Q: What kind of punishment do rioters and looters receive when they are arrested?
—Andy Sims, Douglasville
A: Sentences depend on the severity of the crime and past offenses. For example, charges on the 45 people arrested on Nov. 25 in Ferguson, Mo., ranged from unlawful assembly to felonies such as assaulting police officers and armed criminal action. Other charges included misdemeanor assault of an officer and interfering with officers.
“All cases are still working their way through the court system,” a spokesman with the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s office told Q&A on the News in an email. Other charges “range from burglary and stealing to arson” and “punishment will depend on final dispositions and prior records.”
Q: The AJC’s review of restaurant inspections is a very helpful and valuable resource. How can one get the ratings without having the article? Is there a website where one can review the ratings prior to going to the eatery?
—Harold Muma, Alpharetta
A: The Georgia Department of Public Health's website includes a page that has links to restaurant inspection grades for every county in Georgia. It can be found at dph.georgia.gov/environmental-health-inspections. The links are labeled by county and will take users to the county's individual pages. Establishments and their grades will either be listed or can be searched for by name or address, depending on the the county.
Andy Johnston wrote this column. Do you have a question about the news? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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