$400,000 Drug Bust Made By Douglas County Deputies

DOUGLASVILLE, GA — Drugs with a street value in excess of $400,000 have been taken off Douglas County streets because of a drug bust and three arrests made by the Douglas County Sheriff's Office Wednesday, according to Sgt. Jesse Hambrick, public information officer.

Deputies raided a home at 9103 Timmons Circle in Villa Rica and made three arrests. Montana Gaunt, 29, of Villa Rica, was charged with trafficking in marijuana. Zachary Buchannan, 23, and Aleah Campbell, 18, both of Villa Rica, were both charged with trafficking in marijuana, trafficking in cocaine, possession of a controlled substance, possession of a firearm during a violation of the controlled substance act, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession of schedule I controlled substances, drug related objects and a stolen handgun.

"This is not your grandfather's marijuana," said Hambrick. "This is not just your normal marijuana seizure. It is high-quality, hydroponically-grown marijuana. You don't see that very often. The mushroom and the 'wax' or 'butter' is just not something we see every day. It's something that will make a huge dent in our community, as far as those particular drugs are concerned. The sheriff is adamant about continuing the fight against drugs in our area.

"I'm very proud to say that just in a week's time, this organization has had almost a half a million dollars, street value, [worth of drugs] have been seized and taken out of our community," he said.

That figure includes a Douglas County drug bust earlier in the week.

An ongoing investigation conducted by the Douglas County Sheriff's Office Special Investigation Division involving the Villa Rica location, led investigators to believe the house was being used to distribute large amounts of illegal narcotics. It was believed a large shipment was being expected at the residence on Jan. 31.

A combined operation involving the sheriff's office, Georgia Department of Public Safety and Homeland Security resulted in a traffic stop of a U-Haul truck that was believed to be making a delivery. The driver, Montana, was found to be carrying approximately 50 pounds of hydroponic marijuana. The marijuana was packaged in 50 separate heat-sealed bags.

Based on the investigation and seizure of the marijuana from the traffic stop, deputies were able to secure a search warrant for the Villa Rica home. In the house, agents found approximately 10 additional pounds of marijuana, as well as marijuana THC "Wax" and "Butter," a trafficking amount of cocaine, psilocybin mushrooms, a stolen handgun and about $1,300 cash.

"The sheriff's priority during the first year has been to focus on the community and kids and we're going to continue that," said Hambrick. "We've started some great programs and we're about giving back to the community. We're now moving into the part where we're going be aggressively going after illegal narcotics sales."

Mug shots courtesy Douglas County Sheriff's Office

Photos by Patch Editor John Barker