A Cave Spring police officer was arrested alongside three others this week on drug distribution conspiracy charges.
Marvin James Armstrong, 35, of Summerville, was arrested Monday and charged with felony conspiracy to possess a Schedule II controlled substance as well as use of a communication device to commit a felony. John Hawkins, an attorney representing the city of Cave Spring, confirmed that Armstrong was employed with the police department as of Tuesday.
“The city recently became aware of the situation with Mr. Armstrong, and it is working to address this situation in accordance with its policies and procedures,” Hawkins said.
Prior to coming to the CSPD recently, Armstrong was a deputy in the Chattooga County Sheriff’s Office in August when his patrol car was struck by another vehicle on U.S. 27.
Three other arrests on methamphetamine distribution conspiracy charges were made in the same timeframe but a Georgia Bureau of Investigation release confirms only Armstrong’s connection with Terry Lee Wheeler, 52, of Floyd County.
An arrest warrant states that Armstrong contacted Wheeler on Nov. 17 to procure Percocet tablets and the two “were participating in multiple drug transactions in Rome, GA, and surrounding areas,” according to the GBI.
Wheeler, 52; Miranda Elane Dial, 36; and Claude Clifford Terhune IV, 27, are all charged with felony conspiracy to traffic meth and use of a communication device in facilitating the commission of a felony. Warrants state that Wheeler, Dial and Terhune conspired to sell just under 50 grams of methamphetamine on Aug. 6.
“Later communications indicated that the (Aug. 6) transaction was completed,” an affidavit filed at the Floyd County Jail stated.
Wheeler was arrested on the 1500 block of Bells Ferry Road, Dial was arrested at her home on Wayside Road. Terhune was already in jail on an aggravated assault charge stemming from an accusation that he struck a person with a truck at the West Rome Walmart in September.
The Rome News-Tribune has filed a request under the Open Records Act for Armstrong’s personnel file and is seeking additional information with the arresting agency, the GBI’s West Metro Regional Drug Enforcement Office.
The joint investigation also included the Rome Floyd Metro Task Force, Atlanta-Carolinas High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Initiative, Rome Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office, and the Georgia State Patrol Criminal Interdiction Unit.
Credit: Rome News-Tribune
Credit: Rome News-Tribune
MEET OUR PARTNER
This story is published via a content-sharing agreement between the AJC and the Rome News-Tribune. Visit them online at northwestgeorgianews.com.
If you have any feedback or questions about our partnerships, you can contact Senior Manager of Partnerships Nicole Williams via email at nicole.williams@ajc.com.
About the Author