Four employees at a Wendy's in Canton, Georgia are facing drug charges after authorities accused them of dealing meth from the restaurant, WSB reports.
Investigators believe the suspects were dealing drugs from the restaurant's parking lot for several weeks.
Narcotics task force commander Phil Price told the Atlanta-Journal Constitution that employees never offered to sell them a hamburger.
“I can tell you we never bought any food there,” Price said
Price said nearly half the staff was dealing methamphetamine.
“A stranger couldn’t drive up in the drive-thru and get meth and a hamburger or a frosty,” Price said, “but certainly if they were familiar with you, you could have bought your food at the same time.”
Narcotics agents observed the employees making drug deals both inside the restaurant and in the parking lot, according to authorities.
“The lead person was the manager,” Price said. “There was nobody for them to talk to and they needed a job. That is frustrating because those people were trying to make a living ... its always a good thing when we can help people who feel helpless.”
Cherokee County's Multi-Agency Narcotics Squad executed a search warrant at the restaurant on Thursday.
Price said his agency was first made aware of the drug operation over a month ago, when agents arrested a person who brought it to their attention.
Authorities interviewed the restaurant's manager, cook and two other employees and later took them into custody.
Zachary Jerome Donley, 27, Kristal Dawn Hogan, 32, Amanda Jean McCartney, 36 and Jeffery Levi Justus, 26, were arrested.
"This is a concern, since innocent customers were at the restaurant when agents were observing drug deals in the parking lot area and inside the facility," Price said in the Facebook post. "In this case, it was not the quantities of drugs, but the risk to the public, that concerned us."
The restaurant briefly closed while authorities executed the search warrant but reopened later in the afternoon.
