A small-town Georgia mayor was arrested after allegedly hiding a bottle of gin for a state prison crew.
Thomson Mayor Benjamin “Benji” Cary Cranford, 52, was indicted last week and arrested by Georgia Bureau of Investigation agents on felony charges of furnishing prohibited items to inmates and attempt to commit a felony, WRDW-TV reported.
The indictment, issued in McDuffie County Superior Court, accuses Cranford of driving to a store on June 3, purchasing a bottle of Seagram's Extra Dry Gin and leaving it in a ditch along Cobbham Road in Thomson, Georgia, in the path of a work crew of state prisoners from the Jefferson County Correctional Institution.
Cranford was taken into custody at Thomson City Hall by GBI agents following a city council meeting and booked into the McDuffie County Jail, according to WRDW-TV. He was released later on $5,000 bail.
“As we understand the charges in this case are not related to Mr. Cranford's duties as an elected official, we do not have a comment,” city spokesperson Jason Smith said in a statement.
Cranford could be subject to suspension from office until the charges are resolved if a panel recommends to Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp that the charges could hinder Cranford's ability to serve as mayor.
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