A 68-year-old Ball Ground man known as “Cheese” is headed to federal prison after agents found meth, illegal weapons, explosives, and a moonshine still on his property.
Why It Matters: Federal prosecutors said Michael Ferrell Price posed a danger to the community, combining meth trafficking with a large weapons cache and homemade explosives.
What Happened: Agents raided Price’s mother’s property in eastern Cherokee County last October. Inside a shed, they found more than three ounces of crystal meth, gallons of moonshine, dozens of illegal explosive devices, and more than 150 firearms.
- The weapons included two machineguns, silencers, a stolen revolver, and a short-barreled rifle.
- Price was barred from having firearms due to his history of meth use.
The Sentence: On August 21, a federal judge sentenced Price to 87 months in prison, followed by four years of supervised release. He had pleaded guilty in May to drug trafficking and firearm possession.
