LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. -- Charles "Chip" Moore has been appointed manager of Animal Welfare and Enforcement Section of the Gwinnett County Police Department.

Police Chief Charles Walters chose Moore for the job after conducting two nationwide searches. Moore's first day in his new role was Mar. 30.

The job won't be too difficult for Moore to fill -- prior to his appointment, he was serving as interim manager.

"Over the last 13 months, Chip has exhibited the highest quality leadership and concern for the needs of Gwinnett County citizens and employees of the shelter," Walters said in a statement. "His appointment is a key factor in the continual improvement of the Animal Welfare and Enforcement Section."

Under Moore's temporary leadership, the county's animal volunteer program grew, and Gwinnett saw an increase in adoption rates and decrease in euthanasia rates.

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. -- Laura Lynne Hicks, a 25-year veteran of the Gwinnett County Sheriff's Office, passed away Tuesday.

Hicks had been battling cancer, the sheriff's office said. She was 48.

"Captain Laura Hicks was a true professional law enforcement officer who made a difference to her department, community and friends. If nothing else, the overwhelming number of people who volunteered to help Laura or called to express their concerns during her illness says volumes about the positive influence Laura had on people," Gwinnett County Sheriff Butch Walker said in a statement.

Hicks was hired as a deputy sheriff in May 1987 and served in virtually every division of the department as she climbed the ranks. She also graduated first in her class from the Northeast Georgia Regional Police Academy. Sheriff Conway made Hicks a captain in 2005.

ATLANTA -- Gwinnett County Commissioner Shirley Lasseter has pleaded guilty in federal court in Atlanta to a charge of accepting bribes in exchange for her support of a proposed real estate development in her district.

Lasseter, her son John Fanning and Carl "Skip" Cain all pleaded guilty Thursday in the bribery scheme. Fanning and Cain also pleaded guilty to a drug trafficking charge.

Lasseter and Cain accepted thousands of dollars in cash last year from an undercover FBI agent posing as a businessman. Fanning was promised a 50 percent stake in a pawn shop that was to be part of the project.

The agent told the three he was involved in drug trafficking, and Fanning and Cain made it clear to him that they would like to get involved with that.