UPDATE: Arrest of Flowery Branch man grew out of state, federal investigation

(EDITOR’S NOTE: On Friday, 97.5 Glory FM reported on the arrest of a Flowery Branch man on numerous drug and traffic charges, growing out of an incident earlier in the week which involved the Hall County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO). Later Friday, the state patrol issued a report saying federal authorities were also involved, trying to catch the subject, calling him a “known narcotics dealer.”)

STATE PATROL NARRATIVE:

“On February 10, 2025, Troopers were requested to assist Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) agents with the apprehension of a known narcotics dealer by conducting a traffic stop.

The suspect vehicle was located on SR 347 near Bristol Industrial Pkwy and a traffic stop was attempted but the driver failed to yield and initiated a pursuit. After numerous U-Turns by the suspect, traveling both east and west on SR 347, troopers lost visual of the suspect in heavy traffic.

HSI Agents were able to maintain visual contact as the vehicle turned north on SR 13 and began passing vehicles on a double yellow line. Agents lost contact with the vehicle when it topped a hillcrest, and all law enforcement personnel discontinued the pursuit.

At 5:55pm, Troopers located the vehicle abandoned in a nearby neighborhood and the driver had fled on foot. A canine was deployed by Hall County Sheriff’s Office, but the track was unsuccessful. Multiple types of narcotics as well as firearms were located within the vehicle. All drug and firearm related charges were taken by HSI Agents, and traffic related charges are being taken by GSP.”

EARLIER STORY. POSTED AT 7:15 P.M. FRIDAY: Freedom short-lived for S. Hall man who fled a GSP traffic stop

About the Author

Ken Stanford is Online News Editor for GLORY 97.5, a position he has held since August 2022.

Ken was born in Moultrie, Georgia, and says he knew from the time he was 5 or 6 he wanted to be a “radio announcer.” That dream was realized when he was hired by Moultrie radio station WMTM in 1960 at the age of 15 as a weekend disc jockey. A 1963 graduate of Moultrie (now Colquitt County) High School, he has spent his whole career in Georgia working for stations in Atlanta, Marietta, and Gainesville – most recently as News Director for 40 years at WDUN in Gainesville. He is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force Reserves.

Ken retired in 2011 but came out of retirement last year to help GLORY, on a part-time basis, beef-up its online news presence.

He is the recipient of many Associated Press awards and is a former judge of state and national Associated Press broadcast news contests. In 2005, he was presented with the Georgia Associated Press Broadcasters Association’s President’s Award for Excellence in Journalism and in 2019 was inducted into the Georgia Radio Hall of Fame.

He lives in Gainesville with his wife of 52 years, the former Sandra McKnight of Clio, Alabama, and they have one child, a daughter, Lisa, who lives in Cumming with her family.