THOMSON - A Thomson teen-ager was indicted by a McDuffie County grand jury Tuesday in the killings of his parents and the assault of his sister.

According to Toombs Judicial Circuit District Attorney Dennis Sanders, the grand jury found there was enough evidence to indict Matt Dean, 18, on the following charges: two counts of malice murder, two counts of felony murder, four counts of aggravated assault, two counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime and one count of possession of a knife during the commission of a crime.

Mr. Sanders said the four counts of aggravated assault included one gunshot each to Mr. Dean's parents, David and Terri Dean, and two attacks on his sister Bethany - one with a knife, the other with a blunt object.

Mr. Sanders said Mr. Dean - who is accused of shooting his parents and attacking his sister inside their Thomson home Aug. 3 - is still being treated in a hospital in Daytona Beach, Fla. He was found by police after being involved in a head-on car collision that killed the driver of the other vehicle. Mr. Dean suffered two broken legs and broken ribs, and he had his spleen removed.

The extradition process to bring Mr. Dean back to Georgia will be conducted by Mr. Sanders' office as soon as Mr. Dean recovers, Mr. Sanders said.

ARKANSAS
Woman pleads guilty in slayings

BENTONVILLE - A South Carolina woman charged with two counts of capital murder pleaded guilty to two lesser charges Tuesday and agreed to testify against a man charged in the same case.

Rose Ellen Cushman was sentenced to 40 years each on two counts of first-degree murder. She said she would testify against James Allen Baughman, who is to go on trial in October.

Ms. Cushman and Mr. Baughman, both of Windsor, were charged in the 1999 deaths of Joanne Kneece and her former husband, James Suggs.

Police say Ms. Cushman, 46, and Mr. Baughman, 45, were paid between $30,000 and $40,000 to kill Mr. Suggs and Mrs. Kneece, the estranged wife of Ms. Cushman's uncle. Mrs. Kneece and Mr. Suggs had recently moved from South Carolina to Pea Ridge. Charges were dropped against Ms. Cushman's uncle, Etheridge Kneece of Trenton, S.C., for lack of evidence.

Circuit Judge David Clinger had proposed bringing in a large pool of jurors Friday for Mr. Cushman's trial. Judge Clinger said attorneys could start individual questioning of jurors that afternoon.

AIKEN COUNTY
Police seek clues in gunshot death

AIKEN - The Aiken County Sheriff's Office late Tuesday night was investigating a gunshot death that occurred off Storm Branch Road in North Augusta.

The sheriff's office responded to a mobile home at 65 Branch Court at about 9:45 p.m., Lt. Michael Frank said. A neighbor had called 911 after hearing gunfire.

Deputies arrived minutes later and found an unidentified man shot to death behind the mobile home, Lt. Frank said. Authorities could not immediately identify the victim.

No one else was found at the mobile home, and authorities were canvassing the neighborhood late Tuesday, Lt. Frank said. The Aiken Bloodhound Team and State Law Enforcement Division were called to the scene.

Lt. Frank said the man appeared to have been shot by another person.

AIKEN
Filing ends for city council seats

Filing for the four Aiken City Council seats up for grabs at the Nov. 6 general election ended Monday.

In District 2, Democrat incumbent Lessie Price will face Republican challenger Davis Cheek.

In District 4, Republican incumbent Eric Radford will face opposition from Republican challengers Richard W. Smith and Richard Lamar.

For two at-large seats, Republican incumbent Pat Cunning will face challenges from fellow party members Jane Vaughters and Ed Girardeau. Democrats Debbie Williams and Wilkins Byrd also will contend for the seats.

A Republican primary will be Sept. 11, and a runoff - if necessary - will be Sept. 25.

GEORGIA
Redistricting plan heads to vote

ATLANTA - House Democrats planned a vote today on their redistricting plan after pushing through some late changes to win over dissenters among their ranks disgruntled about new multimember districts.

Democratic leaders predicted they would have more than the 91 votes needed to pass a House map.

''I do believe we've got the votes necessary to pass it tomorrow,'' said House Rules Chairman Calvin Smyre, D-Columbus.

The House Reapportionment Committee approved the map 17-11 in a party-line vote Tuesday. The proposal by majority Democrats would put the House's 180 members in 145 districts. Voters in 24 super-size districts would elect multiple lawmakers - two, three or four.

The multimember districts were designed to protect Democratic incumbents and position the party to maintain its control of the House, where Democrats have held the majority since Reconstruction.

AUGUSTA
Men jailed in gunrunning case

Two men received prison sentences in federal court Monday for gunrunning.

Paul Jerry of New York received a 39-month prison sentence, and Raoul Celestin, who pleaded guilty and testified against Mr. Jerry, received a one-year sentence.

According to a U.S. attorney's news release, Mr. Jerry and Mr. Celestin together would buy more than 50 handguns at Augusta-area pawn shops, then take the guns to New York, where Mr. Jerry would sell them on the street.

Mr. Jerry was convicted in U.S. District Court after a two-day trial in May.

AUGUSTA
Men attack, rob store owner

The owner of an Augusta convenience store was cleaning his lot early Tuesday when two armed men attacked him and stole money and cigarettes from the business, authorities said.

About 2 a.m., Everett Thomas Adams, 57, was outside Fast Fare at 4002 Deans Bridge Road when two men wearing bandanas over their faces ran up to him, a sheriff's report states. One of the men grabbed the store owner around the neck, put a gun to his head, pushed him inside the business and demanded money. The robbers took money and cigarettes and ran.

The first suspect was described as black, age 25 to 30, 5 feet, 5 inches tall, medium build, with short hair and wearing black jeans and a striped shirt, with a blue bandana over his face. The second was described as black with a light complexion, age 25 to 30, 6 feet tall, medium build, with short hair, and wearing blue jeans, a white shirt, a black skull cap and a bandana.

Anyone with information on the robbery is asked to call the Richmond County Sheriff's Office at 821-1080.

GEORGIA
Suit focuses on pollution permits

ATLANTA - Georgia's Environmental Protection Division is two years behind in complying with federal laws mandating issuance of operating permits to companies that emit air pollution, the Sierra Club contends in a lawsuit filed this week.

The Superior Court complaint filed by the Georgia Center for Law in the Public Interest contends EPD failed to comply with a U.S. Clean Air Act requirement that such permitting be completed by December 1998.

The organization asks that EPD immediately complete issuance of Title V permits - which combine emission limits and air quality rules into a single reporting document - for all Georgia air pollution sources.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency approved Title V nationwide in 1995 as part of a program to give states more authority in regulating and combatting air pollution. The operating permits set limits on how much pollution a facility can emit and include monitoring and reporting requirements.

Although EPD has issued more than 250 permits, more than 150 facilities - including some large companies in Augusta - remain without Title V permits.