Department Store Robbery

On November 4, 2016, at approximately 12:34 pm, Canton Officers responded to 2034 Cumming Highway, Khol’s Department Store, in reference to a robbery that occurred. The suspects left the scene in a pickup truck prior to the Officers arrival. Officers determined the suspects verbally threatened to use a weapon against the Loss Prevention Employees who were attempting to stop the theft.  No weapon was displayed.

Surrounding agencies were issued a BOLO of the suspects and vehicle’s description. Approximately ten minutes later, a Cherokee County Sheriff’s Deputy located the vehicle in the downtown Ball Ground area where they were apprehended. The suspects were charged and taken to the Cherokee County Adult Detention Center.  

Male Suspect: Yeovany Perez of Ball Ground, GA
34 yrs. Old
Hispanic Male 
Charged with: 1 count Robbery (OCGA 16-8-40) and 1 count Terroristic Threats (OGCA 16-11-37)

Female Suspect: Abigayil Perez of Ball Ground, GA
33 years old
White female 
Charged with: 1 count Robbery (OCGA 16-8-40)

The Canton Police Department would like to thank the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, Ball Ground Police Department and Cherokee Marshall’s Office for their assistance.

Police in the Park "Unity in our Community"

The Canton Police Department is hosting “Police in the Park”, an event for the whole family, on Saturday, November 5, 2016. This event was created to promote Canton Police’s “Unity in our Community” initiative, which is a community policing program that is designed to improve communications and foster relationships between the police force and the community we serve.

“The Police in the Park and 5K run event provides our department and the community the opportunity to interact, build relationships, partnerships and increase the vital trust needed during this time in our nation's history. Our mindset and attitude here is to be innovative and active with our Community Policing efforts and programs because not only are we supposed to protect our citizens but we are also charged to engage with our Community. We believe that a healthy balance of the two (2) works extremely well to improve the Quality of Life in our great City.”– Mark Mitchell, Chief of Police

This event will feature a 5k run as well as a Kids Fun Run, jump houses, food, music and plenty of entertainment for the whole family. The 5k run will begin at 9 am, followed by the Fun Run and the food and entertainment be from 10:30 am until 1 pm. Special police demonstrations featuring public safety vehicles, like the Georgia State Patrol helicopter, will be the highlight of the event. Registration for the race can be found at: www.raceroster.com. The Canton Police Department would like to invite everyone out to enjoy “Police in the Park”!

 

Moose Lodge Honors First Responders

The Canton Moose Lodge recently honored First Responders from both Cherokee and Pickens’ Counties at its annual Community Service Awards Banquet on Monday, October 3, 2016.

The event hosted Todd Hayes, Cherokee County's assistant solicitor general, as this year’s keynote speaker.

Following the speech, members of the Canton Moose Lodge presented awards to several employees from the Canton Police Department.

Recognized at this year’s banquet were (pictured left to right):
Officer of the Year – Operations Division – Officer Allison Gerdes
Employee of the Year - Records – Antoinette Jackson
Officer of the Year – Support Services – Cpl. Jesse Ray



The Canton Police Department would like to congratulate everyone who received an award.

Bank Robbery Arrest

Arrest of BB&T Bank Robbery Suspect

On September 20, 2016, information was obtained in regards to a possible suspect in the robbery of the BB&T Bank located at 152 Prominence Pointe Parkway, Canton Georgia. This information was provided from the public after soliciting assistance through media and social media outlets by our Community Relations Officer.

The Uniform Patrol Division and the Criminal Investigations Division was able to obtain further incriminating information that was verified to identify and arrest the suspect.

The investigation is ongoing to be followed up on as additional information is generated during the identification and arrest of the suspect.

The suspect was identified as John S. Adams, 59 years of age from Canton Ga.  He was arrested without incident and taken to the Cherokee County Adult Detention Center.  Adams was charged with Robbery O.C.G.A. 16-8-40.

"What to Expect During a Traffic Stop"

This past July, the City of Canton hosted a unity meeting and invited members of the local clergy, Police Chief Mark Mitchell, and Mayor Gene Hobgood. Due to recent national events, the focus of the meeting was to discuss continued efforts to build trusting relationships between the Police Department and the citizens it serves. Participants noted that the relationship between the Police Department and the community is very good, but there will always be opportunities to improve communication, feedback, and follow-up in order to further strengthen the trust that is being cultivated between the community and its officers.

As a result of the meeting, a “What to Expect During a Traffic Stop” educational brochure in both English and Spanish has been created.  The objective of this effort will be the ability to show the process, procedure, role, and responsibility of both the officer and citizen during a traffic stop encounter.  The hope is, this information will continue to improve relationships    between the City of Canton, the Police Department and the Community by providing valuable insights for all parties, while building a foundation of trust and success for the future.

This pamphlet is currently in print and will be handed out to citizens during Community      Outreach events.  It will also be available via the Police Department’s social media pages and will be produced into an education video at some point in the near future.   

  

Chief Mark J. Mitchell stated, “The goal and purpose of this brochure is to clearly relay that education and communication are the key components to keeping city residents, those     passing through our city and police officers safe.  We are proud to partner with our local Clergy on this project and look forward to uniting with them on additional projects in the future with the goal of improving the Quality of Life for everyone in our Community.”

Attachments: “What to Expect During a Traffic Stop” – 

English https://www.scribd.com/document/323380737/Canton-Police-Traffic-Stop-Expectations-Press-Release

“What to Expect during a Traffic Stop” – Spanish -https://www.scribd.com/document/323380736/Canton-Police-Traffic-Stop-Expectations-Spanish

Officers Promoted

During a promotion ceremony held Wednesday, September 7, 2016 at Canton City Hall, three (3) Canton Police Officers were promoted to higher ranks within the police department. Each of these Officers recently participated in a promotional process, were selected for promotion and to take on more leadership responsibility within the organization.

Chief Mark J. Mitchell presented the Officers with their Attention to Orders and their family members pinned their new supervisor badges on their uniforms.

Corporal James McPherson was promoted to the rank of Sergeant. He has been with the Police Department for over three (3) years and previously spent six (6) years with the City of Kennesaw Police Department.

Officer Mary Turner was promoted to the rank of Corporal and has been with the Police Department for two (2) years.

Officer Jesse Ray was promoted to the rank of Corporal. He has been with the Police Department for over four (4) years and previously spent over five (5) years with the City of Gainesville Police Department.

Bank Robbery

On Tuesday, September 6, 2016 at approximately 10:51 AM, the BB&T Bank Located at 152 Prominence Point Pkwy, reported a robbery.  The suspect walked into the bank and demanded money.  No weapon was shown.

The suspect left with an undisclosed amount of money in a possible light blue older Ford Thunderbird or Mercury Cougar from the bank toward Marietta Hwy.

Anyone with information is asked to call 678-493-4080.  All calls are confidential and you may remain anonymous.

Bank security photos: