Angela GarmleyTwo years after the Murray County Sheriff's Office framed a woman for possessing methamphetamine, the woman is back in jail facing new charges involving the same drug.
The Dalton Police Department arrested 40-year-old Angela Garmley on Tuesday, saying she sold methamphetamine to an informant in late July. Her attorney, McCracken Poston, said he has not seen the evidence in the case but believes the arrest is tied to a 2012 police set-up.
That case started after Garmley filed a complaint with the Judicial Qualifications Commission, saying that Murray County Magistrate Bryant Cochran wanted her to be his mistress. C.J. Joyce, one of Cochran's tenants, planted a tin of methamphetamine in the wheel well of Garmley's car.
Murray County sheriff's Deputy Josh Greeson later pulled Garmley over. After searching the vehicle, Greeson called Capt. Michael Henderson, Cochran's cousin. Henderson told Greeson where to find the drugs.
Those charges were later dropped, and Greeson and Henderson pleaded guilty to federal obstruction charges. Joyce also pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiring to distribute a controlled substance.
On May 14, federal prosecutors in the U.S. District Court presented an indictment against Cochran. That case is still pending.
On Wednesday, Poston said the recent arrest is the result of revenge. Someone is targeting Garmley because she spoke out against Cochran. Poston said several people have told him in the last two years that officers wanted to frame Garmley again, though Poston did not say specifically who gave him these tips.
"It is a sad day for justice in the Conasauga Judicial Circuit," he wrote in an email today.
Bruce Frazier, spokesman for the Dalton Police Department, said Garmley's recent arrest has nothing to do with the Cochran case. He said a source told investigators a couple months ago that Garmely was selling methamphetamine.
Frazier said the department's informant bought the drug from her in late July, and the department arrested her on a warrant Tuesday.
See tomorrow's Times Free Press for more information.
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