Homicide Investigation

Update July, 29, 2016 at 11:08 AM:

The family of the victim has been notified in the homicide that occurred on Thursday, July 28. The victim has been identified as Edel Cortes Mendoza, 41 years old of Canton Georgia.

The suspect, Ylarrio Garcia Jarquin, 41 years old of Canton Georgia was booked into the Cherokee County Adult Detention Center and charged with Murder (O.C.G.A 16-5-1).   

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At approximately 7:40 PM on July 28, 2016, Officers responded to a person shot at 491 Marietta Road (La Taqueria Oaxaquena). During the initial investigation of the scene and area, a male suspect was located inside the perimeter that was established upon initial response and arrested.

The male victim was taken to the WellStar Kennestone Hospital where he was later pronounced dead. His name will be released after family members and loved ones have been notified.

This is an active investigation and more information will be released when available.

The City of Canton Police Department would like to thank Georgia State Patrol, Georgia State Patrol Aviation Unit, Cherokee County Sheriff’s K-9 Unit, and Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office for their assistance in the investigation.

Building Relationships

On July 22, 2016, 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, plans have been made for the future production of educational literature and a video that shows citizens what to expect during a routine traffic stop.  The goal 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. 

Meetings such as this that improve relationships between the City of Canton, the local Police Department and the community provide valuable insights and feedback for all parties, while building a foundation of trust and success for the future.

From left to right: Pastor Tyrone Gates, Pastor Gregory Hughes, City Manager Billy Peppers, Mayor Gene Hobgood, Bishop Bobby Montgomery, Ms. Pat Tanner, Rev. Lemora Dobbs, Chief Mark Mitchell

From left to right: Mayor Gene Hobgood, Pastor Gregory Hughes, Ms. Pat Tanner, Bishop Bobby Montgomery, Rev. Lemora Dobbs, Chief Mark Mitchell, Pastor Tyrone Gates, City Manager Billy Peppers.

Canton Police and GBI Investigate Double Homicide

Update 4:15 PM, July 23, 2016

The families of the victims have been notified in the double homicide that occurred on Friday, July 22, 2016. The victims have been identified as siblings Omar Ruiz (23 years old) and Antonia Ruiz (27 years old) both of Canton GA.


Update 1:00 PM, July 22, 2016

Oscar Tierrablanca, 28 yrs. old from Dallas, Ga. has turned himself into authorities.  This individual is a suspect in the double homicide that occurred earlier today and is the father of the female victim’s 18 month old child.  It has been determined that the two victims were brother and sister.  The victims will be identified after family notifications have been made.

Oscar Tierrablanca will be booked into the Cherokee County Adult Detention Center and charged with two (2) counts of Murder (O.C.G.A 16-5-1).   

  

Update: 8:40 AM, July 22, 2016

A suspect of the double homicide is in custody and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the Canton Police Department are still actively working this case.  The bodies of the victims will be taken to the GBI Medical Examiner’s Office for autopsy. Further updates will follow when available.

On Friday, July 22, 2016, at approximately 1:30 AM, Canton Officers responded to Laurels at Greenwood Apartment complex (1215 Hickory Flat Hwy, Canton, GA.) to an assault call at building 3000.  Upon arrival, Officers found a Hispanic male and female lying in the breezeway of the third floor from apparent stab wounds. The male was deceased and the female was transported to Northside Hospital – Cherokee where she was later pronounced dead.  No suspects were located.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation was contacted and is working alongside CPD Detectives in the case.  The investigation is active and ongoing while GBI Agents and Canton Detectives pursue leads.  Anyone who has information is encouraged to contact the Canton Police Department at (678) 493-4080 or the GBI Tip Line at 1-800-597-8477.

Canton Police Partner with Hasty Elementary Fine Arts Academy

Its summer vacation and these long breaks from school could take a toll on the skills students worked so hard to learn during the school year. The Hasty Elementary Fine Arts Academy Summer Reading Program provides children with free books to help them maintain their reading skills over the summer. The program promotes a love for reading and learning and provides an opportunity for the community to come together. Parents also learn some skills that can help their children with reading skills. While participating in the summer reading program, children will learn such skills as critical thinking, social skills and the ability to speak in front of groups of people.

By partnering with the Canton Police Department, children and their families will be able to make connections with our officers and build community trust. “Children and families make connections with the police and get to understand that they are caring community leaders who are family oriented and love children” says Gwen Freeman, Parent Involvement Facilitator, of Hasty Elementary Fine Arts Academy . The police presence will serve to build relationships by spending time and listening to the families and break down any previous negative experiences or stereotypes associated with police amongst the community. Police presence at the summer reading program will also demonstrate the important “community advocate” role that officers serve through bringing the community together and creating a safe environment for everyone.

The Hasty Elementary Fine Arts Academy Summer Reading Program is open to all children and everyone is invited to participate. However, the school's Title I programs is intentional in taking reading into communities that lack transportation or that do not have the means to get to a Public Library. The program is for the benefit of all students and adults regardless of race or language which includes English Language Learners.


Feel free to stop by any of the following Hasty Elementary Fine Arts Academy Neighborhood Visits listed below and join in on the reading and fun!


July 1, 2016 @ 7:00PM – Heritage Park behind the YMCA

July 9, 2016 @ 7:00PM – Etowah River Park Near Hasty Elementary

“Without a sense of caring, there can be no sense of community.” -Anthony Burgess

Mobile Fingerprint Scanner

                How do you know a person is lying about who they say they are? What if they don’t have a driver’s license or are wanted for a previous crime committed? Introducing the latest tool the Canton Police Department has implemented, the Data Works Plus Rapid-ID. The Canton Police Department is now among the growing number of Georgia agencies utilizing fingerprint matching technology to aid in criminal identification. Rapid-ID technology will use suspect fingerprints to search local databases in order to reveal possible aliases, physical descriptions and possibly mugshots. “The Rapid-ID also gives alerts to us if a person is on the sexual offender registry. They may try to lie about their identity if they are found to be in a location they should not be.”- Sergeant Rodney Campbell. The logic is that most criminals are already in your local databases. The technology is immediate and accurate. When the information captured by the device is compared against local and national databases come back with no hits, the information is then discarded. Rapid-ID use has already been beneficial to other Georgia law enforcement agencies. According to a report made by the Atlanta Journal Constitution, over fifty percent of the checks performed by Rapid-ID have resulted in hits for people already in local databases. The Rapid-ID technology will serve as a “double-check” tool for our officers.

“It is another tool we can use to help identify a person. We have had instances where a person has used their roommate’s ID when they have gotten in trouble with the authorities causing problems for the person who’s ID was stolen. With the scanner, we can quickly make a positive ID of a person using a fingerprint.” –Sergeant Rodney Campbell

Civilian Response to Active Shooter Events

Are you prepared for an active shooter?  Please join us to learn how you can better prepare yourself for the unimaginable.

The City of Canton Police Department, in partnership with Cherokee County Sheriff's Office and Canton First United Methodist Church, will be hosting a community training program for Civilian Response to Active Shooter Events. This course is designed and built on the Avoid, Deny, Defend strategy that was developed by the Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training (ALERRT) Center located at Texas State University. Agency Instructors will be teaching this instruction that is designed to provide strategies, guidance, and a proven plan for surviving an active shooter event. 

This event is open to all citizens. Seating will be at a premium and on a first come – first serve basis.  Children are welcome to attend but parental guidance is strongly recommended as some of the presented material will contain scenes that are sensitive to some viewers.

Monday, June 20, 2016

6:30 PM – 8:00 PM

Canton First United Methodist Church 

930 Lower Scott Mill Rd. Canton GA 30115

Media Invited to Active Shooter Training

The Canton Police Department will be conducting Advance Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training (ALEERT) and you’re invited.  The media will be given the opportunity to film and learn more about law enforcement efforts to prepare for the worst.  This training was scheduled prior to the recent active shooting event in Orlando FL (6/12/2016). 

This dynamic course of instruction is designed to prepare the first responder to isolate, distract, and neutralize an active shooter.  The course curriculum includes weapon manipulation, threshold evaluation, concepts and principles of team movement (including solo officer strategies), setting up for room entry and room entry techniques, approach and breaching the crisis site, follow-on responder tactics, improvised explosive devices (IED's), and post-engagement priorities of work.  The course will culminate with dynamic “force-on-force” scenarios.  This 8 hour training will give you the opportunity to witness the swift and immediate response that reflects the new kind of training used by law enforcement to engage a shooter.  You will also learn about the logistics planning to evacuate survivors and wounded.  The training will use active shooter role players using realistic weapons (Simunition®). 

When:          Monday-Friday this week (6/13-6/17) – choose one day to attend

8:00 am until 5:00 pm

Where:        The former Tippens Elementary School located at 8 Glenwood St., Canton Ga 30014.

Reservation: To reserve a spot at the training please contact:

    

     PIO Pacer Cordry

     Pacer.cordry@canton-georgia.com

     678-852-4753

A multi-agency Active Shooter training is also being planned to prepare for each agency’s role within multiple responding agencies event at some point in the future.

Chief of Police Mark J. Mitchell stated, “Our agency just like the other departments in Cherokee County is working hard to prepare and be ready for an Active Shooter Event.  This vital training along with the Citizen Response to Active Shooter Training (CRASE) that all jurisdictions in our County have offered, not only ensures our citizens are prepared but makes certain that our dedicated Officers have the training they need to respond, react, contain and neutralize this type of threat in order to protect / serve the citizens in our community.”