Woman pulls plea in 'Barbie Bandit' case

ATLANTA - One of the two young women who gained national notoriety as one of the "Barbie Bandits" withdrew her plea Friday after declining to call a co-defendant a drug dealer.

Ashley Nicole Miller, 19, was expected to testify that Michael Darrell Chastang "had sold drugs on prior occasions," said Bonnie Derrer, an assistant district attorney.

Doing so and admitting to bank theft would have meant that prosecutors would drop a drug trafficking charge against Ms. Miller that has a minimum sentence of three years in prison. Instead of labeling Mr. Chastang a drug dealer, Ms. Miller said in court that she lied to police about who owned the drugs to protect Mr. Chastang, whom she said she had been romantically involved with when they were arrested.

Death penalty sought in slayings of 3 men

CUMMING - A district attorney is seeking the death penalty against three men in a farmhouse shooting last year in Forsyth County that left four people dead.

District Attorney Penny Penn made the announcement Friday during the first proceeding appearance for Jason McGhee, Marcin Sosniak and Frank Ortegon Jr. in Superior Court Judge David Dickinson's courtroom.

None of the defendants entered formal pleas Friday.

Centennial Olympic Park fountain cut off

ATLANTA - The state ban on outdoor watering has forced officials to turn off the main fountain at Centennial Olympic Park.

The fountain had operated until Thursday afternoon.

Katy Pando, the associate director of marketing for the Georgia World Congress Center, said the fountain and the other water features at the park and the surrounding Georgia World Congress Center property were shut off as soon as the city sent the notification about the ban.

Woman's car stolen as she aids motorist

ATLANTA - When Natalie King stopped to check on a pregnant woman and a 3-year-old involved in a rush hour car accident, someone drove off with her vehicle.

The 25-year-old was on her way to work Wednesday morning when she saw two vehicles collide. She stopped to see whether the woman needed help and left the key in the ignition of her 2006 Volkswagen Passat because it seemed there would be little danger of it getting stolen.

But less than two minutes later, it was gone. Someone apparently drove it onto a side street and disappeared. Atlanta police found her car Friday but could not find any of her valuables, which included her wedding and engagement rings, her laptop, her cellphone and a GPS navigation unit.