Three Cherokee County residents were arrested on drug charges Tuesday – with two of the arrests being made following a brief chase in the Ball Play area.  The Etowah County Sheriff’s Office initiated the pursuit which entered Cherokee County on County Road 24.  At that point Cherokee County Deputies and Investigators responded to provide assistance, and took the pair into custody.

Ryan Nicole Padgett, 31 from Leesburg was booked into jail on charges of Trafficking Illegal Drugs, Possession with Intent to Distribute, Unlawful Possession of Marijuana 2nd Degree, the Unlawful Possession of Drug Paraphernalia and Promoting Prison Contraband, while 40 year old Aaron Jabe Whorton of Centre was arrested on charges of Drug Trafficking and the Unlawful Possession of Marijuana 2nd Degree – along with the Unlawful Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.   

Also arrested in a separate case was William Marshall Maxwell, age 32 of Cedar Bluff on the charges of Unlawful Possession of a Controlled Substance and Theft of Property 4th Degree.

All three currently remain lodged in the Cherokee County Detention Center, where bond for Padgett has been set at $78,500; Wharton and Maxwell currently await bond hearings.