(Editor’s note: An article published online Jan. 26 included details of the subsequent arrests of three people in the related case.)
Roshuanda Merritt was sworn in Dec. 28 as a new member of the Commerce City Council.
Less than a month later, authorities arrested her on felony charges after she initially contacted police for help in a case involving “inappropriate” photos.
Merritt, 43, was charged with criminal attempt to sell marijuana and use of a telecommunication facility to facilitate a felony, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation announced in a press release last Friday.
Merritt, a high school teacher, allegedly sent via text message a photograph of four THC-infused gummies packages and asked individuals to “let her know if anyone wanted to purchase said gummies,” according to an arrest warrant filed in Jackson County.
She was released on bond Friday after she turned herself in and was booked in the Jackson County Jail. Her bail was $10,000, a spokesperson for the jail confirmed.
Merritt’s arrest was the culmination of two separate investigations stemming from Merritt contacting the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office late last year about alleged inappropriate photographs of her being posted online via social media.
“She reached out for help and filed a report about inappropriate photos,” Jackson County Sheriff Janis Mangum said. “She was the victim.”
During the initial investigation, Mangum said evidence indicating a separate crime was discovered.
“At that point I stopped my investigation and requested the GBI,” Mangum said. “I felt like it would be best for them to become involved because of her position (on the Commerce City Council) and because she was a (Jackson County) school employee.”
Merritt deferred comment to her attorney, Jason Black, who said the way this transpired, “begs the question, how was a case able to be made against my client before they were able to solve a revenge porn situation where my client is the victim? And people wonder why nobody goes to the police for help.”
Mangum said the investigation into inappropriate photos of Merritt is ongoing. She said the sheriff’s office “anticipates there will be charges there. We never stopped working that case.”
Black said the alleged text messages with photos of edibles were sent “years ago,” before Merritt was elected to city council and became a Jackson County School System employee.
“They charged her with conspiracy, except nobody knows what those pictures were,” Black said. “Are they THC or CBD or gummies out of a Captain Crunch box at the store?
“What they did was they made a whole lot of assumptions and claimed she was attempting to distribute THC and added the use of a telephone for basically asking, ‘Do you want one of these?’”
As of Tuesday, Merritt remained in the East Jackson High School staff directory, listed as a CTAE (career, technical and agricultural) teacher. But a Jackson County School Systems spokesman referred to her as “a former employee” when contacted. He later shared a statement that “the Jackson County School System is aware of the ongoing investigation regarding a former employee of the system, and we are cooperating with law enforcement agencies.”
Merritt will continue in her role on Commerce’s city council unless there is a conviction, city clerk Sandra Haggard said.
“This is a personal matter, done on personal time,” Haggard said. “It occurred prior to her election. It has nothing to do with the city, whatsoever. Our city charter says there is nothing for us to do unless there is a felony conviction in a court of law, and everybody is innocent until proven guilty.”
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