Former Officer Craig Garner Charged with Selling Firearms to Convicted Felon

A 23-year veteran of the Alpharetta Police Department turned himself in Friday to Forsyth County authorities after he reportedly sold guns to a convicted felon.

Craig Allen Garner, 54, has been charged with two counts of party to a crime for selling guns, according to the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office.

“He acquired the firearms for the convicted felon with knowledge he was a convicted felon and he knew he shouldn’t have guns,” said Sheriff’s Maj. Rick Doyle. “They are friends.”

According to Doyle, Garner met Michael Cummings, a 44-year-old convicted felon, on two different days for the gun deal, which involved an assault rifle and 12-gauge shotgun. Both men are Forsyth County residents.

Cummings has been charged with one count of criminal solicitation and two counts of possession of a firearm, according to the sheriff’s office. His previous conviction — on charges of burglary, false imprisonment, aggravated assault and theft by taking — was from 1996 in Union County.

Cummings and Garner were booked at the Forsyth County Detention Center, from where Garner was later released after posting a bond of $22,220.

Cummings is being held without bond because he’s on active probation in Gwinnett and Union counties, Doyle said.

Garner was hired by the Alpharetta department in 1990 after working for the Kennesaw Police Department. Though he once served as a lieutenant in Alpharetta, he was an officer at the time of his arrest for unrelated reasons, said Assistant City Administrator James Drinkard.

Drinkard said Friday that Garner is “no longer an employee of the city as of [Thursday] afternoon.”

“At this time, there is no indication that any of the behaviors that led to the arrest occurred while he was on duty,” Drinkard said. “So at this point, there will not be further action from the city of Alpharetta, unless the investigation turns something up.

“His behaviors are certainly not indicative of the professionals that we have in our law enforcement agency.”

Garner is the founder of the Blue Bloods Motorcycle Club, a law enforcement group that raises funds for charities and awareness and supports the Second Amendment and U.S. Constitution, according to its website.

Reports that Cummings is also a club member could not be immediately confirmed.

Officer Scottie Brothers Arrested for Possession of Stolen Property

A Union City police officer has been arrested after a lengthy investigation by the Canadian County Sheriff's Department.

According to Canadian County Sheriff's Department, Scottie D. Brothers was arrested Tuesday at his Union City home.

Brothers was arrested on charges of possession of stolen property and providing firearms to a convicted felon.

The Canadian County Sheriff's Office has planned a news conference at 10 a.m. Wednesday to discuss the arrest.

Officer Edwing Morales Charged with Firearms Trafficking

A Metro police officer and four others have been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of international firearms trafficking.

Federal investigators said Metro Officer Edwing Ronal Morales and the others were charged in a conspiracy to purchase guns to send to two separate drug cartels in Guatemala.

The indictment charges that Julio Cesar Rojas-Lopez recruited Donald Efren Franco, Denis Franco, Luis Armando Monterroso Pineda and Morales to purchase guns from gun dealers in Davidson County.

The men allegedly falsified documents claiming they were purchasing the guns for themselves when the guns were in fact being delivered to the cartels in Guatemala.

Investigators said the defendants purchased 23 firearms and attempted to purchase five more guns, ammunition and falsely stated who the purchasers and recipients would be.

Some of the weapons purchased did end up in Guatemala, said investigators.

"They put them in towed cars, secreted them inside towed vehicles and towed the vehicles across the border. They also put them in secret compartments in the cars," said agent James Cavanaugh of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Authorities said all five men indicted have citizenship in another country but are in the United States legally.

Morales had been assigned to routine patrol in the North precinct. While Morales was an officer, according to Serpas it doesn't appear he used his position in any way to purchase the guns.

"I think (Morales) was stupid to be involved in this criminal enterprise and think he could get away with it," Serpas said.

Morales was fired Sept. 15 from the Metro Nashville Police Department. He had been a police officer trainee since April 1, 2007.

"This community and this police department has no tolerance for anyone involved in this type of behavior," said Serpas.

Authorities would not say how they were tipped off but said they started piecing things together after two of the men were pulled over after leaving a gun shop in Franklin.

As for the former police officer involved, Serpas said sometimes you cannot keep those who uphold the law from breaking it.

"I think in every walk of life, people get through the cracks, people slip through, and somehow secret what their true motivations and true behavior is," said Serpas.

All five of the people involved have turned themselves in to authorities. The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. district attorney.

Morales passed a background check and had a clean record before becoming a Metro officer.