An Acworth man pleaded guilty to a long list of domestic abuse-related charges including kidnapping, false imprisonment, battery, armed robbery, aggravated assault, and aggravated stalking.
Superior Court Senior Judge G. Grant Brantley handed down a sentence of 20 years, with 18 to be served in prison, and the balance on probation.
According to a press release from the office of Cobb County District Attorney Joyette Holmes, in November of 2016, Zachriah Kenneth White, 37, was in the middle of divorce proceeding with his wife of 11 year.
On November 14 the two argued, and the victim was outside in her vehicle, trying to leave.
White grabbed her by her neck and dragged her back inside.
A neighbor who witnessed the incident called 911, but when police arrived White forced the victim to remain quiet and refused to answer the door.
Two weeks after the incident White began sending the victim threatening text messages, and ordered her to meet him at the Costco on Barrett Parkway.
She was intimidated into meeting with him. The DA’s office press release described what happened as follows:
Out of fear, she went to meet him, but then saw his truck on the side of Interstate 75 and thought he had broken down.
When she pulled over, White immediately took her cell phone and a gun that she brought for protection. He pointed the gun at her and said he would “blow her brains out” all over their infant son, who was in the back seat. White pointed the gun at her stomach and told her that if she flagged anyone down or tried to get help, he would kill her. He also put the barrel of the gun in her mouth before ordering her to drive to Costco and they would talk there. Fortunately, the victim had told a friend about the meeting, and the friend called Cobb Police, who encountered the two in the parking lot at Costco. When police arrived, White had the woman’s phone plugged into a computer so he could download and review her messages. Police found the victim’s firearm in White’s possession, along with another gun, and officers saw the threatening messages he had sent her.
The woman took out a restraining order, but White continued to contact her from the jail.
“These egregious acts of violence — in which he repeatedly terrorized the mother of his children — show how dangerous this Defendant truly is,” said Assistant District Attorney Lindsay Raynor, who prosecuted the case with Senior ADA Paul Camarillo. “This sentence will ensure she and her children can move on without living in constant fear of this man.”
White has been in custody since his arrest in November of 2016, and will get credit for the time already served.
The DA’s office provided the following resources for victims of domestic abuse.
Help is available for anyone suffering abuse in an intimate relationship. Locally, LiveSAFE Resources can help victims break free from domestic violence. Their 24-hour crisis line is 770-427-3390, and they are on the web at www.livesaferesources.org
The National Domestic Violence Hotline also provides resources to victims, regardless of location. The hotline number is 1-800-799-7233. www.thehotline.org
