Crawford County methamphetamine maker sentenced to 16 years in prison

Nearly a year after a new drug task force started work In Crawford County, a major methamphetamine supplier was convicted Wednesday and sentenced to 40 years, 16 of them in prison.

Thomas Wayne Robertson, 52, was convicted of manufacturing methamphetamine following a jury trial in Crawford County Superior Court, said prosecutor Mike Smith.

The case was the first for a Peach County drug task force acting as special deputies in Crawford County.

Drug dealers "don't recognize county lines," said Peach County Sheriff Terry Deese. "This is just a way that we can help them out and it helps us too."

The task force, made up of Peach county deputies and officers from the Fort Valley and Byron police departments started work with Crawford deputies about a year ago.

They served a search warrant on a mobile home on Matthews Road in Roberta in January, Smith said.

Robertson and Tonya Carlene Taylor, 51, lived in the home, he said.

Robertson, Taylor and Edward John Bradoc Jr., 47, were charged with manufacture of methamphetamine, according to an indictment filed in the case.

The case against Taylor still is pending. Bradoc pleaded guilty to methamphetamine possession earlier this year, Smith said.

In addition to his prison sentence, Robertson was banned from Bibb, Crawford and Peach counties, he said.

Robertson, who has two prior convictions for possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute, must serve his entire 16-year prison sentence without the possibility of parole, Smith said.

District Attorney David Cooke said his office has made it a priority to "foster and encourage interagency cooperation in Peach and Crawford counties."

"I think this case shows that the cooperation leads to justice," he said.

To contact writer Amy Leigh Womack, call 744-4398 or find her on Twitter@awomackmacon.