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The following was taken from a press release distributed by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation on August 14, 2024:
MCDUFFIE COUNTY, Ga. – On Wednesday, August 14, 2024, the GBI arrested and charged the Mayor of the City of Thomson, Benjamin Cary Cranford, age 52, of Thomson, Georgia, with Furnishing Prohibited Items to Inmates and Criminal Attempt to Commit a Felony.
On June 6, 2024, the Thomson Police Department requested that the GBI conduct an investigation into an allegation that Cranford gave contraband (alcohol) to an inmate work detail that was working within the city limits of Thomson on June 4, 2024.
On August 14, 2024, the case was presented to a McDuffie County Grand Jury and a Grand Jury arrest warrant was issued for Cranford.
Cranford was booked into the McDuffie County Jail upon his arrest.
Anyone with information is asked to call the GBI at 706-595-2575. Anonymous tips can also be submitted by calling 1-800-597-TIPS (8477), online at https://gbi.georgia.gov/submit-tips-online, or by downloading the See Something, Send Something mobile app.
Once the investigation is complete, the file will be given to the Toombs Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office for prosecution.