Residents react to the arrest of the mayor of Thomson after he was accused of giving alcohol to prisoners

THOMSON, Ga. (WJBF) – The GBI arrested Thomson Mayor Benji Cranford after he was accused of giving alcohol to inmates. He is now charged with giving prohibited items to inmates and attempting to commit a crime.

On June 6, Thomson police asked the GBI to investigate Cranford. Two days earlier, he was accused of providing alcohol to inmates during a work assignment within the city limits. Today, a grand jury indicted the mayor.

Jason Smith, spokesman for the city and county, said, “Because we understand that the charges in this case have nothing to do with Mr. Cranford's duties as an elected official, we would like to have no comment.”

The people we spoke to in Thomson were shocked to hear of the arrest, especially in their small town.

“You hear different stories, but when I heard this, it just blew my mind, it was just crazy. And I just find it shocking, you know what I mean. Every day you hear about things like this all over the world and you don't know if it would happen in your own town, but here it is,” said Amelia Kennedy, a Thomson resident.

One woman said she never expected that.

“I wouldn't have expected that from him. You know, I've seen him before at some town meetings, and that's not the person I've seen do something like that. So I just hope it's not true,” said Velvet Lazenby, a Thomson resident.

We will continue to follow this story – and keep you updated as soon as the GBI releases more information.

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