John Ross Man Facing Multiple Drug Charges

A John Ross Road man was arrested earlier this week on drug charges after East Ridge police served a warrant at his house.

Edward L. Gatrell, 27, of a John Ross address was charged with Possession of Marijuana for Resale, Possession of a Firearm while in Commission of a Felony, Possession of THC wax for Resale, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. He is scheduled to appear in municipal court on August 27.

According to an affidavit of complaint, on Monday, police executed a narcotics search warrant at 1407 John Ross Road. Once inside the house officers located about 6.5 ounces of marijuana, a “distribution” amount of butane hash oil (BHT), multiple large vacuum-sealed bags, a small digital scale, and an industrial sized digital scale.

The report goes on to say that officers also found a loaded Smith & Wesson 9 mm semi-automatic firearm, and a 12-gauge shotgun. Gatrell was the only person present during the execution of the warrant.

About Dick Cook

Dick Cook has lived in East Ridge since the Kennedy Administration when his parents bought a house on Marietta Street. Dick graduated from ERHS in 1976 before going on to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga where he studied Political Science. Dick worked for the Chattanooga Free-Press and the Chattanooga Times Free Press for 22 years. Free-Press Sports Editor Roy Exum plucked him out of production in 1989 and gave him a job as a sports reporter. Dick covered everything from prep sports to the whitewater events on the Ocoee River for the 1996 Olympics. When Chattanooga's two paper's merged, he became the Crime Reporter covering both the Chattanooga Police and Fire Departments. He was among reporters who were honored by the Associated Press for the TFP's coverage of the 2002 fog-shrouded crash on I-75 in Catoosa County, Dick and his wife, Cathy, live on Marlboro Avenue where they are seen frequently chasing around their three grandsons.