FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 20, 2014
On Friday, August 15, 2014, at about 4AM agents of the Cherokee Multi-Agency Narcotics Squad (CMANS), Cherokee County Deputies and members of the Cherokee Multi-Agency SWAT Team executed a search warrant at a residence located at 6652 Vaughn Road, Canton, Georgia. Officers arrested James Madison Flood, III, of Canton, for Trafficking in Methamphetamine; Manual Jose Arce, of Canton, for Trafficking in Methamphetamine and Possession of a Firearm while in the Commission of Certain Crimes; Daniel Badger Franklin, of Mineral Springs, NC, for Possession of Methamphetamine and Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon; and Colleen Lucille Pelz of Mill Springs, NC, for Possession of Methamphetamines and Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon.
CMANS Agents had been conducting an investigation into the activities of James Flood over a two month period. On Thursday night, August 14, 2014, CMANS Commander Phil Price was contacted by Agents with the Atlanta office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). ICE had been supporting the Taliaferro County Sheriff’s Office in a multi-agency investigation which pointed to Flood as a source of Methamphetamine in Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina. Taliaferro County Deputies supplied the information to CMANS Agents.
CMANS Agents established surveillance on the Vaughn Road address and simultaneously prepared a search warrant for the home. With the help of the Taliaferro County Deputies, the Cherokee Multi-Agency SWAT Team and Cherokee County Deputies, CMANS Agents served and executed the search warrant at 4 AM. Agents noted heavy security around the house, including several security cameras and a make-shift electrified fence. When officers made entry into the Hickory Flat area home all the defendants were awake and moving around the residence, and at least one suspect attempted to flee.
Agents recovered $7,874 in cash, four firearms and 14 ounces of methamphetamine valued at $21,000. Agents also recovered a small amount of Marijuana and a small amount of an unknown substance which will be identified by the GBI Crime Lab.
All four defendants were transported to the Cherokee Adult Detention Center in Canton.
The Cherokee Multi-Agency Narcotics Squad is a joint task force working in Cherokee County to investigate drug related violations. Participating agencies include the Cherokee Sheriff’s Office, the Canton Police Department, the Woodstock Police Department, the Holly Springs Police Department, the Ball Ground Police Department, the Cherokee County Marshal’s Office, the District Attorney’s Office for the Blue Ridge Judicial Circuit, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the Georgia State Patrol. Citizens may call in tips anonymously to (770) 345-7920, or may speak to an agent by calling (678) 493-7625.
