Latest news with #Winne
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
An inside look at the Georgia National Guard on the U.S.-Mexico border
In a Channel 2 Action News exclusive, Georgia Army National Guard soldiers gave a boots-on-the-ground view of their work on the Texas-Mexico border. Channel 2 Investigative Reporter Mark Winne went to the Del Rio, Texas, sector, and he reported that Georgia soldiers have been working on the southern border longer than many people may think. 'I feel like the mission is very essential to national security,' said Staff Sgt. Erica Marroquin. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] The immigration debate may put the eyes of a nation on the U.S.-Mexico border, but Georgia Army National Guard Commander Brigadier Gen. Jason Fryman said they are apolitical in their services. The biggest job two Georgia Guard companies have in the Del Rio sector is keeping eyes on the border to watch for illegal crossings and notifying the U.S. Border Patrol, who makes arrests when called for. 'Sometimes you see stuff on TV, and you never really think you would actually be a part of that,' said Spc. Tatyanna Heard-Gerald. Heard-Gerald says in civilian life she works at a window factory in Bibb County. Here, she helps man a border patrol high tech surveillance truck, as does Spc. Oscar Ramiro. 'I'm from Atlanta, Georgia, and on the civilian side I work with my father in construction,' Ramiro said. Fryman says one company is an engineering unit, the other a maintenance company. But most of the 250 Georgia soldiers on the border have adapted to the surveillance, or spotter, mission as members of Task Force Badger led by the Wisconsin National Guard. Wisconsin Army National Guard Lt. Col. Bryan Huebsch told Winne in civilian life he works in workforce development, but on the border, he commands a force of 400 soldiers. 'The number in our task force has grown since October as part of a larger DOD force increase across the border,' he said. 'We went from about 2,000 soldiers to 10,000 soldiers across the entire border.' Georgia National Guard Capt. Kyle Bailey says the work his soldiers do in texas, from maintaining border patrol trucks to warehousing and ordering supplies, and most importantly the surveillance mission, frees up Customs and Border Protection officers to focus on their main job. 'I believe every troop out here is making a difference,' Bailey said. Fryman said the Georgia Guard is not new to the border, with a continuous presence there since 2018. A major told Winne me that a haversack he showed him was carried by a Georgia soldier on the border in 1916. 'I can tell you something about 1916: The Border Patrol did not exist until 1924, so that makes a difference,' said Efren Olivares, legal director of the National Immigration Law Center. Olivares said he believes border enforcement should be left to the federal enforcement agencies. 'I encourage all viewers to look beyond the politics of it,' he said. Del Rio sector acting Chief Patrol Agent Desi Deleon says many factors caused the dramatic drop, including actions by the Mexican government and stronger enforcement of consequences in existing U.S. law, but a major increase in U.S. military on the border in recent months, including the Georgia National Guard, is a factor. 'Del Rio has been one of the busiest sectors throughout the nation over the last few years,' Deleon said. 'They were averaging about 3,000 to 4,000 apprehensions at the high water mark a day, whereas now we're anywhere from 40 to 50 on a daily basis.' [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Yahoo
Drugs, cigarettes and McDonald's sandwiches: Deputies bust duo accused of jail drone drops
Drugs, cellphones, cigarettes, and more- that's what the Fulton County Sheriff says was headed for the Fulton County Jail in a drone drop. But investigators stopped it before liftoff and made some arrests. Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat said his investigators recovered a drone Tuesday night and much, much more that investigators believe was headed into the jail, where it could've caused big problems. 'This is one of the largest contraband interdictions that we have had in the last four years,' Labat told Channel 2 investigative reporter Mark Winne. Labat said his team grounded a drone smuggling operation Tuesday night before it could deliver a stunning array of contraband, ranging from drugs to nine cellphones to cigarettes. 'How valuable is tobacco in the jail?' Winne asked Labat. 'Well, that's thousands of dollars,' Labat told Winne. Natalie Ammons with the sheriff's office said the sheriff's criminal investigations division got a tip and sheriff's FAST Unit investigator Jermaine Moore happened to be in the area he needed to be to do a traffic stop on a car where he saw a drone, a drone controller and more inside 'What'd you find in the car with a drone?' Winne asked Moore. TRENDING STORIES: GA mother charged after baby found in trash bag on back porch Atlanta Braves purchase another 34 acres near the Battery Trump announces sweeping new tariffs to promote US manufacturing, risking inflation and trade wars 'Marijuana, cell phone chargers, nine cell phones, oxycodone, various pills, cord, like 550 cord which is used to make the drops using the drone, and the packaging materials,' Moore said. Moore said they also found 48 packages of cigarettes and over 100 loose cigarettes and suspected oxycodone. The sheriff's office said that Jeffery Jenkins and Richard Redding have been charged with a long list of crimes relating to the drone and where the sheriff's office suspects it was intended to deliver contraband. Their car was stopped within a mile of the jail. Ammons said similar packaging leads investigators to suspect the same drone operation may have been behind a drop of McDonald's Chicken Sandwiches, suspected oxycodone and more that was discovered stuck in jail fencing this past weekend, as if it got stuck there during an attempted drone drop. 'We are combating technology with technology and good old-fashioned detective work. And so, as we continue to investigate, we continue be really cognizant of the fact that this is a new trend,' Labat said. Winne questioned the men accused in the drone drop. 'Were you involved with any drone drop operation?' Winne asked Redding. 'I was just the driver,' Redding said. 'Did you know what they were gonna do? How much were you paid?' Winne asked him. 'Chump change,' Redding said. 'Especially compared to the time you're now facing if you're convicted of it?' Winne asked Redding. 'Yessir, but I didn't do anything,' Redding said. As for Jenkins, he said he had no comment other than he was innocent. The sheriff told Winne that he believes more than half the contraband that comes into the jail comes via drone and that cellphones and tobacco are illegal to have within the Fulton County Jail. He said he has reached out to other sheriffs and the Georgia Department of Corrections to see if there are similarities to what they are seeing.
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Yahoo
‘An indescribable feeling': After 2 years held hostage by Taliban, George Glezmann is back home
An American hostage that was freed last month from the Taliban in Afghanistan is now back home. George Glezmann arrived at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport around 5 p.m. Tuesday evening, and Channel 2 investigative reporter Mark Winne was there to greet him. Glezmann was abducted by the Taliban in 2022 while on vacation in Kabul and held prisoner there until a month ago. The freed hostage said he feels 'gratitude and emotion' being back home here in Atlanta. RELATED STORIES: 'Through hell and back': Atlanta man held by Taliban for 2 years returns to US, reunites with wife Wife of Atlanta man being held by Taliban hoping Trump administration can bring husband home Wife of Atlanta man taken hostage by Taliban says US has resources to bring him home by Christmas There is new hope as family pleads for release of Atlanta man held by Taliban, advisor says 'An indescribable feeling of being home, being protected, being back where I belong,' Glezmann told Winne. He said his family's support is one of the things that got him through the last couple of years. 'My wife ... was there for me every single minute,' Glezmann said. Glezmann is a mechanic for Delta Air Lines, who also helped bring him home. He said that he is not only thankful for them, but also President Donald Trump and others in the administration that helped get him freed from the Taliban. 'They never gave up until they brought me home,' Glezmann said. Winne has been reporting on Glezmann's capture since it happened. Glezmann thanked him for keeping his name in the news and not giving up on him.
Yahoo
29-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Channel 2 investigative reporter Mark Winne inducted into GAB Hall of Fame
The Georgia Association of Broadcasters inducted Channel 2 investigative reporter Mark Winne into its Hall of Fame on Friday night. A dinner celebrated Winne and the rest of the Class of 2025 in downtown Atlanta. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Winne joined WSB-TV in 1986. Throughout his 40-year career, Winne has covered some of the biggest stories in metro Atlanta. But there is one thing that Winne says he has cherished the most during his career: mentoring others. 'That is one of my cherished things of my professional life. To try and influence our profession not just by the admission. Not just story by story but by multiplication. You know you feel like you are doing right when you have a small hand in a good story they do,' Winne said. Winne is active with a number of charities, especially two that are major players in fighting cancer: Swim Across America and Winship Cancer Institute. He has been deeply involved in Channel 2′s Convoy of Care, which, in partnership with several organizations, delivers relief supplies from our viewers and partners to areas across the region stricken by natural disasters. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Troopers say ICE training will give them guidance on how to handle criminals in country illegally
Gov. Brian Kemp wants hundreds of state officers to help the feds detain criminals who are in the country illegally. The governor has requested ICE train capitol police, Georgia State Patrol and Motor Carrier officers to apprehend people here who 'pose a risk to the public.' The Georgia Commissioner of Public Safety told Channel 2 investigative reporter Mark Winne that Georgia has applied to get immigration training from the feds for all Georgia troopers and other officers under his command. He says details are still being worked out and Georgia is in the queue for this along with other states. 'We're going to try and stay in our lane and do what's proper and what's right. And if people are here illegally, I think it's important for us to take those out of here. We're trying to create a safe community for our citizens to live, work and enjoy life,' Georgia Department of Public Safety Commissioner Billy Hitchens said. Winne rode along with Georgia State Patrol Sgt. David Whitehead on Tuesday and rolled up on a traffic stop. Whitehead said the driver said he crossed the border illegally from Venezuela but turned himself in and is here legally now. But later he was found with a bogus work permit at the jail. The stop illustrates the complexities of immigration law troopers encounter and why training on it would be useful. RELATED STORIES: Immigration protesters rally after governor asks ICE to train Georgia State Patrol Troopers ICE partners with Georgia state troopers for immigrant training Georgia lawmakers split along party lines over ICE-targeted operations 'Will this ICE training be useful and if so, why?' Winne asked Whitehead. 'It will because it's going to give us a point of—to know we should go next with it,' Whitehead said. 'It will give us guidance should these people be here, should they be removed from the state of Georgia.' 'Our goal is not to come out and round up illegal immigrants that aren't doing anything,' Hitchens said. Hitchens said at the direction of Kemp, he has requested U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to train all 1,100 Georgia State Patrol Troopers, Capitol police officers and Motor Carrier Compliance Division officers on how to handle situations involving men and women in this country illegally who have committed crimes. 'It'll just give us another tool in our tool belt that allows us to deal with, you know, criminals that are here illegally when we come in contact with them during our daily operations,' Hitchens said. 'Immigration law is complicated, right?' Winne asked Hitchens. 'Yes. It very much is very complicated. And that's why this training will not turn us into Ice agents,' Hitchens said. 'Are you confident this training will not take away from having enough troopers on the road?' Winne asked Hitchens. 'Yes, sir. I'm very confident of that,' Hitchens said. Whitehead said he's part of the GSP's Criminal Interdiction Unit which works often with DEA and other federal agencies on big drug cases involving foreign-based cartels -- cases frequently involving people in this country illegally. 'I would note that you can't train someone on immigration law in a couple hours. Immigration law is wildly complicated,' immigration attorney Chuck Kuck told Channel 2's Brittany Kleinpeter on Tuesday. 'Some people will be detained but this is not going to result in mass arrests by the DPS.' As for the driver who was pulled over, Whitehead said the driver would go to jail for having no license, a window tint violation and having a 4-year-old in the car unrestrained. Whitehead described a February chase by his unit in metro Atlanta ending in a PIT maneuver and the discovery the driver was in the US illegally and had roughly 20 pounds of methamphetamine. In another stop last week, the driver was here illegally and had rape and assault-strangulation charges on his history though we don't know the status of those charges. But Whitehead said ICE told GSP they'd been looking for that man for deportation.
