Local narcotics investigators have upended a major prison drug trafficking operation, resulting in more than 2 pounds of meth, 4.5 pounds of marijuana, 7 pounds of tobacco and other contraband being confiscated from a single inmate housed over 100 miles away at Hays State Prison.
The ongoing investigation that culminated in the prison drug bust actually started a couple months ago – and much closer to home, at the Georgia/North Carolina line. The initial part of the investigation came to a head early last week, when deputies made three local drug arrests.
Continue reading with a subscription.
North Georgia News — serving Union County since 1909.
$10 a month. Cancel anytime.
On Monday, June 1, the Union County Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Division joined deputies with the Cherokee County, North Carolina, Sheriff’s Office in surveilling a home suspected of harboring illegal drug activity on Page Little Road, which runs across the state line.
The home is in an area that used to be part of Union County’s territory but now belongs to Cherokee County, and the neighboring agencies were happy to team up on the joint investigation.
After staking out the home, deputies witnessed a woman arriving in a vehicle, entering the house, then leaving a short time later, after which deputies made a traffic stop on her vehicle.
“Amanda Lee Edmondson, 44, of Murphy, was arrested on that traffic stop after deputies seized approximately 20 grams of methamphetamine,” the Union County Sheriff’s Office said.
Edmondson was charged with felony possession of methamphetamine, and her traffic stop led to a search warrant being obtained for the home she had just visited on Page Little Road.
“Union County deputies further assisted with the search warrant conducted at the residence,” UCSO said. “The search of the residence led to the seizure of trafficking quantities of methamphetamine and $1,528 in cash that is believed to be connected to the illegal drug activity.
“They also discovered that a juvenile was living at this residence where the illegal drug activity was taking place. Two additional arrests were made at the residence.”
The resident of the home, Amanda Mary King, 38, of Murphy, was arrested and charged with felony exposing a child to a controlled substance; felony trafficking in methamphetamine; felony maintaining a dwelling for the sale of controlled substances; and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia.
Another woman, Heather Leigh Hamby, 45, also of Murphy, was visiting the home when law enforcement moved in to execute the search warrant. Hamby was arrested and charged with possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia.
The investigation took a turn following these arrests.
While in custody, Amanda King called a man named Rudy Cameron Lee, with whom she is in a relationship, according to UCSO. Lee is currently serving 20 years in Hays State Prison for a voluntary manslaughter charge from 2012. The prison is west of here, in Chattooga County.
“Narcotics Officers learned that Amanda was talking directly to Lee while he was in prison,” UCSO said.
Prisoners are prohibited from having cellphones, so the Union County Sheriff’s Office reached out to the Georgia Department of Corrections, which made a surprise search of Lee’s cell to secure the device on Wednesday, June 3.
During the search, prison officials discovered multiple contraband items, including seven cellphones; a mobile hotspot that was being used to get around cellphone jammers deployed by the prison; 948 grams of methamphetamine, or over 2 pounds; 2,210 grams of marijuana, or over 4.5 pounds; 3,245 grams of tobacco, or over 7 pounds; a set of scales; five Allen keys, which were used to hide the contraband; a set of earbuds; and one charging cable.
It was a stunning find, especially considering that Hays State Prison is classified as “Close Security,” which means offenders “never leave the prison and require supervision at all times by a correctional officer,” according to the Georgia Department of Corrections website.
“All the items located in Lee’s cell are illegal to have while in prison,” UCSO said. “Rudy Cameron Lee will be charged for each of the offenses.”
And while the confiscated narcotics were most likely being used inside the prison, UCSO believes Lee was acting as a “prison broker” to move narcotics on the outside – including in Union County and surrounding areas of Northeast Georgia and Western North Carolina.
“A prison broker is an incarcerated individual operating from inside a correctional facility who coordinates illegal activities, most commonly drug trafficking and money laundering, between street-level gangs and outside criminal organizations,” UCSO said.
Continuing, “Unfortunately, this is a growing problem inside the prison system that Georgia Department of Corrections is aware of and attempting to combat with specialized units and resources.”
Union County Sheriff Shawn Dyer said he is proud of his Narcotics Division, which includes Capt. Tyler Miller, Staff Sgt. Jay McCarter and Staff Sgt. Josh Bergen. McCarter is also an agent on the FBI Safe Streets Task Force, which has brought additional resources to this investigation.
“When they take a case, they work it from the beginning all the way to the end,” Sheriff Dyer said.
The sheriff understands that some people don’t believe local investigators should be spending time looking into matters outside the county, such as the case involving trafficking inside Hays State Prison.
“But by them working the whole case and finding out how and why all this stuff was going on, that may help somebody else,” Sheriff Dyer said. “There’s one common goal – to get these drugs out of society.
“And they didn’t have to spend a whole lot of time working this case to seize those drugs out of that prison. I just want to commend my guys for going the extra mile, because it does help.”
All individuals are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law.
