are later used in other crimes.

Car thefts from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport have more than tripled since last year, according to statistics released by the Atlanta Police Department. Through October 2024, 301 cars were stolen, compared with 95 for all of last year.

“You see so many really nice cars at the airport, people just don’t park there thinking that their vehicle is going to be stolen,” said West Clark after his $150,000 BMW M8 Competition was stolen from the ATL international parking garage in October.

Read the full story here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2024/11/18/more-than-300-cars-stolen-atlantas-airport-this-year/

One of the most recognizable Atlanta Falcons superfans was arrested during the Falcons’ game Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium only hours after interviewing with Atlanta News First Investigates denying allegations she misused any money NFL fans gave to her for tailgates and events.

Carolyn Freeman, who calls herself the “Atlanta Falcons BirdLady,” was arrested on one felony count of theft by deception.

The arrest warrant, issued on Oct. 30, 2024, states that Freeman obtained $14,000 dollars to orchestrate a party for the Chiefs-Falcons game on Sept. 22, but did not show up for the event and did not return the money.

Prior to the game, Atlanta News First Investigates asked Freeman about accusations she used money she had collected for tailgates and Super Bowl events in the last 10 years to pay for car repairs, her season tickets or personal seat license at the stadium.

Read the full story here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2024/11/04/controversial-birdlady-arrested-atlanta-falcons-game/

When Bill Haynes studied music in college, he told his mother he didn’t see himself as a teacher. After volunteering just one day at a Kentucky elementary school, he changed his mind.

Haynes taught music in public schools for more than 30 years, the majority of that time in Georgia and at Atlanta’s E. Rivers Elementary.

Haynes’ life full of music came to sudden stop eight days before Christmas 2016 when police found him dead inside a Sandy Springs storage facility. He was 53.

Police say Justin Paul Hess attacked Haynes with a knife; investigators said he killed his own mother, Carol Ann Hess, the same day.

Nearly eight years after Hess’ arrest, he’s never been convicted of a crime because doctors said he’s not competent stand trial.

Read the full story here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2024/11/05/eight-years-after-his-arrest-an-accused-murderer-awaits-trial/

Environmental activist Erin Brockovich held two north Georgia townhalls recently discuss the impact of PFAS - also known as “forever chemicals” - in the state’s drinking water supplies.

A continuing series of Atlanta News First investigations has reported on the levels of the chemicals in several north Georgia drinking water supplies, including Rome and Calhoun.

Read the full story here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2024/09/20/erin-brockovich-holding-georgia-townhalls-contaminated-drinking-water/

A South Georgia city has lost its ability to write speeding tickets for nearly six months after a state investigation uncovered it altered tickets to hide how much the city collected from citations.

According to a letter by the commissioner of the Georgia Department of Public Safety (DPS), the agency suspended the speed detection device permits for the city of Lenox for 180 days this past July. The state’s investigation found the city “consistently altered” tickets that “had the effect of excluding the fines and forfeitures for citations issued for speeding.”

Lenox is located about three hours south of Atlanta on Interstate 75, a popular route to Georgia’s coast and Florida.

Read the full story here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2024/10/03/georgia-city-prohibited-writing-speeding-tickets-following-anf-investigation/

Two former South Georgia police officers claim they were pressured to write traffic citations to generate revenue to bolster their city’s budgets.

John Masters and Zack Watson, who worked for the Poulan, Georgia, police department about two years ago, said they felt compelled to speak out after Atlanta News First Investigates published a series of investigations the past year which uncovered multiple South Georgia cities relying on significant portions of their municipal budgets from fines and forfeitures, generated by their police departments.

The city of Poulan covers less than two square miles, about three hours south of Atlanta. According to the U. S. Census, the city’s population was 760 in 2022.

Read the full story here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2024/10/09/pressured-write-tickets-former-officers-speak-out/

FBI Atlanta is seeing a substantial increase in computer cookie thefts. Atlanta News First Investigates talks with Joe Zadik, FBI supervisory special agent, on how you can take more steps to protect your online personal information from thieves.

When Brittany Tucker’s brother died in 2015, “I just took it the wrong way,” she said. “I turned to drugs.”

Tucker’s addiction resulted in state intervention from the Georgia Department of Human Services Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS) in 2016. Within two years, DFCS had removed all four of her kids - including an infant daughter - from her care.

Georgia law says when drugs are involved in child welfare cases, a judge may require drug screening of the parent. Tucker agreed to random drug screens in hopes of getting her children back. State contracted workers would collect the specimens then send them off to subcontracted drug testing labs.

Tucker admits to early relapses, but by 2019, she said she was sober for good. “I didn’t get sober for myself,” she said. “I did it for my kids.”

But her mandated drug tests didn’t show that. According to the results from state subcontracted labs, Tucker tested positive for methamphetamine during times she claims she was sober. Those results affected her visitation privileges with her children.

Read the full story here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2024/10/17/are-hair-follicle-drug-tests-reliable-georgia-expert-says-no/

Season 2, Episode 46 of Behind the Investigation with Atlanta News First

The Facebook pages have names like Proudly American. Its cover photo shows troops marching behind US flags. But the listed contact address in Dallas, Texas, doesn’t exist.

But digging three levels down into the Facebook’s page transparency feature uncovered the Proudly American page is managed by three users in Morocco.

Proudly American one of dozens of patriotic Facebook pages Atlanta News First Investigates found across social media that share identical AI-generated photos of American soldiers, veterans, and military babies. Those with page management information show they’re not run out of the United States.

Read the full story here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2024/09/23/artificial-patriots-foreign-scammers-use-ai-military-photos-steal-us-widows/