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THURSDAY. MAY 5. 2022 PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS PAGE 3A
18 arrested in widespread
Press Release from Pickens
Sheriff’s Office, CMANS
Last week, the Cherokee
Multi-Agency Narcotics
Squad completed a lengthy
investigation which lead to
the arrest of 18 suspects in
Pickens County. This inves
tigation was conducted under
the Racketeer Influenced and
Corrupt Organizations
(RICO) Act.
Passed in 1970, The RICO
Act is a federal law designed
to combat organized crime in
the United States. It allows
prosecution and civil penal
ties for racketeering activity
performed as part of an ongo
ing criminal enterprise. The
State of Georgia has a similar
statute in which these sus
pects have been charged.
Such activity may include,
kidnapping, murder, money
laundering, counterfeiting,
drug trafficking, and a host of
other unsavory business
practices.
To convict a defendant
under RICO, the government
must prove that the defendant
engaged in two or more in
stances of racketeering activ
ity and that the defendant
directly invested in, main
tained an interest in, or par
ticipated in a criminal
enterprise affecting interstate
or foreign commerce. This
particular investigation in
volved the Sale and Distribu
tion of Methamphetamine.
Major John New, Director
of the Cherokee Multi-
Agency Narcotics Squad ex
plained, “This investigation
was thorough and systematic.
The case agents and intelli
gence analysts involved in
the investigation gathered a
vast amount of quality evi
dence against these defen
dants. Furthermore, this
investigation could not have
been accomplished without
the assistance of the Ap
palachian Judicial Circuit’s
1) Keith Underwood, 42, of
Nelson, GA, RICO, Posses
sion with Intent to Distribute
Methamphetamine, Posses
sion of Schedule II
8) Ashely Crawley, 35, of
Cumming, GA, RICO
13) William “Jeff ’ Prather,
50, of Jasper, GA, RICO
District Attorney Alison
Sosebee, and the support of
the Pickens County Sheriff
Donnie Craig. Their assis
tance in this matter is greatly
appreciated”
The Cherokee Multi-
Agency Narcotics Squad is a
joint task force working in
Cherokee County and Pick
ens County to investigate
drug related violations. Par
ticipating agencies include
the Cherokee Sheriff’s Of
fice, the Pickens Sheriff’s Of-
2) Alan Hughes, 61, of
Jasper, GA, RICO, Traffick
ing Methamphetamine, Pos
session of Marijuana,
Possession of Controlled
Sub x2, Possession of
Firearm during Commission
of Crime, Possession of
Drug Related Object
9) Denny Wofford, 67, of
Acworth, GA, RICO
14) Amy Ray, 64, of Ball
Ground, GA, RICO
fice, the Canton Police De
partment, the Woodstock Po
lice Department, the Holly
Springs Police Department,
the Ball Ground Police De
partment, the Cherokee
County Marshal’s Office, the
Cherokee School District Po
lice Department, the District
Attorney’s Office for the
Blue Ridge Judicial Circuit,
3) Mitchell Flowers, 40, of
Ball Ground, GA, RICO,
Possession of Schedule II,
Possession of Marijuana
(Felony), Possession of
Firearm during Commission
of Crime x 4, Possession of
a Firearm by Convicted
Felon x 4
10) Kim McClure, 54, of
Jasper, GA, RICO
15) Patrick Nunn, 37, of
Jasper, GA, RICO
the District Attorney’s Office
for the Appalachian Judicial
Circuit, 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.
drug case
4) Christopher Coker, 42, of
Jasper, GA, Possession with
intent to Distribute Metham
phetamine, Possession of
Drug Related Object
11) Ricky Smith, 65, of Mar
ble Hill, GA, RICO
16) Richard Bishop, 46, of
Waleska, GA, RICO
7) Jennifer Corbin, 48, of
Jasper, GA, Possession of
Methamphetamine
12) Shawna Smith Yarber,
41, of Canton, GA, RICO
17) Paula Jarrett, 49, of Ball
Ground, GA, RICO
Three of those charged were arrested elsewhere
and are being held in facilities outside Pickens
County. There were no book-in photos available
for the following:
5) Sharron Holbert, 44, of Waleska, GA, RICO, Trafficking
Methamphetamine
6) Rebecca Chalfart, 49, of Canton, GA, RICO, Possession
of Methamphetamine
18) Kayla Brown, 26, of Ball Ground, GA, RICO, Posses
sion of Marijuana, Possession of Methamphetamine, and
Possession of Schedule IV narcotics.
Georgia Oath Keeper pleads guilty
in attack on U.S. Capitol
By Dave Williams
Bureau Chief
Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA - A Georgia
member of the right-wing
anti-government group Oath
Keepers pleaded guilty Fri
day to seditious conspiracy
and obstruction of an official
proceeding in connection
with the Jan. 6, 2021, attack
on the U.S. Capitol.
Brian Ulrich, 44, of Guy
ton, agreed to cooperate with
the government's ongoing in
vestigation as part of the plea
agreement, the U.S. Justice
Department announced in a
news release.
Ulrich admitted taking
part in disrupting a joint ses
sion of Congress convened to
count the Electoral College
votes in the 2020 presidential
election. The count was de
layed for about six hours
after riotous protesters took
over parts of the Capitol
building and lawmakers and
Vice President Mike Pence,
who was presiding over the
count, were whisked to
safety.
Ulrich also admitted that
from November 2020
through January 2021, he
conspired with other Oath
Keepers members and affili
ates to plan the attack. He
and others used encrypted
and private communications,
equipped themselves with a
variety of weapons, donned
combat and tactical gear, and
were prepared to use force to
stop the transfer of power
from then-President Donald
Trump to Joe Biden.
Ulrich purchased tactical
gear and other items, includ
ing two-way radio receivers,
a recon backpack, a tactical
holster, a medical tourniquet,
and a half-skull motorcycle
helmet. On Jan. 4, he traveled
with other Oath Keepers to
Washington, D.C., staying in
a downtown hotel.
On Jan. 6, after learning
the Capitol had been
breached, Ulrich and others
traveled to the Capitol on
golf carts and drove around
multiple barricades, includ
ing marked law enforcement
vehicles. He and others
weaved through a restricted
area in a military “stack” for
mation, with hands on shoul
ders, and marched in a line
up the stairs on the east side
of the Capitol.
The group entered the
building and went toward the
entrance to the Rotunda as
law enforcement officers
were attempting to clear the
area. After officers deployed
chemical-irritant spray, Ul
rich left the Capitol and gath
ered with other
co-conspirators about 100
feet from the building.
In the aftermath of Jan. 6,
Ulrich continued to commu
nicate with co-conspirators,
urging them to "stay below
the radar."
Ulrich was arrested in
Guyton last August. He was
among 11 defendants in
dicted in January on seditious
conspiracy and other charges.
Ulrich was the second
Oath Keepers member to
plead guilty to the charges.
Joshua James, 34, of Arab,
Ala., pleaded guilty in
March.
Ulrich faces up to 20 years
in prison for seditious con
spiracy and up to 20 years for
obstruction of an official pro
ceeding, along with potential
financial penalties. No sen
tencing date has been set.
In the 15 months since the
Jan. 6 attack, nearly 800 peo
ple have been arrested in
nearly all 50 states for crimes
related to the breach of the
Capitol. More than 250 are
charged with assaulting or
impeding law enforcement
officers.
This story is available
through a news partnership with
Capitol Beat News Service, a
project of the Georgia Press Ed
ucational Foundation.
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day
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