Five charged in multi-agency drug investigation
Published 1:59 pm Thursday, October 31, 2024
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In July of 2024, the LaGrange Police Department’s Special Investigations Unit began receiving information on possible drug traffickers within Troup County. As part of the preliminary investigation, multiple individuals were identified, and Fentanyl, Methamphetamine, and Marijuana were some of the many drugs being trafficked. The arrests in this case are a continuation of the efforts of a combined local and state network whose goal is to dismantle drug trafficking and criminal street gangs throughout the State of Georgia. This four-month investigation involved extensive intelligence gathering, undercover investigations, and a collaborative effort amongst the LaGrange Police Department, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Troup County Sheriff’s Office, and the Coweta Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office in Troup County.
On Oct. 22, 2024, multiple teams of tactical units from the GBI, LaGrange Police Department, and Troup County Sheriff’s Office executed a total of seven residence search warrants related to this investigation. As a result of this investigation and these warrants, the following arrests were made:
Rashad Pickett – (Shad) – 811 North Greenwood Street LaGrange, Ga
Possession of Cocaine with Intent to Distribute
Possession of a Schedule 2 with Intent to Distribute
Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony
Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon
Pickett was currently out on bond for multiple Sale of Cocaine arrests stemming back to 2019
Johnnie Sanders – 242 N. Kight Street LaGrange, Ga
Trafficking Methamphetamine
Possession of Fentanyl with Intent to Distribute
Possession of Marijuana with Intent to Distribute
Jessica Gates – 22 Barnard Avenue LaGrange, Ga
Trafficking Fentanyl
Gary Bernard Newman – (Nard) – 110 Park Place/116 Cameron Pointe Drive LaGrange, Ga
Trafficking Fentanyl (Tier 3)
Conspiracy to Traffic Fentanyl
James Edward Thompson III – (JT) (JT Money) – 100 Fenwick Manor Drive LaGrange, Ga
Trafficking Fentanyl (x2) (Tier 3)
Trafficking Marijuana
Trafficking Methamphetamine
Possession of a Schedule 2 with Intent to Distribute
Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon
During this operation, the following drugs/items were recovered:
15+ pounds of Marijuana
Approximately 4,000-5,000 Fentanyl pills
Over 30 grams of MDMA pills
14 grams of crack cocaine
8 grams of powder cocaine
Fentanyl powder
Fentanyl “strips”
Oxycodone pills
6 firearms
$50,000+ in US currency
Anyone with information regarding this incident is encouraged to contact the LaGrange Police Department at (706) 883-2603. Information can also be reported anonymously to Troup County Crime Stoppers at (706) 812-1000.
