ETON, Ga. — In a part of northern Murray County where manufactured homes dot the map and chain link and wire mesh fences have signs warning trespassers to beware of dogs, two things were out of place on the leaf-covered ground near a residence off Red Cut Road.

Just a few feet from fresh tire tracks and a small tree that appeared to have been pushed over at the end of those tracks were a small, rolled-up piece of yellow police tape and the peel-off instructions from a portable defibrillator. 

It was here where Murray County Sheriff’s Office deputies found the body of Stasha Fay Baggett shortly after 12 a.m. on Wednesday. Sheriff Gary Langford said her death was the result of a “botched drug deal.” Deputies were sent to the home around 12:10 a.m. and an initial release from the sheriff’s office said Baggett’s death occurred during a “narcotics robbery.”

By noon on Wednesday, the sheriff’s office had arrested Anthony James Clark, 27, of Dalton, and Jami Brooke Johnson, 20, of Whitfield County, who were said to be making a drug purchase from Baggett at a home at 252 Red Cut Road. They are each charged with felony murder, robbery and possession of meth.

Chief Deputy Jimmy Davenport said it appeared Baggett was trying to stop Clark and Johnson from leaving.

“I don’t know if she got run over or maybe struck a tree, but she was hanging on to the car as they were attempting to drive off,” Langford said. “From her injuries, she was deceased when we got there. Deputies arrived and then they called for the coroner.”

Langford said Clark was the driver of a passenger car and he left on foot before deputies arrived. 

“Of course, we started looking for the driver of the vehicle — he fled on foot from the scene,” Langford said. “We started searching and it went about eight hours. We actually located him this morning right after daybreak. We had a phone call that a gentleman was walking down a roadway. Two of my deputies came up on the scene and placed him under arrest and brought him to the sheriff’s office.”

Langford said Clark was arrested without incident. It was unclear if Johnson left with him, but they were arrested separately Wednesday morning. Jail personnel said Johnson was brought to Murray County by the Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office, and Davenport said she is a resident of Whitfield County.

“It is an ongoing investigation today, and it will be for several days,” Langford said. “We will, hopefully, have more information to release Thursday.”

At the home off of Red Cut Road, three dogs were left in the yard when deputies and Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) officers left the residence in the early afternoon on Wednesday, and little looked out of the ordinary once the officers left. On the other side of the dirt road coming out of the driveway, fresh tire tracks went between a pair of trees with little clearance between the tracks and the trees. A third tree — older and more decayed — was knocked over with a fresh gouge in its bark, but the leaves covering the ground were barely disturbed.

Both Clark and Baggett had had run-ins with authorities before. Both were arrested — in separate cases — by Murray County Sheriff’s Office deputies on Oct. 2, 2018. Baggett was charged with possession of meth with the intent to distribute, trafficking in illegal drugs and other drug-related charges. That same day Clark was charged with possession of meth, possession of marijuana and other charges. 

Clark has pleaded guilty and been sentenced nine times in Whitfield County Superior Court dating back to when he pleaded guilty to four felony counts as a 17-year-old in 2009, according to court records. His charges have ranged from drug charges to fighting, battery and theft by taking. He has been sentenced to at least 10 years and has served a little over two years total on those nine pleas.

In addition to the sheriff’s office and the GBI, the Eton Police Department, Georgia State Patrol, Murray County Fire Department and the Chatsworth Police Department aided or are aiding in the investigation.

UPDATE (2:15 p.m.)

CHATSWORTH — Two people have each been charged with felony murder after a “botched drug deal” in north Murray County overnight, Sheriff Gary Langford said.

Anthony James Clark and Jami Brooke Johnson are both charged with felony murder, robbery and possession of meth in the death of Stasha Baggett. Baggett had attempted to sell drugs to Clark and Johnson, Chief Deputy Jimmy Davenport said. Baggett grabbed onto the car and Clark and Johnson drove off. Langford did not know how Baggett died. She was either run over or hit a tree, Langford said.

A press release from Langford stated deputies responded at 12:10 a.m. on Wednesday to 252 Red Cut Road “in reference to a death involving a vehicle and a white female.”

“Through the cooperation and assistance of the Region 1 GBI (Georgia Bureau of Investigation), the Georgia State Patrol, Eton Police Department and the Chatsworth Police Department, it was quickly determined that Anthony James Clark and Jami Brooke Johnson did cause the death of Stasha Baggett during the course of a narcotics robbery,” according to the release.

Original story

CHATSWORTH — The Murray County Sheriff’s Office has taken two people into custody after it says a woman died overnight in a “narcotics robbery.”

According to a press release from Sheriff Gary Langford, Stasha Baggett died during a robbery. The press release stated deputies responded at 12:10 a.m. on Wednesday to 252 Red Cut Road “in reference to a death involving a vehicle and a white female.”

“Through the cooperation and assistance of the Region 1 GBI (Georgia Bureau of Investigation), the Georgia State Patrol, Eton Police Department and the Chatsworth Police Department, it was quickly determined that Anthony James Clark and Jami Brooke Johnson did cause the death of Stasha Baggett during the course of a narcotics robbery.”

The sheriff’s office confirmed Clark was arrested Wednesday morning and was at the Murray County jail and said Johnson had been arrested but had not been booked into the jail. Charges have not been filed against Clark or Johnson.