Snellville Man in Jail After Email Threats
June 19, 2008
Jerome Vento Jr., 39. is accused of sending threatening emails to members of the Gwinnett County Police and Sheriff’s department.
Vento allegedly sent an email to the Georgia National Guard in which he accused Gwinnett law enforcement of poisoning him and other county residents with what he claimed to be a nuclear pesticide called “Pulmo”. According to Gwinnett Police spokeswoman Cpl. Illana Spellman, “Pulmo” does not exist, however.
Spellman also claims that Vento stated he was a general in all branches of the armed forces and claimed to have worked for the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, CIA and Department of Natural Resources in an interview with police on June 12th.
Handling any situation involving threats against the police department seriously, the Gwinnett County Police Homeland Security Joint Terrorist Task Force investigated the case and brought criminal charges against him.
Vento is currently being held without bond at the Gwinnett jail, where he is housed alone in a maximum security cell.
His defense attorney, Scott King, stated his client has “delusional issues,” but also insisted that Vento is harmless.
There will be a probable cause hearing Friday morning in Gwinnett County Magistrate Court. King hopes that the charges will be dismissed at the hearing.
2 In Critical Condition After Snellville Home Shooting.
March 30, 2008
The 4400-block of Michael Jay Street in Snellville was the scene of a double shooting of a Snellville couple in their home. The incident happened shortly after midnight on Saturday
New Technology for Snellville Police
February 23, 2008
Snellville police have a new computer program that gives officers virtual conferences with judges. Police submit their warrant applications online and no longer have to travel to the Gwinnett County Detention Center. Using the Electronic Warrant Interface system, the officers pick from a list of crimes via a drop down menu and then have face-to-face interactions with magistrates on a view screen. This time saving technology takes about 15 to 20 minutes, a remarkably quicker time than the old process of obtaining warrants, which took as much as two hours. Funds to pay for the system came from illegal drug sales. Snellville is the first Gwinnett city to adopt this system.