(GA. NEWS NETWORK)
*Eleven people – all from southeast Georgia mostly Savannah – are facing charges in an alleged organized retail theft operation spanning four states. A Chatham County grand jury indicted all eleven under Georgia’s RICO Act, along with robbery and theft charges. Prosecutors say the group stole more than $200,000 in merchandise from ten retailers in Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, and Virginia between 2022 and this year. Investigators say the suspects carried out organized shoplifting and jewelry thefts at stores that included Kay Jewelers, Zales, and Walmart among others. The Georgia stores were in middle and south Georgia and metro Atlanta.
*The Shaky Knees Music Festival in Atlanta was interrupted by stormy weather Saturday afternoon, forcing attendees to evacuate Piedmont Park but the festival resumed a few hours later. The storms brought threats of 60-mile-per-hour wind gusts, dime-sized hail, and heavy downpours. In addition, flights into and out of the Atlanta airport were halted for a time, and the Atlanta Beltline Lantern Parade was canceled.