WGAA 1340AM Cedartown

Polk County police were one of several agencies assisting in a drug sweep netting nine arrests and 10 firearms, including two assault rifles. According to Bartow/Cartersville Drug Task Force officials, the raids and arrests happened last Wednesday. Officials said the arrests were the result of simultaneous search warrants executed throughout Cartersville and Bartow County. Bartow County Sheriff Clark Millsap and Cartersville Police Chief Tommy Culpepper said the investigation began more than two months ago. Both said agents identified a drug operation supplying a large amount of marijuana, cocaine and ecstasy to the area and the investigation also revealed a sophisticated marijuana manufacturing operation. The sweep incorporated all of the areas law enforcement resources including the task force, Polk County police, agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Federal Bureau of Investigation Safe Streets Task Force, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the Bartow County Sheriffs Office SWAT Team, and the Cartersville Police Department.

A 19 year old Cartersville man has been accused of attempted murder. According to information from the Bartow County Sheriff’s Office, Joseph Ryan McBrayer of Cartersville has been charged with one count of criminal attempt to commit felony murder. McBrayer was arrested Thursday on terroristic threats and acts charges. Investigators then uncovered what they say was a plan to murder at least one person in Bartow County. The details of that plan were not released, but officers believe McBrayer was acting alone. McBrayer is currently on bond for more than 56 charges stemming from a 2007 arrest and is scheduled to appear in court later this month on those charges. McBrayer is being held at the Bartow County Jail pending a bond hearing on this new charge.

Three people were arrested after an apparent road rage incident in Cedartown Monday afternoon. According to Cedartown Assistant Police Chief Jamie Newsome, five Cedartown Police units arrived on the scene at the Cedartown Rite Aid location on North Main Street at around 3 p.m. According to Newsome, the initial call reported that a subject had pointed a gun at another person. But after the initial investigation, it became clear that no gun was involved.  Newsome added that someone had commented that a subject may have entered the store. But a search of the premesis turned up nothing. Because of the possibility of a gun being involved in the incident, all available units were dispatched to the scene. The three individuals arrested whose identities have not yet been released, were taken to Polk County jail and were later released on bond.

Cedartown officers, along with assistance from other local and national agencies, attempted to execute an arrest warrant at a Herbert St. residence on June 10. During the incident, 27 year old Daryl Bernard Wofford of Cedartown, took flight out the rear door in an attempt to elude officers. While giving chase, Wofford threw an object into a yard and continued to run south towards Stubbs Street. U.S. Marshals caught Wofford in an area between Ware and Stubbs streets. The object Wofford threw was also recovered. The object turned out to be a set of digital scales with suspected cocaine residue on them. Wofford was charged with a felony count of cocaine possession, a felony count of possession of tools for the commission of a crime and a misdemeanor count of obstruction of an officer. Wofford was arrested and booked at the Polk County Sheriff’s Department.

A Rome man was arrested after police say he ran from officers trying to execute an arrest warrant. According to Floyd County Jail records, 27 year old Derrick Famon Huntley of 214 Robin Hood Road, was arrested by Floyd County Sheriff’s deputies around 3:30 p.m. at an address on Tolbert Street. He was charged with three counts of obstruction of law enforcement officers after police say he ran away when deputies attempted to serve him with a warrant. Huntley was wanted for failure to appear in court on several charges, along with having a hold on him by the Rockmart Police Department. He also has a probation violation and remains in jail without bail.

Rockmart Police have captured the alleged suspect in a duo of robberies at the same convenience store. According to Detective David Gowens, 50 year old Dexter Leonard Gary of a Rockmart address was arrested by police and charged with two counts of armed robbery and aggravated assault for the two robberies at the Mapco convenience store at 104 GTM Parkway close to Georgia Highway 101. The first robbery occurred around 3:30 a.m. Sunday, May 31. The suspect, according to what the clerk told police, was a black male. He reportedly used a knife to threaten the clerk and stole $50 from the cash register, according to a police report. The second incident happened this past Wednesday, June 10 around 1:10 a.m. He said a man fitting the earlier description threatened the clerk with a knife. This time, he stole $35 from the cash drawer. Investigators said Gary was arrested on leads found through the investigation. The clerk was not hurt in either incident.

Carroll County authorities Thursday were investigating the apparent shooting deaths of two people whose bodies were discovered overnight. The bodies were found following a traffic stop in Atlanta, according to Carroll County sheriffs Capt. Shane Taylor. The motorist stopped in Atlanta had some weapons on him, and advised officers that he had committed a double homicide in Carroll County. When deputies went to a home off Peek Drive near Carrollton, they found the bodies of a man and a woman inside. Taylor said there were possible family ties between the suspect, who is in his 20s, and the victims. Their names have not been released.

A raid in Lindale resulted in the arrest of Dominique Porter and Marcus Beasley on 15 counts of misdemeanor cruelty to animals charges. Twelve adult male pit bulls, three females and six puppies were rescued at the Eden Circle home. In January, Porter was arrested and charged with six counts of felony dog fighting and six misdemeanor counts of cruelty to animals. Simmons was also involved in that case. Norred & Associates, an Atlanta based corporate security and investigation firm, had been monitoring the operation for some time. Police said that the dogs that were rescued Thursday were living in horrible conditions. Most of the dogs were taken by animal control for examination, and some were taken to a local veterinary office for medical attention.

Rockmart police are investigating whether the latest robbery at a local convenience store is the same robber. Sgt. David Gowens of the Rockmart Police Department said the robbery occurred around 1:10 a.m. Wednesday morning at Mapco, a convenience store at 104 GTM Parkway near Highway 101. He said the man threatened with a knife and stole $35 from the cash drawer. No one was hurt in the incident. Gowens said this is exactly the same circumstances which occurred at a robbery at that convenience store May 31. However, Gowens said he needs to look at video to determine if this robber matches the description given in the last incident. Police ask that anyone with any information call 770-684-2354.

Information has now surfaced on the woman arrested last Monday in relation to an attempted robbery at a Mountain Home Loop Road address. According to Polk County Police, 23 year old Jessica Lane Griffen of a Morton Springs Rd. address in Cedartown apparently owned the Jeep allegedly used in the May 7 attempted burglary. Griffen was arrested and charged with burglary, criminal trespass and conspiracy. The Jeep was the vehicle impounded in the chase and arrest of 35 year old James Edward Anderson and 23 year old Amanda Maureen Day both of Cedartown. Both were captured the day of the incident and are charged in the burglary. In that burglary incident, the property owner told police he came to the residence to find two men carrying items out of the house. He held a gun on the pair while law enforcement was called, but the men fled when they heard sirens. Police say that the investigation is ongoing and more arrests are possible.