Whitfield County Superior Court

Published 11:27 pm Tuesday, January 9, 2007

Two people who avoided trial for 17 years pleaded guilty to selling cocaine in Whitfield County Superior Court on Tuesday and were sentenced to eight years on probation.

James Howard Carroll, 54, and Janie Lou Newberry, 59, failed to appear for trial in 1989. They were arrested on a bench warrant in November. They had been arrested in 1988 by John Gibson, then a detective with the Dalton Police Department who is now a major with the Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office.

They will spend eight years on probation; must pay a $3,000 fine plus court costs, surcharges and probation fees; must complete 300 hours of community service; must complete alcohol and drug abuse counseling at the direction of their probation officer; and must submit to random drug screens.



The following pleas were heard in Whitfield County Superior Court on Tuesday:

• Richard Charlie Roach Jr., no address listed, pleaded guilty to first degree forgery. He was sentenced to two years in prison; three years of probation; ordered to pay a $1,000 fine plus court costs, surcharges and probation fees; must complete 200 hours of community service; and must pay $1,500 in restitution to his victims.

• Jonathan Michael Roberts, no address listed, pleaded guilty to DUI. He was sentenced to 30 days in jail; 11 months of probation; ordered to pay a $1,000 fine plus court costs, surcharges and probation fees; must complete 240 hours of community service; must complete DUI school; and must complete alcohol and drug abuse counseling at the direction of his probation officer.