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Case against Rodney Young moves forward
Prosecution seeks death penalty
Placeholder Image
Amber Pittman
Updated: Apr 28, 2011, 4:00 AM
Published: Apr 28, 2011, 10:38 PM
On the heels of one death penalty case, Newton County is preparing for a second this year. Rodney Renia Young, 43, is accused of bludgeoning to death his ex-fiancée's son, 28-year-old Gary Lamar Jones, in 2008. Attorneys for Young, Teri Thompson and Joseph Romond of the Georgia Capital Defender's Office, were in Superior Court Judge Samuel Ozburn's courtroom on Thursday, along with Newton County District Attorney Layla Zon.
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April 3 crash kills two young adults, injures third
Newton County Sheriff Car---WEB
Kate Verity
Published: Apr 4, 2025, 10:29 PM

NEWTON COUNTY — Around 10 a.m. on Thursday, a head-on collision on Highway 212 left two young adults dead and a third hospitalized.

Joe Navarro, 21, was driving the vehicle and Breanna Smith, 18, was in the passenger seat. Katie New, 20, sat between them.

According to the Newton County Sheriff’s Office, the vehicle lost control while going around a curve and crossed the centerline, where it collided head-on with a box truck. The crash report shows that their vehicle traveled another hundred feet after impact before coming to a stop. It spun, ended up facing the opposite direction on the shoulder of the opposite lane.

Navarro and Smith were pronounced dead at the scene of the accident. New was airlifted to Grady Hospital. Her current condition is not known. 

Navarro, Smith and New were not believed to be wearing seatbelts when the collision occurred.

The driver of the box truck was not reported to have suffered any injuries.

This is an ongoing story. The News will post updates as they are made available.