The Chattooga County Grand Jury has handed down several indictments against individuals, according to Superior Court records.
Sex crime charges are among the latest indictments returned by a Chattooga County grand jury, with two Summerville men named in the cases.
According to the indictment report, Ayden Matthew Ard, of 271 Scoggins Street in Summerville, was indicted on charges of statutory rape and sodomy. Court records cited in the report state the alleged victim is between 13 and 16 years old and younger than the accused. Also indicted was Michael Lamar Battles, of 702 Scoggins Street in Summerville, on charges of child molestation and grooming of a minor.
The indictments are part of the latest group of felony cases returned in Chattooga County. An indictment is a formal accusation, and all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.
An inmate at the Floyd County Jail is facing an additional charge after authorities say he tried to persuade the victim in a reported case to change her statement to police.
According to jail records, 18-year-old Keano Sanjay Nestor allegedly used the jail phone system to contact the victim and attempted to convince her to alter her account of what happened. As a result, he is now charged with influencing a witness.
Nestor has been in custody since December 1 in connection with earlier allegations. Police previously said he was maintaining a disorderly house where people under the age of 21 were reportedly consuming alcohol, using tobacco products, and engaging in fights.
Authorities also alleged that Nestor pointed a firearm at an 18-year-old female during that earlier incident. The new witness-influencing charge adds to the case as he remains jailed.
Thirteen members of a prison-based methamphetamine distribution ring have been convicted and sentenced following a multi-year federal investigation. Authorities say state inmates Edward Kelvin Pope, David Wilson, and Kevin Josue Campos Rivera coordinated drug trafficking operations from Central State Prison in Macon, working with federal inmate Jose Santos Isaola Cisneros at the Federal Correctional Institution in Atlanta to distribute methamphetamine through couriers and distributors across north Georgia. Pope, known as “Paw Paw,” was already serving a life sentence plus 70 years for armed robbery, kidnapping, and other violent crimes at the time of the offenses.
A Centre man is facing multiple felony charges following an investigation by the Centre Police Department tied to an Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) cyber tip received in late January 2026.
A Chattooga County man has been sentenced to life in prison after being convicted by a jury on multiple charges involving the physical and sexual abuse of children, according to the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office.
A Chattooga County man has been sentenced to life in prison after being convicted by a jury on multiple felony charges involving a minor family member.
A routine traffic stop in Chattooga County has resulted in multiple charges, including Fugitive From Justice, following an arrest made February 23, 2026, according to information released by the Chattooga County Sheriff’s Office.
Here is the latest arrest report from the Chattooga County Sheriff’s Office for Monday, February 28, 2026:
A Floyd County man has been sentenced to more than three years in federal prison after authorities say he threatened to kill President Donald Trump through a social media livestream.