Sheriff cracks down on dope
Tip leads to search warrant, drug arrests at Piney Road residence.
By Frank Bradley

Above, the residence on Piney Road where arrests were made for illegal drug activity. At left, Sheriff Joe Shook takes a tip from an anonymous caller.

Acting on tips from Clay County residents who are fed up with illegal drug activity and want to see the law come down hard on drug dealers and users, the sheriff's deputies and officers from the multi-county drug task force made five arrests last week.

On Friday, acting on a neighborhood tip, they conducted a search of a residence on Piney Road, where they found 7 grams of Methamphetamine, 3 1/2 pounds of Marijuana, an indoor grow room containing approximately ten growing Marijuana plants, and a quantity of unknown pills believed to be Ecstasy.

The indoor grow room was in the basement of the residence. The room was a very well concealed room with a hidden door, according to the Sheriff's report. Deputies for the Clay County Sheriff's Department noticed a window from the outside of the residence. When the officers entered the room, there was no window visible from the inside.

Officers began a search of the wall to find a table that appeared to be fixed to the wall that was actually on a rail. When the officers moved the table, it pulled open a small door to enter the hidden room. The discovery revealed grow lights on timers and a small "starter room" for growing the Marijuana plants.

The search resulted in the arrest of John P. Stair, 38, and Lisa R. Bryan, 41, who were taken to the Clay county Jail, where they were booked and processed. Other charges are pending as a result of items of evidence taken to the State Bureau of Investigation laboratory for analysis.

Earlier in the week, law-enforcement officers arrested three persons on Pounding Mill Road in the Shooting Creek area: Andrew Cloe Smith, 36, Ricky Terrance Stroud, 36, and Joshua Garald Burrell, 21, all of Hayesville. They were charged with Possession of Marijuana and Drug Paraphenalia.

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