COMMUNITY BRIEFS

ATLANTA

‘Crane man’ guilty in woman’s murder

A man who perched atop a crane in Atlanta for 56 hours in 2005 has been found guilty of killing his ex-girlfriend in Florida.

A Pinellas County jury convicted 45-year-old Carl Roland of first-degree murder Thursday. He was sentenced to life in prison.

Authorities said Roland killed 36-year-old Jennifer Gonzalez before fleeing to Atlanta in May 2005. Roland spent more than two days atop a 25-story crane in Buckhead as Florida authorities pieced together their case.

Roland was returned to Florida after an officer shocked him with a stun gun and was able to get him off the crane.

—- Associated Press

COBB COUNTY

Official out after card abuse review

The city of Smyrna has fired its longtime human resources director for abuse of his city purchasing card.

Chris Corey made personal charges on his city-issued purchasing card, city administrator Wayne Wright said Friday. City officials would not reveal an amount.

Corey, a 14-year veteran of the city, was fired Feb. 4. City officials discovered the abuse on Jan. 27 during a routine review.

Corey managed to circumvent procedures the city has in place to prevent card abuse, Wright said.

The investigation continues. No charges have been filed.

—- Kay Powell

GWINNETT COUNTY

Man charged with threat from library

A 23-year-old Buford man was arrested Wednesday and charged with using a Georgia public library computer to make a bomb threat.

The FBI on Feb. 4 received through its FBI.gov Web site a bomb threat, which they traced back to a publicly available Internet computer in an Auburn library, said FBI Special Agent Steven Lazarus.

The suspicious message included a threat to destroy FBI buildings across the country. After federal investigators obtained a warrant to search the computer, they identified Michael Robert DeJong as the suspect. DeJong has previously been arrested by the Secret Service and convicted of making threats against President George Bush in 2007.

DeJong is in federal custody pending a probable cause and bond hearing on Tuesday.

—- Andria Simmons

VENT OF THE DAY

If I’m a couch potato and I eat potato chips, does that make me a cannibal?