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Two plead guilty to drug trafficking in separate cases

Kayla Renee Stroud (left), and Coty Jackson (right). File photos Kayla Renee Stroud (left), and Coty Jackson (right). File photos

Two people in unrelated cases pleaded guilty to trafficking charges in Cherokee County, District Attorney Ashley Hornsby Welch said. 

Coty Jackson, 31, of Murphy, and Kayla Renee Stroud, 41, of Marble, each received active sentences. Both must serve a minimum possible punishment of 70 months and up to maximum possible punishment of 93 months. 

Additionally, each must pay a state-mandated $50,000 fine.

Cherokee County Investigator Parker Morgan arrested Jackson on Feb. 2, 2023, following a traffic stop on U.S. 19 near the Graham County line. Jackson did not have a valid driver’s license.

Jackson admitted he had a used syringe, and, in his left shoe, officers found a bag of fentanyl. 

Cherokee County investigators arrested Stroud in February 2022 after she sold heroin in two controlled buys, once on Feb. 17, 2022, and again on Feb. 21, 2022. 

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Chief Assistant District Attorney Jason Arnold prosecuted the case. Superior Court Judge Steve Warren presided. 

District Attorney Welch thanked the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, singling out the narcotics unit.  

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