Body found in Athens, burglary, child molestation suspects arrested in Hall Co

The Athens-Clarke County Police Department is working to identify remains and determine the cause of death for a body, believed to be that of a male, that was found by workers this week on Athens’ east side: the badly decomposed body was discovered by a construction crews off Athena Drive. The body has been taken to the GBI Crime Lab in Decatur.

A 33 year-old man from Flowery Branch faces smash and grab burglary charges: the Hall County Sheriff’s Office says Hai Quoc Bennett used an axe to shatter the front glass of a convenience store and tried to steal cash from an ATM. Sheriff’s Office investigators used store surveillance video to track him down; Bennett was booked into the Hall County jail.

There are child molestation allegations for a teenager in White County: the White County Sheriff’s Office says 18 year-old Carlos Martinez is charged with molesting a 7 year-old victim.