Canton Man Charged With Violating Sex Offender Registry

CANTON, GA -- A routine check on a registered sex offender who allegedly did not provide authorities with his new address resulted in the arrest of four additional people on various drugs and probation violation charges.

The Cherokee Sheriff's Office was dispatched to a home on Daisy Circle in Canton after receiving an anonymous tip that Edward Charles Gossett, 28, of Canton allegedly moved from his registered home address to another residence in the county without registering his new address. Failing to register one's address is a violation of the states's Sex Offender Registry law.

When deputies served Gossett with an arrest warrant Friday morning at the home, there were four additional people who were located inside the residence. While conducting the investigation, narcotics were found and agents with the Cherokee Multi-Agency Narcotics Squad was dispatched to assist with the case, the sheriff's office told Patch.

Photo: from left, Tisha Matthews, Paul Ryan Dodd and Melissa Garland. Credit: Cherokee Sheriff's Office

Those arrested and charged are:

• Edward Charles Gossett, 28, of Canton: failure to register (change of address) as a sex offender (no bond); possession of methamphetamine ($11,200 bond).
• Paul Ryan Dodd, 33, of Canton: possession of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute ($11,200 bond); hindering the apprehension of a criminal ($11,200 bond); and violation of parole (no bond).
• Johnny Johnson, 32, of Woodstock: probation violation (transported to Pickens County).
• Melissa Garland, 27, of Mineral Bluff: possession of marijuana ($1,000 bond); obstruction of an officer ($1,000 bond).
• Tisha Matthews, 30, of Canton: possession of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute ($11,200 bond); giving false name/date of birth ($1,000 bond); and possession of a Schedule II drug with the intent to distribute ($11,200).

Photo: Edward Charles Gossett. Credit: Cherokee Sheriff's Office