13 indicted, 11 on gang charges, in Cherokee shooting deaths

Two people were killed in a June shooting in Canton.

Two people were killed in a June shooting in Canton.

About nine months after two people were killed in shootings that rocked Canton, 13 people have been indicted on charges that include gang activity.

The Cherokee County grand jury returned two indictments that also include charges such as felony murder, aggravated assault and firearms violations, District Attorney Shannon Wallace said.

Named in the indictment are Darron Brown, Dayton Cochran, Brody Samples, Brooke Wotring, Byron Elrod, Jeremy Zellous, Brian Miller, Bryson Miller, Jamesly Baptiste, Temarlos Turner, Akilee Wilson, Christian Johnson and Javon Reed.

Wotring and Brown are the only ones not charged under the Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention act, Wallace said.

The violence erupted June 25 when officers responded to Crisler Street after a report of multiple gunshots, police spokesman Pacer Cordry said at the time.

Police found one person dead in a grassy area near Crisler Street and another person at a house off Jefferson Circle with injuries that were not life-threatening. The third victim was found in a vehicle near the area and died en route to a local hospital, Cordry said.

Police identified the two people killed as William Kendrick Randall, 23, of Canton, and Tony Samples, 26, of Ball Ground.

Brody Samples was Tony Samples’ brother.

There were two other shootings in the area in the next two weeks.

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