A seventy-four-year-old Northwest Georgia man from Whitfield County was convicted of methamphetamine possession and possession with intent to distribute by a Walker County Grand Jury.  Thomas Garrison was on trial after a drug bust on Joe Robertson Road in Walker County in April of this year.  Over 4 pounds of meth and over $21,000 in cash was confiscated during the drug raid.  Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit Judge Brian House imposed a thirty-year sentence after a jury found Garrison guilty.  It was Garrison’s fifth conviction for drug possession.  District Attorney Chris Arnt said, “We take a hard line against drug dealers in the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit. We have no tolerance for those that try to profit from other’s misery.”

You can read the complete press release from the LMJC District Attorney below:

On Tuesday May 24, 2022, Thomas Garrison, a 74-year-old man from Whitfield County was

convicted by a Walker County jury of Trafficking Methamphetamine and Possession with Intent

to Distribute Methamphetamine. The evidence presented at trial showed that on April 5, 2021

Thomas Garrison was located at 327 Joe Robertson Road in Walker County by Agents with the

Lookout Mountain Drug Task Force. After K-9 Carlos, (now retired) and his handler, Sergeant

Nick Terry detected narcotics inside Thomas Garrison’s F-250 Ford truck, Agents secured the

truck to request a search warrant. Once the search warrant was in hand, Agent Allen Ellenburg

searched the truck and recovered 2 ounces of suspected methamphetamine from the driver’s door

storage area. Agent Ellenburg discovered an additional 4.4 pounds of methamphetamine in the

truck’s back seat on the driver’s side. The jury heard evidence from Agent Robert Tate that

Thomas Garrison admitted to possessing the methamphetamine at the scene and the Defendant

took law enforcement to a safe in Whitfield County where he had stored $ 21,000 in profits from

selling methamphetamine. Agents Ellenburg, Tate, and Terry all testified that this was the most

methamphetamine they have ever seized at one time.

 

After a two-day trial, presided over by Superior Court Judge Brian House, a jury returned a

guilty verdict to Trafficking Methamphetamine and Possession with Intent to Distribute

Methamphetamine. Sentencing took place immediately after the verdict was announced. At

sentencing the State introduced evidence that Garrison has been convicted 4 separate times in

Whitfield County going all the way back to 1999. His prior convictions include Possession with

the Intent to Distribute Marijuana, Possession with the Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine,

and Possession of Methamphetamine. Judge House imposed a sentence of 30 years, with the first

25 years to be served in confinement without the possibility of parole. The State of Georgia was

represented by Assistant District Attorney Winston Franklin. Agents with the Lookout Mountain

Drug Task Force, Walker County Sheriff’s Office, LaFayette Police Department, and Dalton

Police Department investigated the case. District Attorney Arnt thanked the officers and

agencies involved for their efforts in stopping this methamphetamine from getting into our

communities. Arnt stated “While some areas of the country seem to look the other way or even

encourage illegal drug use we take a hard line against drug dealers in the LMJC. We have no

tolerance for those that try to profit from other’s misery. ADA Franklin’s argument to the jury

noted that this was not just about drugs but that the methamphetamine was 4 pounds of pain, 4

pounds of heartbreak, and 4 pounds of poison. Thanks to the efforts of law enforcement and the

DA’s office these drugs never made it out to our streets.”