Sheriff’s office received ‘numerous complaints’

Three people were arrested Friday afternoon when drug agents for the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office raided a house near Brooks Elementary School, police said.

Inside the home, agents from the Fayette County Drug Task Force found 52.5 grams of crystal methamphetamine in addition to plastic baggies and twist ties used to package the drugs, said sheriff’s Capt. Mike Pruitt.

Pruitt said the sheriff’s office had received “numerous complaints” about activity going on at the residence.

“It was just a matter of us getting enough evidence to get a search warrant,” Pruitt said.
The owner of the house, Lonnie Joe Nalley, 51, of Ga. Highway 85 Connector, was arrested for trafficking in methamphetamine and possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute within 1,000 feet of a school zone.

Also arrested was Tommy David Elders, 55, who lives at an apartment on Nalley’s property, police said. Elders was charged with possession of methamphetamine. The third person arrested was identified as Beth Iola Sykes, 42, of Tri County Road in Spalding County. Sykes was charged with trafficking in methamphetamine.

Georgia law requires anyone convicted of distributing, manufacturing, dispensing or possessing drugs with intent to distribute in a school zone to serve a separate sentence consecutive to any other crimes with which they are charged. That adds up to a longer sentence, as the offense can’t be rolled into the other charges by having the sentences carried out at the same time.