HART COUNTY, Ga. – An Atlanta woman wanted for kidnapping in Maryland was arrested along Interstate 85 in northeast Georgia.

What we know:

Alicia Denise Brown, 37, of Atlanta, was taken into custody during a traffic stop. According to the Hart County Sheriff’s Office, deputies received an alert about the car traveling north on the interstate. Deputies pulled over the vehicle near Exit 177 along with Georgia State Patrol troopers.

A woman and two young children were taken into custody. No one was injured.

The backstory:

Brown is wanted on outstanding kidnapping-related warrants out of Maryland and by the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office on felony charges of interference with child custody.

The Baltimore County Police Department wanted Brown on charges stemming from the disappearance of a 10-year-old child who was reported missing in 2019. Maryland officials say they would extradite her back to face charges.

What they’re saying:

“We are thankful for the quick response and teamwork of our deputies, the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office, the Georgia State Patrol, and all assisting agencies. Their coordinated efforts resulted in the safe recovery of both children and the successful apprehension of the suspect,” Sheriff Chris Carroll said.

What we don’t know:

It is also unclear how the vehicle was initially spotted or what specific vehicle description triggered the law enforcement alert.

The full details of the charges were not immediately available.

TOOMBS COUNTY, Ga. – A 36-year-old Atlanta man was killed in a Fourth of July shooting in southeast Georgia, and the investigation has been turned over to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

What we know:

According to the GBI, Vidalia police officers responded around 3:13 a.m. Saturday to a report of shots fired in the 500 block of East Jenkins Street in Vidalia. When officers arrived, they found Rashad Lamar Lumpkin, of Atlanta, lying in the roadway with multiple gunshot wounds.

Lumpkin was taken by EMS to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The Vidalia Police Department requested the GBI investigate the shooting. Authorities said the investigation remains active and ongoing.

What you can do:

Anyone with information is asked to contact the GBI Regional Investigative Office in Eastman at 478-374-6988 or the Vidalia Police Department at 912-537-4123. Anonymous tips can also be submitted by calling 1-800-597-TIPS (8477), online through the GBI’s tip portal or by using the See Something, Send Something mobile app.

Once the investigation is complete, the case will be turned over to the Middle Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office for review.

A metro Atlanta man is helping his fellow food and beverage workers struggling with addiction and alcoholism by holding weekly meetings that foster support.

“I’ve been cooking for 11 years. I started when I was a teenager. I’ve been with the company ever since,” said Jonah Jacobson, a sous chef at Pricci in Buckhead.

Jacobson said he began to experience repercussions while in active addiction five years ago.

“Things got bad enough to the point where I was fired from my first job,” he said.

Jacobson said once he started using alcohol and drugs, he could not stop.

“Where everybody else would call it a night after 1, 2 and go home like a normal person, I realized I did not have that luxury. I was not like everybody else,” said Jacobson.’

He helps lead the local chapter of Ben’s Friends, a national organization that organizes meetings for people struggling with addiction and alcoholism.

“We would always talk about another restaurant person who was either destroying their lives or, unfortunately, had just taken their lives due to alcohol and drugs. At one point, we just said enough is enough,” said Ben’s Friends co-founder Mickey Bakst.

Bakst has been sober for 43 years. He said the food and beverage industry fosters an environment in which alcohol and drugs are common and makes it easy for workers to fall into active addiction.

Adam Mauk with Edge Treatment Center in Roswell said programs like Ben’s Friends are often more successful after a person completes an initial inpatient or outpatient treatment plan. But he said people often reason they cannot afford to take the time off from work to complete initial treatment.

“It’s been proven time and time again that if you put anything ahead of your sobriety or ahead of trying to get clean or sober, then you’re going to lose that too,” said Mauk.

Jacobson has now been sober for five years.

“It (recovery) gave me a new outlook on life and gave me a sense of belonging that I was looking for, partially in a kitchen, partially outside of my life,” said Jacobson.

Ben’s Friends has more than 40 chapters across the country, offering free peer support to people working in the food and beverage industry.

Jacobson encourages anyone to attend a meeting on Mondays at 11 a.m. at Pricci, located on Pharr Road.