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Georgia deputies sniff out moonshine still


PINE MOUNTAIN, GA. — It started with a stink in the air. It ended with the discovery of an illegal moonshine still in rural Meriwether County, Ga., the seizure of illegal liquor and the arrest of its alleged proprietor.

Deputies had responded to "call for service" Saturday afternoon. Upon completion, they noticed what a news release described as "suspicious activity" near a propane facility. Behind a propane tank, they saw a camouflage tent and chair.

Then came the stink.

As they checked the area, they spotted a 55-gallon drum, plus an assortment of buckets and jugs — and the hardware of a moonshine still. The stink was the "fermented mash which is a bi-product of the moonshine making process," Sheriff Chuck Smith said in the news release.

Deputies found Jerry Lee Tumlin in a nearby trailer park. Tumlin allowed the deputies to search his home, according to the news release. They found a small quantity of marijuana and other moonshine paraphernalia. According to the news release, Tumlin's statement indicated that a batch of liquor was cooked the previous night, and that 100 gallons of moonshine had recently been sold from the facility.

The search also yielded "sugar bags, wheat, corn, water tanks, piping, tubes, radiators, copper pipes, stainless steel containers and propane tanks," according to the news release. Tumlin was charged with felony unlawful manufacturing of distilled spirits, possession of firearms by convicted felons and one misdemeanor count each of unlawful possession of unstamped distilled spirits and possession of marijuana, less than an ounce, the news release said.

Tumlin was booked into the Meriwether County jail and released on a $12,000 bond. Pine Mountain is about 78 miles south of Atlanta.

Although moonshine has come into vogue among some urban liquor connoisseurs, its illegal forebearer remains a stubborn problem in some parts of rural Georgia. Moonshine is illegal because it is unstamped and untaxed by the state Department of Revenue.

According to the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, "You may not produce spirits for beverage purposes without paying taxes and without prior approval of paperwork to operate a distilled spirits plant."