Thomson Mayor Benjamin Cary Cranford was arrested on Wednesday, Aug. 14 on charges of furnishing prohibited items to inmates and criminal attempt to commit a felony.
According to a press release from the Georgia Bureau of Investigations, on June 6, the Thomson Police Department requested the GBI investigate an allegation that Cranford, 52, gave alcohol to an inmate on a work detail in the Thomas city limits on June 4.
The case was presented to a grand jury on Aug. 14, and a grand jury arrest warrant was issued for Cranford, according to the GBI.
The mayor was in the middle of a Thomson City Council meeting on Wednesday afternoon when a GBI agent came in and took him into custody. Following his arrest, Cranford was booked into the McDuffie County Jail.
Cranford was elected to the mayor position in November 2023 and took office this year.
The file will be given to the Toombs Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office for prosecution once the investigation is complete.
This story will be updated with more information as it becomes available.
