Forsyth Sheriff Confiscates House From Drug Dealer, User

The first seizure of its kind in recent memory, the Forsyth Sheriff's Office has secured the house of a drug dealer and user who is headed to state prison.

A Forsyth County Superior Court judge Oct. 29 awarded the home in southwest Forsyth to the sheriff’s office, which initiated forfeiture proceedings on the house after the occupants were arrested in connection with numerous drug violations dating back to 1999, according to a news release. 

Kelly Bruce Wheeler, 47, and Toni Michelle Armstrong, 32, occupied the home set to be sold by the sheriff's office, which plans to pay off the mortgages and use any profits from the sale to fund law enforcement operations.

Wheeler and Armstrong were arrested in August and charged with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. Wheeler has since pleaded guilty in a negotiated deal with prosecutors and received a 10-year sentence, three of which he was ordered to serve in prison, sheriff's office spokesman Doug Rainwater said. 

Wheeler had been arrested 18 times—mostly on drug-related charges—since 1999 and was living in the home on each of those occasions, according to Rainwater. Now Wheeler is housed in the Forsyth County jail awaiting transport to state prison.

"He used that house as part of a criminal enterprise," Rainwater said. "We believe he was selling drugs to keep up his personal habit.

"We had to prove (the house has) been used in that criminal enterprise all this time. It wasn't just one or two sales (of drugs). It wasn't 24/7 either. When he needed money, he would sell (drugs)."

Rainwater declined to say in which neighborhood the house is located, but said it sits among $250,000 homes.

"You would expect to see a family of four, two dogs and a cat there, instead of what was going on over there," he added.

While vehicles used in drug transactions are often the subject of forfeiture proceedings, Wheeler's is the first house that has been given to the county based on criminal activity, according to the release.  

“We will not tolerate this type of criminal activity within our community," Sheriff Duane K. Piper said in the release. "We will continue to use every legal remedy at our disposal to rid our county of criminal elements.” 

Armstrong awaits trial on the meth distribution charge she faces.

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