Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
ATLANTA – Michael Ferrell Price, a/k/a “Cheese,” a Cherokee County drug user, has been sentenced to more than seven years in federal prison for trafficking methamphetamine from a backwoods shed in which he stored explosive devices, unregistered silencers, machineguns, and other firearms. In an adjacent structure, Price operated an illegal moonshine still.
“Price posed a clear danger to the community by selling methamphetamine and distilling moonshine while maintaining an illegal stash of explosive devices and more than 150 firearms,” said U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg. “Thanks to the collaboration of federal agents and local law enforcement, Price has been brought to justice for his crimes.”
“This case demonstrates the results we achieve when federal, state, and local law enforcement work hand-in-hand,” said ATF Assistant Special Agent in Charge Beau Kolodka. “By combining resources and expertise, we were able to dismantle a criminal operation that threatened both public safety and the rule of law.”
“Stockpiling weapons while trafficking drugs is a recipe for tragedy,” said Major Walter Jones, Director of Drug Enforcement-Cherokee Multi-Agency Narcotics Squad. “Price’s sentencing should make clear that those who choose that path will face serious consequences.”
According to U.S. Attorney Hertzberg, the charges, and other information presented in court: In September 2024, agents of the Cherokee Multi-Agency Narcotics Squad began investigating Price for trafficking methamphetamine from his 90-year-old mother’s home in eastern Cherokee County. On October 22, 2024, agents executed a search warrant at the property and recovered more than three ounces of highly pure crystal methamphetamine, several gallons of homemade moonshine, dozens of illegal explosive devices, and more than 150 firearms.
Among Price’s 150 firearms were two machineguns, a short-barreled rifle, a privately manufactured firearm without a serial number, five firearm silencers, and a stolen revolver. Because Price was a years-long abuser of methamphetamine, federal law prohibited him from possessing firearms or explosives.
On August 21, 2025, United States District Judge Eleanor L. Ross sentenced Michael Ferrell Price, 68, of Ball Ground, Ga., to 87 months in prison to be followed by four years of supervised release. Price was convicted of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and possession of a firearm by an unlawful drug user, after he pleaded guilty on May 7, 2025.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Cherokee Multi-Agency Narcotics Squad. The Blue Ridge Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office provided valuable assistance.
U.S. Attorney Hertzberg prosecuted the case.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office recommends parents and children learn about the dangers of drugs at www.justthinktwice.gov and www.getsmartaboutdrugs.gov.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6185. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.