FANNIN COUNTY, Ga. — A Fannin County man was sentenced Wednesday to 30 years in prison for trafficking more than one kilogram of methamphetamine. Cherokee County Superior Court Judge Shannon Wallace ordered 39-year-old Ricky Dwight Wright to pay a mandatory $1 million fine following a jury conviction earlier this week.
The sentence followed a verdict on Feb. 24 where a jury found Wright guilty of trafficking more than 400 grams of the drug. Wright was sentenced as a recidivist offender based on a March 2025 traffic stop in Woodstock where law enforcement recovered narcotics hidden inside a vehicle.
The investigation began on March 4, 2025, when a Woodstock police officer stopped an Acura sedan on I-575 at approximately 1:15 a.m. The officer initiated the traffic stop after learning that a person associated with the vehicle had an active warrant. During the encounter, one passenger attempted to hide and discard a drawstring bag that was later found to contain more than 175 grams of methamphetamine packaged in plastic bags.
Officers conducted a search of the vehicle after an alert from K-nine Tesa during an open-air sniff of the car. During the search, law enforcement discovered another grocery bag containing approximately 993 grams of methamphetamine hidden beneath towels on the rear passenger floorboard. In total, the Woodstock Police Department and the Cherokee Multi-Agency Narcotics Squad seized more than one kilogram of the drug.
Assistant District Attorney Leland J. McElveen Jr., who prosecuted the case for the office of the District Attorney, Blue Ridge Judicial Circuit, presented evidence during the trial including dash camera footage and photographs of the narcotics. A forensic review of the defendant’s phone also revealed text messages discussing a trip from North Georgia to Atlanta to obtain methamphetamine.
“This case began with a Woodstock Police officer whose proactive policing led to the seizure of more than a kilogram of methamphetamine and to three offenders ultimately being held accountable,” McElveen said. “As a result, our community is now safer.”
The jury deliberated for approximately 15 minutes following less than two days of testimony from six law enforcement witnesses. District Attorney Susan K. Treadaway said the sentence reflects the nature of the crime and the defendant’s history.
“Thanks to the vigilance of law enforcement and the jury’s verdict, a repeat offender who was trafficking a significant amount of methamphetamine will no longer be able to poison our community,” Treadaway said. “This sentence reflects both the seriousness of his crime and his continued pattern of criminal behavior.”
Two co-defendants in the case were previously sentenced after entering guilty pleas. Ashley Nicole Hughes, 36, was sentenced on Nov. 13, 2025, to 15 years in confinement and a $200,000 fine for trafficking methamphetamine, possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and tampering with evidence. Hughes admitted to discarding the drawstring bag during the initial traffic stop.
James Lovejoy, 37, pled guilty to trafficking methamphetamine and was sentenced on Jan. 7 as a recidivist offender. He received a 30-year sentence with the first 25 years to be served in confinement and was ordered to pay a $1 million fine.
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