Former GOP head in Cherokee County indicted by Grand Jury

A Cherokee County grand jury has indicted the former chairman of the Cherokee County Republican Party on drug charges.

52 year old John Loyd Ellis,  was arrested July 11 after marijuana eradication efforts resulted in the discovery of marijuana plants growing at his residence in Ellisville, Cherokee County Sheriff Jeff Shaver said at the time.

Ellis resigned as GOP chair after the arrest.

He was again booked into the Cherokee County Detention Center Tuesday afternoon after a grand jury indictment was returned charging him with first-degree possession of marijuana and trafficking marijuana. He was released on $50,000 bond about an hour after he was booked.

The operation that led to Ellis’ arrest was part of the eradication work Cherokee County, like most other Alabama counties, in conjunction with the Alabama Bureau of Investigation,.