Deputies say suspect taken
to hospital after eating heroin
Murphy – An eight-month drug investigation culminated last week with the arrest of four local residents after Cherokee County sheriff’s deputies raided a home on Randy Lane.
“It’s no secret that heroin is killing people, so we’re going to continue to knock down doors of drug dealers at 5 o’clock in the morning, or even all day long,” Chief Deputy Joe Wood said.
As deputies swarmed the property around 5:30 a.m. Thursday, people scattered throughout the house.
“When we pulled up, the occupants of the home pulled back the curtains and saw us right off the bat,” Wood said. “Then there was a little stampede inside.
“Through our investigation, we believe they may have just returned from purchasing the drugs. They were wide awake when we got there.”
The target of the investigation, identified as 38-year-old Jeremiah Lease Graves, allegedly tried to dispose of incriminating evidence, according to deputies who say he also resisted arrest.
“There was a powdery substance at his feet and on his mouth, and he was clinching his hands with a knife on his belt,” Wood said. “It took four of us to open his hands.”
Officials rushed Graves to the hospital for his own safety.
“We had to decontaminate him and call an ambulance because we had no idea how much heroin he ingested,” Sheriff Derrick Palmer said. “But there was still a trafficking amount of heroin leftover that he didn’t eat.”
Sheriff’s personnel say 42-year-old Ryan Lee Mashburn occupied the same room as Graves. Officials believe he was involved.
“We had information that he was helping transport the drugs,” Wood said.
Meanwhile, Amber Nicole Johnson, 30, and Andrew David Bennett, 18, were also charged with allegedly trafficking heroin.
“Good work by the investigators, deputies and the community, who worked together to make these arrests happen,” Palmer said.
Deputies seized a total of 10 grams of heroin, 17 prescription pills and drug paraphernalia. Each of the four suspects were charged with drug possession and trafficking offenses.
Graves and Johnson were also charged with possession of a firearm by a felon after deputies allegedly found a double-barrel pistol in the house. Graves was previously convicted of felony meth possession, while Johnson was previously convicted of felony shoplifting.