Gainesville, Flowery Branch residents jailed in Lumpkin Co. drug arrests

A traffic stop in Lumpkin County ended with two arrests and the seizure of roughly $8,000 worth of methamphetamine on Friday.
 
The Georgia State Patrol, along with the Lumpkin County Sheriff's Office, were conducting a "license/sobriety check-point" on Burnt Stand Road when a vehicle of unknown description refused to stop and fled from authorities.
 
Mitchel Posey with the Appalachian Regional Drug Enforcement Office, a multi-agency unit that was called in to assist with the eventual arrests, says authorities began to pursue the fleeing vehicle, eventually forcing it to stop.
 
"Inside the vehicle were a loaded firearm, approximately 81 grams of suspected methamphetamine, scales and two syringes," Posey continued. "The estimated street value of the seized contraband is $8,000.00."
 
Authorities on scene arrested the driver, Gainesville resident Anthony Dwayne Ferguson, 49, as well as his passenger, Flowery Branch resident Patrice Michelle Turbeville, 31.
 
Posey said the pair were charged with methamphetamine trafficking, noting that "additional charges are pending."
 
The Appalachian Regional Drug Enforcement Office is a multi-agency unit that consists of the following Sheriff's Offices: White County, Lumpkin County, Towns County, Banks County, Habersham County, Stephens County, and Rabun County, along with the Georgia National Guard Counter Drug Task Force, the Department of Public Safety, the Cleveland Police Department, and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.