News Nearby: Sneiderman Granted $500,000 Bond; Beloved Gorilla Dies

- Dunwoody Patch

DeKalb County judge Gregory Adams set bond for Andrea Sneiderman at $500,000 during a hearing Tuesday in her murder trial.

Wearing a purple blouse and black pant suit, and with her hair pulled back in a ponytail, Sneiderman smiled as she heard Adams issue his ruling.

If she makes bond, Sneiderman will also have to wear an electronic ankle bracelet until her trial, live with her parents, and turn in her passport and her children's passports. She hugged her attorneys and smiled as she left the courtroom.

Sneiderman's next court appearance was set for Sept. 6. .

- Canton-Six Patch

The father of Elijah Cole, the [Tuesday], has been arrested and charged with cruelty to children in the first degree, reckless conduct, possession of methamphetamine and possession of marijuana.

Detectives with the have determined that Jason Cole, 43, took Elijah Cole "from house to house staying in different locations since last Thursday, kept his child from attending school for three days, is suspected of being on a drug binge during that time and has not provided adequate amounts of food to the boy," Lt. Jay Baker said this evening [Tuesday].

- East Atlanta Patch

Ivan, a 50-year-old male western lowland gorilla, has died, said Tuesday.

The death followed a recent decline in the geriatric ape’s health and behavior, the Grant Park-based zoo said.

The Animal Management and Veterinary Teams chose to perform a diagnostic assessment under general anesthesia on Aug. 20, but Ivan never regained consciousness following the procedure. .

– Johns Creek Patch

Johns Creek Police are seeking the public’s help in identifying three suspects involved in two similar thefts that occurred Aug. 11 and Aug. 13 in Johns Creek.

On Saturday, Aug. 11, around 3:15 p.m., three black males entered on Old Alabama Road. After distracting employees and cutting off the bolt on the store’s back door, they loaded up 175 cartons of cigarettes on dollies and stole them.

Two days later on Monday, Aug. 13, at close to 11 p.m., two black males entered the front door of the on Kimball Bridge Road, and while one suspect distracted employees, the other forced entry into a caged cabinet in a storage area in the rear of the store and grabbed about $1,000 worth of cigarettes.

– Cumming Patch

Forsyth County voters decided who they wanted to elect as their sheriff, coroner and commissioner in District 4 during Tuesday's Primary runoff elections.

There were 13,702 ballots cast Tuesday, according to Barbara Luth, supervisor of the Forsyth County Voter Registrations & Elections Department. There were 3,944 ballots cast during early and advance voting and 466 absentee ballots by mail returned.

Unofficial winners: Duane K. Piper, Sheriff; Cindy J. Mills, Forsyth County District 4 Commissioner; Mary Beth Pais, Forsyth County Coroner.