Police find RV in deadly crash, and more region news

MARIETTA, Ga.

Police find RV in deadly crash

Police investigating a deadly chain-reaction crash say they've found a recreational vehicle they believe was involved the crash on Interstate 75 outside Atlanta.

Marietta police said they received a tip that the RV was in Florida, and officers located it with help from police in Cape Coral, Fla.

Investigators say their suspect is a 52-year-old Canadian citizen who owns property in Cape Coral. Police said he's been charged with vehicular homicide and hit-and-run.

The suspect's lawyer told them his client planned to turn himself in at the Cobb County Jail, Marietta police said. Though investigators have been in touch with the suspect's attorney, "no confirmation as to his whereabouts or his intentions can be made at this time," Marietta police spokesman David Baldwin said.

Investigators have also spoken by telephone with the suspect and made him aware of the charges, police said. They say they've encouraged him to turn himself in, but were unsure of his whereabouts.

The RV struck a Toyota Camry on Interstate 75 northwest of Atlanta on Saturday, police have said. Killed in the chain-reaction crash was 40-year-old Bradley Braland of Winter Garden, Fla. Police say the RV didn't stop.


TIFTON, Ga.

Man uses tractor to kill rattlesnake

A South Georgia businessman is being called "the rattlesnake wrangler" after using his tractor to kill a 5-foot diamondback rattlesnake.

Lee Fletcher, part owner of Chula Peanut & Grain Co. near Tifton, was doing some work on his tractor when he spotted the snake on the ground Oct. 19. He said he used the bucket on the front of the tractor to pin it down and kill it.

The Tifton Gazette reports that a sign now hangs in the small community: "Welcome to Chula! Home of 'the rattlesnake wrangler' Lee Fletcher."

Fletcher said one of the workers at Chula Peanut & Grain Co. skinned the snake and plans to make a belt.


MONTGOMERY, Ala.

Man admits using stolen inmate IDs

Another person has pleaded guilty to using the stolen identities of Alabama inmates to file fraudulent tax returns.

U.S. Attorney George Beck announced Monday that Harvey James of Birmingham had pleaded guilty in Montgomery to one count of mail fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. Court documents from Harvey's plea hearing on Friday show he obtained stolen identities of Alabama inmates and then worked with his sister, Jacqueline Slaton, and others to file false federal and state tax returns claiming more than $1 million in refunds between 2010 and 2012.

He also worked with a former Montgomery mail carrier, Vernon Harrison, to have some of the refunds delivered via debit cards to addresses on Harrison's postal route, court records show. Harrison obtained them for James and received payments, according to court records.

Slaton pleaded guilty to mail fraud and aggravated identity theft in 2012 and got a sentence of five years and 10 months. Harrison was convicted of mail fraud, identity theft and other charges in July. He is scheduled for sentencing Thursday.

James faces between two years and 22 years in prison when he is sentenced Feb. 19.

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