Winter Storm Hits Atlanta With Snow, Winds And Power Outages

Atlanta, GA

A winter storm has brought wind and snow to northern Georgia resulting in road hazards, power outages and school closing across metro-Atlanta. The snow moved in early Sunday morning and is expected to continue through Monday.

The storm had blanketed Alabama with four inches of snow on Saturday and the northern Georgia area can expect anywhere from two to four inches.

High winds and fallen trees coupled with the weight of the snow on power lines have knocked out electricity for nearly 5,000 residents of Butts, Spaulding and Gwinnett counties and additional outages are expected throughout the night as the snow continues to fall and the high winds increase.

Six Flags amusement park postponed it's season opening that was scheduled for today. The Atlanta History Center and the Atlanta Zoo have also announced closings due to the hazardous weather conditions. Many churches have canceled Sunday evening services and numerous businesses, school districts and government agencies have announced closing for Monday.

Illegal Immigrant Practices "Back Alley" Dentistry In Carroll County

Carrollton, GA

An illegal immigrant from Honduras has been arrested in Carroll County charged with practicing dentistry without a license in a house in Carrollton. Police say that Ernesto Estrada, 31, has ran an illegal dentist practice from his living room for at least four months.

Carroll County police say they found a homemade appointment book inside the home indicating that Estrada may have had more than one hundred "clients", most of whom are also believed to be illegal aliens. Other records found in the home, including numerous Western Union receipts show the illegal immigrant "dentist" charged from $200 to $1,000 for various procedures and sent most of the money to his family in Honduras. Neighbors say the had noticed an unusual amount of traffic in and out of the home.

Estrada, who was deported from the U.S. back in 1999 and crept back in, has no formal medical or dental training nor license, yet he performed dental procedures ranging from applying dental caps to extracting teeth in his living room as his wife and children watched. Police say the back-alley dentist had no sanitation method and used common household drills, box-cutters, needle-nosed pliers and other tools that could be purchased at any hardware store.

Immigrant Forgery Ring Busted In Carroll County

Carrollton, GA
Three people were arrested in what investigators say was a large illegal identification forgery ring in Roopville, a small town in southwest Carroll County. Police say that Christine Garcia, a 42 year old White woman has admitted to manufacturing hundreds of fake ID's in her home and selling them to illegal immigrants.

Carrollton Police Captain Daryl Diamond said that investigators purchased two fake documents for $130 during an undercover buy. Garcia's sister in law, Elisa Garcia and her husband Hugo Castillo were also arrested. It is believed that the second two individuals sought out illegal immigrants needing false documents as customers.

Police found a computer in the home with evidence that Garcia had manufactured and sold hundreds of state ID cards, social security cards and resident alien cards. Christine Garcia is charged with six counts of forgery. Elisa Garcia and Hugo Castillo are illegal immigrants and remain in federal custody and are expected to be deported back to Mexico.