White Co. Couple Charged With Cruelty to Children
News September 5, 2017
Heather Brown
CLEVELAND, Ga. – A White County Sheriff’s Office investigation that started as a missing children report led to the arrest of Dallas and Heather Brown of 233 Whiskey Still Drive in Cleveland on charges of cruelty to children last month.
According to the incident report, Deputy Charles Davis responded to a call at the Brown residence where Heather Brown informed him that her sons, ages 13 and 14, had been missing since noon the previous day. Davis filed a BOLO and returned to the Sheriff’s Office to file a report. Before the report had been completed, Sgt. A. Sims told Davis to return to the scene and that he would seek an arrest warrant for Heather Brown on a charge of cruelty to children.
The boys were located standing on the corner of Whiskey Still Drive and Tail Race Lane.
According to the report when deputies asked them where they had been, they said their father, Dallas Brown, told them to leave and never come back. They added that they were not allowed in the house but forced to sleep in a metal shed with no electricity, no running water and a rotten floor. The boys said the only food they had was what was served at school and they were forced to go to the bathroom in the woods near the house.
According to the report, the boys also stated that once they slipped into the home through an open window to obtain food but were caught by their father and a padlock was placed on the refrigerator.
Department of Family and Children Services was called to take custody of the children and deputies were informed that DFCS had been called to the home on a similar situation about three years ago.
Dallas Brown was arrested and transported to White County Detention Center.
Fetch Your News is a hyper local news outlet that covers Dawson, Lumpkin, White, Fannin, Gilmer, Pickens, Union, Towns and Murray counties as well as Cherokee County in N.C. If you would like to follow up-to-date local events in any of those counties, please visit us at FetchYourNews.com
Fallen Tree Leads to Arrest on Drug Charges
News July 8, 2017
CLEVELAND, Ga. – Adrian Jakab, 19, of Dahlonega probably never thought bad weather and a fallen tree could lead to his arrest on drug charges. But that is what happened Thursday.
Severe weather caused the tree to fall across Gene Nix Road. A White County Sheriff’s Office Deputy was there to prevent an accident. According to the deputy, Jakab was speeding and had to abruptly stop to avoid hitting the deputy’s car. As the deputy approached Jakab’s car, he smelled marijuana.
White County authorities searched Jakab’s car and found three ounces of marijuana individually packaged to sell along with a plastic container of “DAB” or hash oil which is THC extracted from the marijuana buds along with a handgun. The street value of the illegal narcotics is $ 3,330.
White County Sheriff’s Office and the Appalachian Regional Drug Enforcement Office (ARDEO) arrested Jakab. He is charged with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, possession of a schedule I narcotic (hash oil) and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.
Fetch Your News is a hyper local news outlet that covers Dawson, Lumpkin, White, Fannin, Gilmer, Pickens, Union, Towns and Murray counties as well as Cherokee County in N.C. If you would like to follow up-to-date local events in any of those counties, please visit us at FetchYourNews.com
7 Arrested in White County on Drug Charges
News June 8, 2017
CLEVELAND, Ga. — During this past week, the White County Sheriff’s Office, the Cleveland Police Department, and the Appalachian Regional Drug Enforcement Office (ARDEO) aggressively targeted suspected narcotics dealers in White County.
Mitchell Posey, Special Agent in Charge of ARDEO said, this combined effort resulted in the arrest of seven individuals for drug related offenses through aggressive street level enforcement by the uniform divisions.’
Through White County Sheriff’s Office investigations, ARDEO Agents arrested 21-year old Courtney Nelson, 23-year old James Molton, 17-year old Harvey Leahey, 19-year old Quinton Blackwell and 41-year old Susan Sorrows, for possession of methamphetamine and marijuana. Cleveland Police Department arrested 27-year old Barbara Barr and 38-year old Johnnie Hickman also for possession of methamphetamine.
Posey said, the combined street value of the drugs seized have been estimated be over $600 worth of methamphetamine and $600 worth of marijuana.
Those arrested were transported to the White County Detention Center.
The Appalachian Regional Drug Enforcement Office is a multi-agency unit that consists of the following Sheriff’s Offices: White County, Lumpkin County, Towns County, Banks County, Habersham County, Stephens County, Rabun County Franklin County the Cleveland Police Department, and the Lavonia Police Department, along with the Georgia National Guard Counter Drug Task Force, the Department of Public Safety, and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
Fetch Your News is a hyper local news outlet that covers Dawson, Lumpkin, White, Fannin, Gilmer, Pickens, Union, Towns and Murray counties as well as Cherokee County in N.C. If you would like to follow up-to-date local events in any of those counties, please visit us at www.fetchyournews.com
Drug Task Force Seizes 3 Marijuana Crops
News July 19, 2017
CLEVELAND, Ga. – Deputies with the White County Sheriff’s Office and Appalachian Regional Drug Enforcement Office (ARDEO) assisted the Governor’s Task Force/Drug Suppression unit Tuesday in conducting an operation that located three separate marijuana crops and confiscated marijuana with a total street value of $18,000.
The Governor’s Task Force has a primary responsibility to eradicate domestic marijuana within the state of Georgia and gather intelligence relating to its manufacture and cultivation.
White County authorities executed a search warrant at Lamar Yawn’s residence at 728 White Oak Trial in Cleveland and found five marijuana plants along with less than an ounce of marijuana inside the residence.
Yawn was charged with manufacturing marijuana and agreed to turn himself in at the White County Detention Center today.
A search warrant was executed at Christopher Richards’ residence at 100 Rattlesnake Hill in Cleveland which produced six marijuana plants, 1.5 lbs. of cultivated marijuana, a handgun and $12,000 cash.
Richards was arrested for manufacturing marijuana and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. He was transported to the White County Detention Center.
White County authorities also seized five marijuana plants found in the wood line on Town Creek Road and continue to investigate this marijuana grow to determine who is responsible.
For additional information about Appalachian ARDEO or to provide tips on criminal activity look for ARDEO@appalachiandtf on twitter or follow on facebook@appalachianrdeo and/or Instagram or contact your local Sheriff’s Office or Police Department.
Gainesville Man Charged With Hit and Run, Assault on Police Officer After Chase Through White County
News May 23, 2017
Jesse Laine Stafford
CLEVELAND, Ga. – A Gainesville man, who led White County deputies on a wild chase in the Tesnatee Gap Valley Road area last Thursday and rammed their patrol cars in an attempt to escape, is being held on $46,000 bond in the White County Detention Center.
Jesse Laine Stafford, 29, is charged with two counts of aggravated assault on a police officer, hit and run, fleeing in an attempt to elude police officers, DUI, speeding and reckless conduct in addition to at least 10 other charges.
Deputies heard the screeching of tires and a loud bang then saw a black Hyundai speed past them, dragging a large clump of dirt and grass and failing to stop for a stop sign. They gave chase and before the chase ended, deputies say he rammed their car twice in an attempt to escape.
The chase came to an end on Sandy Flats Road and deputies ordered Stafford out of the vehicle and onto the ground. According to the report Stafford admitted smoking marijuana and methamphetamine earlier in the day.
A passenger in the car, 32-year-old Gina Marie Sweeny was not charged.
Fetch Your News is a hyper local news outlet that covers Dawson, Lumpkin, White, Fannin, Gilmer, Pickens, Union, Towns and Murray counties as well as Cherokee County in N.C. If you would like to follow up-to-date local events in any of those counties, please visit us at www.fetchyournews.com
Cleveland Man Arrested on Drug Charges
Business April 21, 2017
CLEVELAND, Ga. — Ken Howard, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Appalachian Regional Drug Enforcement Office (ARDEO) reports that a 61-year old Cleveland man was arrested Tuesday on drug charges
White County Sheriff’s Deputies, ARDEO agents and the Georgia Department of Community Supervision conducted a drug investigation at 1734 May White Road in Cleveland and discovered a quantity of suspected methamphetamine, suspected marijuana, and drug paraphernalia. The estimated street value of the drugs is $500.
According to Howard, 61-year old Keith Dupree Fortenberry, was arrested and charged with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. Fortenberry is being held at the White County Detention Center.
ARDEO encourages citizens to report any suspicious drug activity at 706-348- 7410 or contact your local Sheriff’s Office or Police Department.
Two Injuries Reported in Crash on Hwy. 115
News July 5, 2017
CLEVELAND, Ga – Two people were injured in a car wreck on Hwy. 115 near Thunder Ridge Drive just before noon Monday and both were transported to Northeast Georgia Medical Center with undisclosed injuries.
According to a report filed by the White County Sheriff’s Office, Elmer Swain Stewart, 66, of Gainesville was exiting the driveway at Community Thrift Store in a 2001 Chevrolet Tahoe and pulled out in front of a 2013 Nissan Murano driven by Allen Barnard Wrigley, 66, of Dahlonega.
The two vehicles collided nearly head-on and Stewart’s vehicle came to a stop 51-feet from the point of collision, in the east bound lane of Hwy. 115. Wrigley’s vehicle came to rest 75 feet away in the westbound lane.
This was the second vehicle accident with injuries, involving a car exiting a commercial parking lot on Hwy. 115 in less than a week.
Wreck on Hwy. 115 Injures Cleveland Woman
News June 30, 2017
CLEVELAND, Ga. – Helen Brookshire Adams of Cleveland was injured in a two-car accident on Hwy. 115 East while exiting the parking lot of The Cottage House Restaurant around 7 p.m. Thursday.
According to the police report, Adams 2001 Buick Century pulled into the traffic lane of Hwy. 115 East and was struck in the driver’s side front quarter panel by a 2003 Ford Explorer driven by Angel Daveda Gaddis, 30, of Clarkesville. Gaddis swerved slightly north but was unable to avoid the collision. Both vehicles then traveled north for a short distance and came to an ucontrolled stop after striking an embankment.
A witness told the White County Sheriff’s Office deputy investigating the accident there was no way possible for Gaddis to avoid the impact.
Adams was transported to Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville, where the extent of her injuries is undetermined.
Clevaland Man Charged With Cruelty to Children
News May 23, 2017
James Edward Martin
CLEVELAND, Ga. – James Edward Martin, 44, of Cleveland was arrested by the White County Sheriff’s Office last week and charged with first degree cruelty to children after the child’s grandmother reported to a school counselor the child,13, had been beaten repeatedly with an electric cord.
Dusti Martin
According to the arrest report, the counselor observed multiple marks and bruises all over the child’s body and contacted authorities. The victim reported that the stepmother, Dusti Martin, was at the residence when the incident occurred but despite cries for help, did not intervene.
James Martin’s bond was set at $10,000. Dusti Martin is charged with failure to report child abuse. Her bond was set at $1,000.
Myers Charged with Stalking, Aggravated Assault
News March 30, 2017
CLEVELAND, Ga. — A Cleveland man wanted by police in Helen for alleged stalking, aggravated assault, escape and willful obstruction of a police officer was arrested by White County Sheriff’s deputies on March 21.
Brandon Alvin Myers, 28, is accused of stalking his ex-girlfriend Samantha Roberts, 27 of Helen, the mother of his infant son. Roberts filed a complaint with the Helen Police Department in November that indicated Myers called her phone and texted her constantly after they broke up. She also claimed that he followed her and tried to run her car off the road as she returned from grocery shopping.
Officer Phillip Wood confronted Myers in the parking lot of a public housing project on Petes Park in Helen last November. Wood reported that Myers became agitated while being questioned, pushed the officer away and then bolted into the woods behind the complex. Officers gave chase, but could not locate him.
Myers is currently housed in the White County Detention Center. His bond has been set at $42,000.
Homeless Man Charged With Assault, Battery
News June 7, 2017
Michael Anthony Jones
CLEVELAND, Ga. – Michael Anthony Jones, 34, of Portland, Maine, has been charged with aggravated assault by strangulation and simple battery, following an altercation at 376 Brianwood Drive in Cleveland last week.
According to the police report, Stephen Campbell told White County deputies he and Jones were involved in a verbal argument and that Jones began to strike him in the face and grabbed him around the throat. He said they fell to the floor and Jones continued to strike him in the face. He said his wife, Sherry, got a handgun and fired a shot into the floor in an effort to get him off her husband.
Jones told police that he was homeless and that the couple had allowed him to stay at their home for the past week. When the two men began fighting in the kitchen, Jones said Sherry struck him in the head with a stick and Stephen Campbell then pulled a knife on him. Campbell’s wife said she did not strike Jones and only fired the gun to try and get him off her husband.
Deputies observed a laceration on his Jones’ head and he was transported to Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville. Campbell did not require transport.
When the hospital notified White County authorities that Jones was ready for discharge, he was handcuffed and transported to White County Detention Center.
Deputies reported that while Jones was being taken to the detention center he threatened to kill Campbell when he was released. The threat was audio and video recorded.
White County Man Is Charged With Aggravated Assault with Deadly Weapon
News April 11, 2017
CLEVELAND, Ga. – White County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested Jeffrey Kidd, 50, of 4732 Town Creek Road last week and charged him with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon following a domestic dispute with his wife Frances Kidd, 54.
When deputies arrived at the scene, the observed Ms. Kidd trying to leave the scene. According to the arrest report when they stopped here they noticed blood on her head, clothes, hands, legs and feet. They radioed for EMS then entered the residence and found Mr. Kidd laying in the bed hiding under covers.
He stated that he was sitting in his recliner drinking beer and she grabbed the other beers and poured them out. He also said she became violent because she had been drinking and tried to hit him in the head with a wine bottle. But when asked where all the blood came from, he told deputies she did that to herself.
One of the deputies observed blood on the recliner, the floor and on a wine bottle that also had hair fibers.
Ms. Kidd stated the argument became heated after she began pouring the beer out and that he hit her on top of the head with something but she didn’t know if it was his fist or a bottle. She declined medical treatment.
Mr. Kidd was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and transported to the White County Detention Center.
Motorcycle Chase in White, Habersham Ends in Arrest for Flowery Branch Man
News April 25, 2017
CLEVELAND, Ga. – A 31-year-old Flowery Branch man on a stolen motorcycle led White and Habersham County deputies on a chase last week that reached speeds of up to 100 mph before he was taken into custody.
A White County deputy spotted Zachary Dean Smith on a blue and silver 2007 Honda motorcycle on Highway 115 East that matched the description of a stolen vehicle. When the deputy got behind Smith, he increased speed to approximately 90 mph. and crossed into Habersham County.
Smith then turned right onto Highway 105 in Habersham County. Approximately four miles onto Highway 105 Habersham County officers joined in the pursuit. At the end of Highway 105 the motorcycle turned right onto Highway 441 and then turned right onto the exit ramp for Highway 365. Deputy Edwards was on the on ramp for Highway 365 and, at this point, turned the pursuit over to Habersham County.
Habersham County deputies stopped Smith at the Rabun County line and took him into custody. When they ran the vin number it came back as a vehicle that was stolen on April 29, 2015 in White County.
Habersham deputies also advised that Smith threw a firearm from his person during the pursuit and that firearm also was reported as stolen.
The stolen motorcycle was taken to the White County Sheriff’s Office Impound Lot.
Smith was charged with theft by taking, reckless driving, attempting to elude a police officer and driving without a valid license. He is being held on $10,000 bond.
Helen Man Dies in Cleveland Traffic Accident
News April 21, 2017
CLEVELAND — James Henry Schmitt, 73, of Helen, died as a result of injuries he suffered in a single-vehicle accident in the pre-dawn hours Thursday.
According to a White County Sheriff’s Office report, the accident happened when Schmitt’s 1995 Nissan pickup truck ran off Asbestos Road near Dukes Creek Baptist Church, struck a tree and turned onto its side.
Schmitt was transported by White County EMS to Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville, where he succumbed to his injuries.
Heroin Trafficking Organization Busted
News May 5, 2017
DEMOREST, Ga. – Authorities say an 18-month investigation sparked by several heroin overdose incidents in Habersham, White and Banks counties resulted in the arrest of members of a major heroin trafficking organization Tuesday.
The White County Sheriff’s Office, Habersham County Sheriff’s Office, Appalachian Regional Drug Enforcement Office and Georgia Department of Corrections K9 unit executed search warrants at 530 Twin River Orchard Road in Demorest, and 4172 Highway 255 South in Cleveland where they confiscated a large quantity of heroin valued at $7,000. They believe the organization is responsible for trafficking many pounds of heroin valued at nearly $100,000.
Michelle Dawn “Cinnamon” Dorsey, 45, of Demorest, Nigel Alan Waddell, 28, of Cornelia and Tyler Josiah “Big un” Matthews, 28 of Cleveland were arrested and charged with trafficking heroin. All three individuals were transported to the Habersham County Detention Center..
ARDEO encourages citizens to report any suspicious drug activity via Inatant Messenger or at 706-348- 7410 or contact your local Sheriff’s Office or Police Department.
The Appalachian Regional Drug Enforcement Office is a multi-agency unit that consists of the Sheriff’s Offices: in White, Lumpkin, Towns, Banks, Habersham, Stephens, Rabun and Franklin counties along with the police departments in Cleveland, Lavonia and the Georgia National Guard Counter Drug Task Force, Department of Public Safety and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
White County Man Charged with Battery, Cruelty to Children
News March 7, 2017
CLEVELAND, Ga. — White County Sheriff’s Office arrested Richard Hansard, 32 of Sautee Sunday and charged him with two counts of battery and two counts of cruelty to children following an incident at his residence on Bean Creek Road in White County.
According to the incident report, Cassidy Hansard, 30, was cleaning house and listening to music when she and Richard became involved in a verbal argument. Cassidy Hansard stated that she walked outside to get away from the argument and Richard followed her oustide, took her cell phone away from her and threw her to the ground.
She further stated that Richard then left the home walking toward Bean Creek Road and their 7-year-old son followed to see where he was going. She alleges that Richard then struck his son in the back as she and her 11-year-old daughter watched.
She reported the incident to 9-1-1 and a White County deputy responded. The deputy reported he could see redness, swelling and a fingerprint mark on the child’s back and took a photograph.
Richard Hansard was taken to White County Detention Center where his bond has been set at $12,000.