MEDIA RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, Wednesday, July 16th, 2014…
Sheriff Mitch Ralston Reports the Culmination on 3 Month Undercover Counter-Drug Investigation Deemed ‘Operation SUMMER THUNDER:
The Gordon County Sheriff’s Office’s Community Watch Unit initiated “Operation SUMMER THUNDER” beginning in April, 2014. This wide ranging investigation has resulted in the arrests of 22 people for drug related offenses ranging from trafficking in methamphetamine to the sale of morphine. The investigation involved hundreds of man-hours of undercover work and covert surveillance, searches, aerial surveillance, and dozens of controlled drug purchases. Over the course of three months, the investigating deputy sheriffs covertly purchased methamphetamine, klonopin , marijuana, morphine, and a new type of ‘ecstasy’ drug known as MDMA or by it’s street name,“molly”.
The following persons have been arrested as of 3 p.m. today :
1. Tiffany Leigh Thomas, age 28, 2017 Red Bud Road, Calhoun, for Sale/Distribution of Methamphetamine, arrested 7.13.2014
2. Linda Ruth Brown, age 42, 200 Harlan Street, Calhoun, for sale/Distribution of Methamphetamine, arrested 7.16.2014
3. Amanda Jo Murphy, age25, of 200 South Line Street, Calhoun, for Sale/Distribution of Methamphetamine, arrested 7.16.2014
4. Joshua Shane Brown, age 27, of 200 Harlan Street, Calhoun, for Sale/Distribution of Methamphetamine, arrested 7.16.2014
5. Justin Blake McCoy, age 27, of 2960 Highway 41 South, Calhoun, for Sale/Distribution of Schedule II MDMA, arrested 7.16.2014
6. Terresa Day McCoy, age 48, of 330 Hensley Road, Adairsville, for Sale/Distribution of Methamphetamine, arrested 7.16.2014
7. Dennis Wayne Leonard, age 45, of 519 South Line Street, Calhoun, for Sale/Distribution of Methamphetamine, arrested 7.16.2014
8. Martha Faye Green, age 44, of 236 Hines Road, Resaca, for Sale/Distribution of Methamphetamine, arrested 7.16.2014
9. Ramona Marie Reynolds, age 49, of 2960 US Highway 41 South, Calhoun, for Sale/Distribution of Morphine, arrested 7.16.2014
10. Jody Dean Weaver, age 38, of 115 Sylvania Circle, Calhoun, for Sale/Distribution of Methamphetamine, arrested 7.16.2014
11. Casey Cleveland Watson, age 30, of 5535 JFH Parkway, Adairsville, for Sale/Distribution of Methamphetamine, arrested 5.23.2014
12. Michael Eugene Jordan, age 29, 7251 Fairmount Highway, Calhoun, for Sale/Distribution of Methamphetamine, arrested 4.23.2014
13. Edgar Correa Medina, age 34, 102 Telfair Street, Calhoun, for Trafficking in Methamphetamine, arrested 5.12.2014
14. Rocky Allen Evans, age 26, of 112 Shepherd Drive, Calhoun, for Sale/Distribution of Methamphetamine, arrested 5.21.2014
15. Michael Albert Taylor, age 31, of 6920 Red Bud Road, Calhoun, for Sale/Distribution of Methamphetamine & Possession of Schedule II Controlled Substance, arrested 6.8.2014
16. Brooke Michelle Holt, age 25, of 5535 JFH Parkway, Adairsville, for sale/Distribution of Methamphetamine, arrested 5.23.2014 (posted bond 6.20. 2014)
17. Randy Thomas Myers, age 46, of 148 Harris Beamer Road, Calhoun, for Trafficking in Methamphetamine, arrested 6.10.2014 (returned to Dept of Corrections 7.8. 2014 for parole violation)
18. Taffy Michelle Rogers, age 33, of 148 Harris Beamer Road, Calhoun, for Trafficking in Methamphetamine, arrested 6.10.2014
19. Brett Jacob Edwards, age 25, of 980 Red Bud Road, Calhoun, for Sale/Distribution of Methamphetamine , arrested 6.21.2014
20. Bobby Dwayne Stone, of 881 McEntyre Loop, Calhoun, for Sale/Distribution of Marijuana and Klonopin, arrested 6.26.2014 (posted bond 6. 27. 2014)
21. Gordon Craig, age 53, of 136 5th Street, Calhoun, for Possession of Methamphetamine and Marijuana and Felon In Possession of a Firearm , arrested 7.16.2014
22. Jeffrey Chorn, age 52, of Stones Loop, Calhoun, for Sale/Distribution of Methamphetamine, arrested 7.16.2014
Armed with arrest warrants, deputies gathered at the Sheriff’s Office at 6 a.m. this morning (July 16) and formed into several ‘arrest teams’ which were then briefed by Community Watch deputies. These teams then began executing warrants for the arrest of the remaining defendants who had not already been taken into custody.
During the course of executing the warrants, deputies seized additional drugs (marijuana and methamphetamine), and also arrested one defendant in possession of a handgun. In one residence, deputies found a toddler asleep in a bed next to drug paraphernalia including a ‘crank pipe’. Officers summoned officials from the Department of Family and Childrens Services (DFCS) to take emergency custody of the child. All of the arrests were effected without resistance.
Deputies are still seeking four defendants, but expect to locate and arrest them all soon.
The ‘street value’ of the drugs seized in this investigation exceeds $25,000.00.
Sheriff Ralston said, “All of our personnel who participated in this case spent a lot of long hours doing some very tedious and demanding work. They focused on the individuals who choose to profit from smuggling this filth into our community, and poisoning other people’s lives. They have put together a large number of very good cases for prosecution. They’ve worked hand in hand with our District Attorney Rosemary Greene, and we will soon present these cases to a Gordon County Grand Jury. I am proud of the results of this case, and of everyone who participated in it. We will continue to attack the flow and distribution of illicit drugs, and illegal distribution of prescription drugs through all available avenues.”