“Sheriff Williams said Thursday that those that bring illegal drugs into our communities that cause deaths will be held responsible …”
The Haralson County Sheriff’s Office issued the following report on Thursday:
On Thursday, September 1, 2022, Agents with the Haralson Paulding Drug Task Force and the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office arrested Jessica Marie Johnson, 44 years old out of Carrollton Georgia, on a Grand Jury warrant for Felony Murder. This case began on April 2, 2021, with a psychiatric call. Haralson County deputies, fire fighters and EMS were dispatched to a male, Dennis Raines, 33 years old of Buchanan Georgia, who was fighting air, acting out of control and unsteady on his feet. First responders were able to get him in the ambulance and went to transport him to the Emergency Room. Dennis Raines died a short time later and an investigation was opened into his death.
The autopsy revealed that Dennis Raines had died of methamphetamine toxicity. Haralson Paulding Drug Task Force worked the investigation and found evidence that Jessica Marie Johnson distributed the methamphetamine to Dennis Raines, and she was arrested and charged with Distribution of Methamphetamines VGCSA (Violation of the Georgia Controlled Substance Act). This case was presented to the August Grand Jury in Haralson County Georgia and Jessica Marie Johnson was indicted for Distribution of Methamphetamine and she was also indicted for Felony Murder, so a warrant was issued by the Grand Jury for that charge.
“Last year, I started seeing other jurisdictions in Georgia hold the drug dealers responsible for overdose deaths and I started the conversation with our District Attorneys’ Office,” states Sheriff Stacy Williams. “Those that bring illegal drugs into our communities that cause deaths will be held responsible when we can prove who has distributed those drugs. This is our first case of this nature, and it is only the beginning. Going forward, we will use every resource at our disposal to prosecute those who sell drugs in Haralson County and that transaction leads to a death of another.”
When Jessica Johnson was taken into custody today in Carroll County, a quantity of suspected methamphetamine was found in multiple clear bags. She will face additional charges in Carroll County for those drugs.
