SHERIFF SAYS FAKE POT LED TO DRUG DEAL SHOOTING

Incident Leaves Man Partially Paralyzed

ATHENS -- The shooting of an alleged drug dealer Monday resulted from four
customers trying to trade him fake marijuana for cocaine, Sheriff Mike
Blakely said.

The four allegedly went to the home of Shay Farris, 23, of 21134 Mitchell
Lane in the Cross Key community, and offered to swap a leafy substance for
cocaine, Blakely said.

Farris and Maurio Jadell Thatch, 22, of 1700 Old Madison Pike, Apartment
16, Madison, fought about the attempted trickery, and Thatch allegedly shot
Farris in the neck and leg, Chief Investigator Stanley McNatt said.
Investigators say Thatch was armed with a .32-caliber handgun that he used
to shoot Farris. The shooting left Farris partially paralyzed. He remains
in Huntsville Hospital.

"According to the interviews we've conducted thus far, Thatch was the
shooter," McNatt said. "He had a gun and apparently managed to get Farris'
gun from him. He wound up with both and then discarded them."

Authorities charged Thatch with attempted murder and first-degree criminal
mischief for allegedly setting the getaway car on fire. Authorities also
charged two others who were with Thatch, Courtney Terrell, 25, of 118 Ash
St., Athens, and Kanesia Makaia Lane, 18, of 20057 Alabama 127, Athens,
with attempted murder. No bond is set.

Investigators are searching for the fourth suspect, James Johnson of Harvest.

Blakely said Lane allegedly set up the drug deal between Thatch and Farris.
After the shooting, she called the Sheriff's Department from a pay phone
and said some men forced her to participate, Blakely said. She gave the
names of several men she claimed were involved. Blakely said her phone call
was a ruse. He said one is "just as guilty as the other." Authorities also
charged Farris' girlfriend, Christie Lee White, 23, of 21134 Mitchell Lane,
with trafficking in cocaine. White was at the house during the shooting,
but was not involved in the shooting, Blakely said. He said he charged her
because investigators found four ounces of cocaine in a car on the carport.
Blakely said White tried to hide some cocaine by throwing it out into the yard.