Georgia mayor arrested on felony charges after allegedly storing alcohol in a ditch for inmates

The mayor of a small town in Georgia faces felony charges alleging that he illegally stashed a bottle of gin in a ditch for a state prison work crew to access.

Thomson Mayor Benjamin "Benji" Cary Cranford, 52, was indicted on Wednesday and arrested by Georgia Bureau of Investigation agents on felony charges of furnishing prohibited items to inmates and attempt to commit a felony, WRDW-TV reported.

The indictment, issued in McDuffie County Superior Court, accuses Cranford of driving to a store on June 3, purchasing a bottle of Seagram's Extra Dry Gin and leaving it in a ditch along Cobbham Road in Thomson, Georgia, in the path of a work crew of state prisoners from the Jefferson County Correctional Institution.

Thomson Police asked the GBI on June 6 to investigate allegations that Cranford provided alcohol to inmates.

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Cranford was taken into custody at Thomson City Hall by GBI agents following a city council meeting and booked into the McDuffie County Jail, according to WRDW-TV. He was released Wednesday on $5,000 bail.

"As we understand the charges in this case are not related to Mr. Cranford's duties as an elected official, we do not have a comment," city spokesperson Jason Smith said in a statement.

Cranford could be subject to suspension from office until the charges are resolved if a panel recommends to Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp that the charges could hinder Cranford's ability to serve as mayor. Some other officials had previously been suspended when they were slapped with felony charges that were not directly related to their office.

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The mayor took office earlier this year after defeating incumbent Kenneth Usry in the election last year.

Earlier this month, Cranford, a former paving contractor, settled a lawsuit filed months before he ran for office accusing him of attempting to hide assets from a bonding company that was stepping in to pay some of Cranford’s company's debts amid financial troubles to ensure large-scale projects undertaken by Cranford’s company would be completed.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.