Georgia
Georgia Attorney General confirms human trafficking unit coming to Augusta
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Augusta has become a hotspot in the southeast for human trafficking.
And Monday — Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr spoke with News 12 on a new human trafficking prosecution unit expansion in Richmond County.
Since its creation in 2019 — the unit has only had one Atlanta based team.
Starting on May 1 there will be a new team, Carr says, that are highly trained and skilled when it comes to human trafficking.
Joining the Augusta team are two local investigators, William Loomer and Patrick Brown, along with Prosecutor Megan Adams.
The team won’t just work the major roadways like I-20 — they will be online too in hopes of creating an environment where traffickers live in fear, but victims understand help is coming to more cities than just Augusta.
“We are going to have offices not only in Augusta, but in Macon and Atlanta,” Carr said. “I think the strategic point there is because human trafficking is so often a very transit-oriented type horrific industry, where today you may be in Atlanta and tomorrow Macon and the next day you may be in Augusta. This allows us to cover I-75, I-85, I-16 and I-20. So we have the major arteries in the state that we will now have a presence.”
Kari Viola- Brooke with Child Enrichment sees trafficking victims daily and says this will put more eyes in the community to help identify the number of growing cases.
“This is something we’ve been advocating for years, it feels like,” Viola-Brooke explains. “A couple years ago, we had the most confirmed cases of child sex trafficking in the state of Georgia, and we knew that we needed a more dedicated response to be able to combat this. We’re so appreciative of the Attorney General’s Office for not only recognizing this, but taking action, and I think it’s just going to make us a much safer community.”
All of this kicks off on May 1 and Attorney General Carr says with the expansion to Augusta and Macon they feel not only will this help reach more victims, but their hope is they can continue to grow the expansions across the state.
You can read the full release here.
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A Griffin, Georgia man is now under arrest, charged in connection with a cold case homicide investigation in New Jersey, prosecutors say.
It’s been nearly 37 years since 42-year-old Mauricio Cuadra was shot during an apparent home invasion; now, authorities say 62-year-old Joseph Quiros-Soto is charged with his murder.
Officials say on Aug. 9, 1989, the officers with the Bayonne Police Department responded to reports of a home invasion and shooting at an apartment on the 400 block of Avenue C. Inside the home, they found Cuadra suffering from a gunshot wound. Cuadra died shortly after.
The case remained a mystery until 2024, when Quiros-Soto confessed to the murder to police in Locust Grove, Georgia, saying that he had become a born-again Christian, NJ.com reports.
Police told the outlet that he gave the detectives details of the crime and allowed visiting Hudson County authorities to take a DNA sample, which matched a stain on the victim.
Authorities were eventually able to obtain a warrant for the Georgia man’s arrest. On May 27, 2026, deputies with the Spalding County Sheriff’s Office arrested Quiros-Soto at his home in Griffin, charging him with murder and murder during the commission of a burglary.
Quiros-Soto is being detained in Georgia, awaiting extradition to New Jersey.
STARKVILLE — Mississippi State baseball has made the super regionals in the NCAA Tournament and will face a team its already played four times.
The No. 14 national seed Bulldogs (43-17) are matched up with No. 3 Georgia (49-12). The best-of-three series will take place in Athens, Georgia, because Georgia is the higher seed.
The super regionals run from June 5-8, and the winner will make the College World Series.
MSU is 0-4 against Georgia this season, getting swept at Dudy Noble Field and then losing a fourth time in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals. Georgia won the SEC regular season and tournament championships.
Both teams made it through their regionals without a loss. Mississippi State blew out Louisiana 19-5 on May 31, while Georgia defeated Liberty.
MSU has played Georgia only once in postseason history, losing in the 1990 College World Series.
Mississippi State baseball history in super regionals
Mississippi State has played in 10 super regionals and won five of them. It has won three straight super regionals. MSU is 2-4 as the visiting team in super regionals.
New Mississippi State coach Brian O’Connor is 7-2 in super regionals.
NCAA baseball tournament schedule
- Super regionals: June 5-8
- College World Series: June 12-22
Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for The Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@usatodayco.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
Georgia football landed a pair of commitments Sunday for its 2027 recruiting class.
Wide receiver Taurean Rawlins from Mount Vernon School in Atlanta posted on his X account on May 31 that he’s pledged to the Bulldogs.
Georgia also picked up a commitment from offensive tackle DJ Dotson from Hattiesburg, Miss., he posted on his Instagram account.
Both are rated 3-star prospects.
“I loved the support and love they showed towards me and my family,” Dotson said in a text message to the Athens Banner-Herald.
The 6-foot, 175-pound Rawlins is rated the No. 58 wide receiver in the 2027 class and the No. 478 overall prospect.
Rawlins had 67 catches for 1,395 yards and 17 touchdowns last season, according to MaxPreps.
Rawlins and Dotson give Georgia 10 commitments for this cycle.
Rawlins is the first wide receiver commitment. He also had offers from Ohio State, Florida and Michigan.
Georgia signed four wide receivers in its 2026 class: Craig Dandridge, Ryan Mosley, Dallas Dickerson and late addition Tre Shields.
Rawlins’ coach at Mount Vernon is former Georgia star wide receiver Terrence Edwards.
The 6-foot-7, 330-pound Dotson is rated as the nation’s No. 85 offensive tackle prospect and the No. 851 overall prospect.
He picked Georgia over Ole Miss, LSU and Georgia Tech, according to 247Sports.
Georgia also has offensive line commitments in its 2027 class from Kelsey Adams from Langston Hughes, Abram Eisenhower from Lowndes and Ty Johnson from Mount Pleasant, S.C.
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