Two people face charges in connection with a five-month-long drug investigation in Stephens County.
On Friday, August 7, deputies with the Stephens County Sheriff’s Office, Toccoa Police Department and Agents with the Appalachian Regional Drug Enforcement Office (ARDEO) executed a search warrant on a guest room at the Regency Inn motel in Toccoa.
They recovered approximately 3.5 grams of methamphetamine that was bagged individually for sale, according to ARDEO Special Agent in Charge Trent Hillsman. The meth had a street value of approximately $350.
Agents arrested 40-year-old Brian Lamar Craft and 39-year-old Michelle Annett Chapman. They charged both with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. Officers also charged Craft with five counts of sale of methamphetamine.
Craft and Chapman were booked into the Stephens County jail. Hillsman says the investigation is still active.
ARDEO is a multi-agency unit led by the GBI that investigates drug activity across Northeast Georgia. Its members consist of personnel from the sheriff’s offices in White, Lumpkin, Towns, Banks, Jackson, Habersham, Stephens, Rabun, Franklin, Gilmer, and Fannin counties. Police departments in Cleveland, Lavonia, and Toccoa also participate along with the Georgia National Guard Counter Drug Task Force and Department of Public Safety.
To report drug activity in your area, contact ARDEO by phone at (706) 348-7410 or through the Appalachian Regional Drug Enforcement Facebook page.
