Complete Details - City Councilman Indicted

A federal grand jury has returned a series of indictments charging 42 Chattanooga area individuals, including City Councilman John "Duke" franklin, with cocaine trafficking, money laundering, and related offenses.

James R. Dedrick, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee, and Bill Cox, District Attorney General for the 11th Judicial District say among the individuals charged in drug conspiracies were: Demarcus Akins, 32; Marcus Lewis, 24; David Robinson, 49; and, Michael Kelley, 44.

Chattanooga City Councilman John "Duke" Franklin is charged with conspiring to commit money laundering and to obstruct justice in connection with the seizure of over $69,000 cash from Michael Kelley.

Click HERE to read the actual indictment against Franklin (pdf file).

Franklin faces a maximum of 30 years in prison. He is scheduled for arraignment on May 27 at 2 pm. Franklin has been released on a $20,000 bond.

The five indictments charge that the above individuals and their coconspirators named in the indictments conspired to distribute multiple kilograms of cocaine, and stem from an investigation conducted over the past two years, which intensified beginning last fall with a cooperative law enforcement effort undertaken by the 11th Judicial District Attorney General's Office, Hamilton County Sheriff's Office Narcotics and Special Operations Division, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI), Chattanooga Police Department, United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and the United States Attorneys Office for the Eastern District of Tennessee.

Dedrick praised the close support and coordination provided by District Attorney General Bill Cox and his staff.

"I am confident these arrests will make our Chattanooga community a safer place for our children to grow and allow our two Weed and Seed sites, Eastside and MLK, to thrive," Dedrick said.

Chattanooga Police Chief Freeman Cooper added, "The results of the search warrants served on Wednesday will have an immediate effect on the drug traffic in our community. However, I am saddened to see that another elected official has been named in illegal activity in our City."

Councilman John "Duke" Franklin was first elected in 1998 to fill an unexpired term and re-elected to a full term in 2001 and again in 2005.

Franklin graduated from Brainerd High School in Chattanooga. He received a business degree from Hampton University. Duke is a third-generation director of Franklin-Strickland Funeral Home and a past president of the Tennessee Funeral Director's Association.

He has served on numerous boards including Partners for Academic Excellence, Chamber of Commerce, Jewish Community Center, and Zoning Board of Appeals for Variance and Special Permits.

In a review of "absences" from Chattanooga City Council Meetings (January 1, 2005 through May 6, 2008), Franklin has the highest number absences of any other councilperson.

• Linda Bennett (Dist. 1) - 7 absences
  
• Sally Robinson (Dist. 2) - 11 absences
  
• Dan Page (Dist. 3) - 15 absences
  
• Jack Benson (Dist. 4) - 0 absences
  
• John "Duke" Franklin (Dist. 5) - 23 absences
• Carol Berz (Dist. 6) - 2 absences
  
• Manuel Rico (Dist. 7) - 2 absences
  
• Leamon Pierce (Dist. 8) - 8 absences
  
• Debbie Gaines (Dist. 9) - 5 absences

NewsChannel 9 will bring you more information as it becomes available.