Local & State Headlines

Adams' worker arrested

• A drug charge is filed against a woman who was driving a pickup owned by the mayor of Albany.

J.D. Sumner

ALBANY — A woman employed by Albany Mayor Dr. Willie Adams was arrested Nov. 28 after drug agents say she was seen with a possible drug dealer.

Sonya Holmes, 37, was arrested and charged with possession of cocaine after agents with the Albany-Dougherty Drug Unit saw her speaking with Craig Phillips, who they believed was selling marijuana at the Kings Mart on the 500 block of North Madison Street.

Phillips was charged with possession of marijuana, according to police records.

Holmes was employed by Adams to help harvest pecans on his property, according to 911 tapes obtained Thursday by The Albany Herald through a Georgia’s Open Records Act request.

The 911 tapes show that Adams was called by dispatchers the night of the incident, but was never told what happened, just that Holmes had been involved in an incident with his truck.

Dispatchers later called Adams back to tell him that the situation had been resolved.

Several attempts to contact Adams for comment Thursday evening were unsuccessful.

According to the report from the ADDU, Holmes was driving a 2003 Gray Dodge Ram pickup truck registered to Adams when the arrest occurred. Two others in the vehicle were allowed to leave after the truck was searched and turned over to Albany police Capt. Earnest Williams, the heavily redacted report says.

Holmes was being housed Thursday in the Dougherty County Jail. In addition to the drug charges, Holmes was charged with a probation violation and has been denied bond.

According to the report, the drug unit was surveilling the area when they noticed a blue Chevy Suburban pull into the parking lot of the Kings Mart. Phillips went into the store, came out and began talking to Holmes, the report said.

Through the use of a confidential informant, agents arrested Holmes and discovered a plastic bag containing 0.1 gram of powder cocaine, the report said.

On Monday, Holmes’ attorney, Chevenne B. King, filed a motion seeking a preliminary hearing from Dougherty Superior Court Judge Willie Lockette, according to court documents.

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