A couple of well-known local residents had their day in court last week, making pleas to various crimes.
Alexandria store manager Stein Edward Prichard, 50, of Brush Creek Road, Brush Creek, pleaded guilty to two counts of forgery. Prichard manages Prichard’s Foods and was indicted on four counts of forgery in 2023. He received a two-year sentence in each case, all suspended to judicial diversion probation, to run concurrently. He must also pay $3,000 restitution.
If all conditions of probation are complete after the first year of the sentence, Prichard can petition the court to terminate the balance of the sentence and the state will not oppose it.
Sheriff Ray said that, “People would come into the store and buy goods, and would write a check, and Prichard would allegedly change the amount of the check and run it through the bank. He would then take the proceeds from the forged checks for his benefit.”
“We got a report at the sheriff’s department on December 5 (2023) about an altered check. It was found that the check was altered at Prichard’s Foods in Alexandria. We started an investigation with assistance of the District Attorney’s office. They assigned an investigator to assist us,” Sheriff Ray said.
Another prominent DeKalb County resident was sentenced last week for his charge of sexual battery of a child. A two-year suspended sentence was handed down to 68-year-old James Michael Carpenter, who was facing charges of aggravated sexual battery of a child just four years of age. Carpenter is a local clergyman in the community and was arraigned on August 7, 2023.
Carpenter pleaded guilty to sexual battery and received a two-year suspended sentence, except for 11 months and 29 days to serve, and supervised probation.
Gabriel James Hesson, 25, pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated assault and received four years, suspended except for one year to serve. Both counts are to run concurrently. He received 53 days of jail credit, and must make restitution of $40,000 to the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department with a co-defendant.
On October 20, 2023, Sheriff Ray said that both Hesson and 23-year-old Christopher Edward Spoon, Jr. assaulted another male inmate at the jail by hitting him in the face several times with a closed fist. Spoon was observed striking the inmate multiple times while he was on the ground.
All three men were incarcerated in the jail at the time of that assault, and the fight was observed by a camera, while officers responded to the annex cell to stop the incident. According to the video footage, Hesson was observed striking the inmate first and continued striking him multiple time, causing broken bones, abrasions, and swelling on his face. The second offense occurred on September 21, 2024.
Rachel Spurlock, 46, pleaded guilty to possession of a schedule II drug (methamphetamine) over .5 grams and received an eight-year sentence, all suspended to supervised probation. She was fined $2,000 and given jail credit of 114 days.
Eric Dwayne Judkins, 33, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to sell a schedule II drug (methamphetamine) under .5 grams and received a six-year TDOC sentence suspended to supervised probation and a $2,000 finer. He was given 16 days jail credit.
Rickey Hendrixson, 37, pleaded guilty to possession of a schedule II drug with intent to sell, and received eight years on supervised probation and a $2,000 fine. He was given 41 days jail credit.
William Andrew Cantrell, 56, pleaded guilty to possession of a schedule II drug (cocaine) over .5 grams and received an eight-year sentence, to serve at 30 percent. The case is furloughed to the 13th Judicial District Recovery Court with a $2,000 fine. He was given 269 days jail credit.
Paul G. Cantrell, 58, pleaded guilty to two counts of possession with intent to sell a schedule II drug methamphetamine over.5 grams and received an 8-year TDOC sentenced in each case, to run concurrently, suspended to supervised probation. He was fined a total of $4,000 and given 25 days jail credit.
Nathan Joe Trapp, 42, pleaded guilty to possession of methamphetamine for resale and received 10 years to serve as a range 1 offender. He received jail credit from August 12, 2022, to April 10, 2023, and from September 14, 2023, to September 24, 2024. He was fined $2,000.
Melissa Faye Murphy, 51, pleaded guilty to possession of a weapon by a convicted felon and received a four-year suspended sentence. She must forfeit any weapons seized. She was fined $10.
Ricky Ashford, II, 46, pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and received a three-year suspended sentence as a Range I offender, to run consecutive to a violation of probation in DeKalb County. He was given jail credit of 325 days and must make restitution of $40,000 to the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department jointly and severally with a co-defendant.
Brandon Edward Smith, 44, pleaded guilty to two counts of possession with intent to sell methamphetamine under.5 grams, and received a six-year TDOC suspended sentence in each case to run concurrently with supervised probation. He was fined $2,000 in each case and received 39 days jail credit.
