A former gang member whose unlikely journey from violent criminal to successful entrepreneur made him a widely celebrated success story has been charged with killing a Georgia woman, reports the Chattanooga Times-Free Press.
The charges against Charmane Goins, if borne out, would represent a stunning fall from grace for a man who was often recruited as a motivational speaker and even asked by (Chattanooga) city officials to share his turnaround story with gang members in the city’s Violence Reduction Initiative.
City Hall records show that Goins was a key part of the VRI script, and when he spoke to gang members at the second call-in in July he talked about his time in prison, all that he lost and how he learned that gangs and violence lead nowhere.
Police in Gwinnett County, Ga., said they believe Goins strangled Lauren Taylor, 26, burned her body and left the remains in a public park near Atlanta. Investigators say Goins, who is married with children, was having an affair with Taylor, but they wouldn’t say what evidence links him to the crime.
Goins’ arrest comes days after Chattanooga police Lt. Todd Royval, police point man for the VRI, unexpectedly stepped down.
Goins, a resident of Tunnel Hill, Ga., is the second person involved in outreach for the mayor’s flagship initiative to be arrested this year.
Richard Bennett, founder of the nonprofit A Better Tomorrow, was on the verge of receiving a city contract as the lead provider of VRI social services when he was arrested on suspicion of drug and alcohol violations in June. The city quickly severed ties with Bennett.
All but one of the charges since has been dropped, and Bennett faces trial in January on the sole remaining allegation — a misdemeanor charge of possession of marijuana.