Local man arrested in prostitution sting
A Demorest man was arrested along with 18 other suspects as part of a prostitution and sex trafficking sting in Troup County.
The investigation uncovered a slew of prostitution and drug charges thanks to the work of undercover officers.
Jeremiah Negron, 25, of Demorest was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of pandering. Sgt. Stewart Smith of the Troup County Sheriff’s Office said Negron “unlawfully tried to procure a prostitute for a third party,” only to run into an officer in disguise.
Smith said Troup County periodically works with other agencies to stamp out sex trafficking, a crime for which Atlanta is a regional hub.
“Our goal is to stop sex trafficking, but we also end up making charges on other things as well, as we did here,” Smith said. “We are trying to really crack down.”
The arrests included seven women charged with prostitution and 11 other man involved in pimping or pandering.
Man dies in Tallulah Gorge
A Louisiana man died Friday afternoon at Tallulah Gorge after collapsing.
The man was identified as Michael Joseph Pergola, 62, of Slidell, La., according to Mark McKinnon, public affairs officer for Georgia DNR Law Enforcement Division.
“Yesterday afternoon, Georgia game wardens, along with Habersham and Rabun SAR teams, responded to an unresponsive person call on the floor of Tallulah Gorge. Upon arrival, they learned that an adult male had collapsed and was face down in the river. CPR was administered but was unsuccessful,” according to McKinnon. “The game wardens and other first responders worked together to carry the body out of the gorge.”
The body was turned over to the coroner to determine the cause of death.
Woman killed in crash
Lynn Elsner, 86, of Clayton was killed in a one-car crash in Rabun County on Monday afternoon.
Elsner was traveling north on Highway 28 and failed to maintain her lane on a curve. The car veered off the road and struck an embankment, causing it to overturn several times. Elsner was ejected as she was not wearing a seatbelt, and the car overturned on top of her, causing fatal head injuries.
Feds break up Georgia prison drug ring
Fourteen Georgians, including eight prison inmates, were charged Wednesday with participating in a drug trafficking ring operating in southeastern Georgia.
According to a federal indictment, the group began distributing methamphetamine, heroin and fentanyl as far back as 2018 in at least seven counties: Bacon, Brantley, Camden, Coffee, Glynn, Pierce and Ware.
All 14 are charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute the drugs. They face sentences of 10 years in prison up to life, along with substantial fines and at least five years of supervised release after completing any prison term.
“The use of contraband cell phones and other devices inside prisons for coordination of criminal activity outside prison walls is an increasing danger to our communities,” said David Estes, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Georgia.
“Our law enforcement partners, including the Georgia Department of Corrections, did outstanding work in identifying and infiltrating this network to being an end to this illegal conspiracy.”
The inmates charged in the indictment include Jonathan Alvin Pope, 38, of Calhoun State Prison; Christy Renee Pope, 42, of Pulaski State Prison; Jason Wildes, 40, of Ware County Detention Center; Clark Bennett, 50, of Floyd County Prison; and James Edward Lane, 55, of Dooly County Detention Center.
Also charged were three inmates at the Brantley County Detention Center: Kristina Ashley Montgomery, 37; Tony Marvin Jones, 63; and Michael Mancil, 45.
The other defendants include Richard Reginald Perkins Jr., 46; Joshua Lance Lee, 45, and Sara Elizabeth Laroche, 37, all of Nahunta; Jode Lee Weaver, 41, and Ashlee Pope, 32, both of Waycross; and Lena Leigh Davis, 45, of Homeland.
The case was investigated by the Justice Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces operation, working with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s Savannah office; the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; the Georgia Department of Corrections, and several local sheriff’s departments.
Staff and Capitol Beat News Service information was used in this report.