Cherokee High Athletes Arrested

Just six days after , a Department spokeswoman today announced the arrests of four current and former students.

Varsity basketball players Daniel Gilbreath and Dionte Jenkins and 2011 graduate Thomas Gilbreath were booked into the Cherokee County Adult Detention Center after a Friday evening traffic stop yielded two cans of black spray paint, several markers, marijuana, a glass smoking pipe and confessions.

The investigation, Det. Candy Worthy said, led officers to teammate Blake Jones, the fourth suspect. Jones, who also runs track and plays defensive back for the varsity football team, was taken into custody later that night.

According to an incident report, Jones and brothers Daniel and Thomas Gilbreath admitted to spray painting various buildings, a bridge in Canton's River Green subdivision and their own school.

Thomas Gilbreath, 18, told police that he tagged local places with "Lucy is Dead." Jones, 17, said he used "Straw Hat Bandet" or "Straw Hat Avenger" as his signature on a bridge on Riverbend Way and the "red lot" wall at Cherokee High. Daniel Gilbreath, 17, told authorities that he painted a rocket ship on the wall of the Riverbend Way bridge. Jenkins, 17, said he didn't spray paint anything—a statement everyone except Jones corroborated.

The police department's latest count indicates there are 10 victims and approximately $1,500 worth of damages. Those numbers could grow and more arrests could be on the horizon, Worthy said.

"The numbers are still being added up and our officers are still trying to reach all of our victims to get an accurate dollar amount," she said.

Worthy offered no motive for the rash of incidents, but said they were "not gang related." According to one incident report, Thomas Gilbreath told an officer that he'd been in trouble in the "recent past" for graffiti.

Mayor Gene Hobgood called it "pure vandalism" at the Sept. 1 council work session.

"When you do that to someone else's property or city property, it's vandalism and we need to push that as hard as we can to put an end to that," he said. "This is Canton, Georgia. This is not New York or Long Island. This is not, you know, the Bronx, where you expect to see that when you visit. We don't want to see it on our buildings at all—ever."

The Gilbreath brothers face charges of criminal trespass and second degree criminal damage to property. Jenkins was arrested on a charge of possession of marijuana less than an ounce. The marijuana and glass pipe were found in his backpack. And Jones was charged with three counts of criminal trespass and one count of second degree criminal damage.

An attempt to reach  spokeswoman Barbara Jacoby for comment was not successful.

Hobgood said last week that the perpetrators should clean up their mess.

"If they put a little work into it," he said, "they might not do it anymore."