Agents stopped Hughes before searching the home
The search took place around 2 p.m. at 4286 Hathaway Court, just off Interstate 75 near Cherokee Street and Hickory Grove Road. The Marietta Daily Journal reported that the investigation was conducted by the Narcotics Unit of the Marietta, Cobb and Smyrna (MCS) Organized Crime Unit.
That day, agents watched Ashton Hughes leave the house in a white 2022 Kia Stinger, stopped him and then searched the property, according to the warrants. His warrant says investigators had seen him entering and leaving the house "numerous times" during the previous two to three months.
Neighbor Grace Yu told WSB-TV that the officers' arrival included an armored sheriff's vehicle and SWAT vehicles. "It was really scary. Some of the SWAT cars like parked in our driveway because there wasn't enough room," she said.
Yu also expressed relief that no one was hurt. "I'm glad that like everything is good now, and you know nothing is like nobody was harmed or anything," she said.
The MCS Organized Crime Unit dates to 1980. It was established by the Cobb County Sheriff's Office, the police chiefs of Cobb, Marietta and Smyrna, and the county district attorney's office, according to the Marietta Daily Journal.
Warrants describe drugs in suitcases and bedrooms
The warrants place two suitcases of packaged marijuana in separate common areas: a gray one containing about 3.4 pounds in the dining room and a pink multicolored one containing 3.9 pounds in the living room. Agents reported another 14.9 pounds in a bedroom identified as Hughes' room, along with a black MK18 Mod 0 Carbine rifle, the Marietta Daily Journal reported.
Hughes told investigators he used the rifle for protection, according to the warrant. Asked why he was selling marijuana, he reportedly said he had "bills to be paid."
Agents also listed multiple packs of THC gummies with a combined weight of 1.04 pounds. The packages bore the labels "200mg" and "20mg per gummy." Court documents place approximately $56,540 in cash on the home's bottom floor and describe a black bag in a bedroom containing 2.5 grams of psilocybin mushrooms.
Investigators found Miliana Bilavarn and Nathaniel Bush in another bedroom, where about two pounds of packaged marijuana lay next to the bed, according to the warrants.
Court records identify the suspects as Ashton Paul Hughes, 27, of Stockbridge; Miliana Bilavarn, 20, of Atlanta; and Nathaniel Mark Bush, 29, of Kennesaw. None has the Hathaway Court house listed as a primary residence in those records.
Bilavarn told officers that she and Bush had regularly stayed there for several months. Bush described Hughes as a friend and said he routinely visited the house. Police said they had observed both Bilavarn and Bush coming and going several times during the investigation.
Charges and bond releases
Hughes faces three felony charges: trafficking marijuana, possession of a Schedule I or II controlled substance with intent to distribute, and possession of a firearm during commission of a felony. Bilavarn is charged with intent to distribute marijuana and possession of a Schedule I controlled substance, both felonies. Bush faces a felony charge of intent to distribute marijuana.
Georgia's marijuana trafficking threshold is above 10 pounds, according to a marijuana law guide published by Georgia criminal defense firm Kohn & Yager LLC. The guide says an amount over 10 pounds but under 2,000 pounds carries a mandatory minimum prison term of five years and a $100,000 fine. The weight is based on the aggregate mixture rather than its pure THC content.
All three were arrested the night of the search and booked into the Cobb County Adult Detention Center, the Marietta Daily Journal reported. Bush was released Friday on an $11,220 bond, followed by Bilavarn on Saturday on the same bond amount. Hughes was released Tuesday on a $33,220 bond.
