Repeat offender sentenced in Cherokee County for making terrorist threats, stealing vehicles

CHEROKEE COUNTY, Ga. — A man was sentenced to 15 years in prison in Cherokee County after pleading guilty to terroristic threats, family violence aggravated assault, and theft by taking.

Canton police first became aware of Christopher George Roberts, 52, on April 2, 2020, while investigating a report of a stolen truck.

Roberts had moved from Burlington, North Carolina to Canton in March 2020 to live with his girlfriend.

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Also living in the house were Roberts’ ex-wife and her boyfriend.

According to the Cherokee County District Attorney’s office, several weeks after moving in, Roberts borrowed a truck to haul furniture back to Burlington.

When he did not return the truck when expected, his girlfriend and ex-wife called and texted him.

He responded by threatening them and refusing to return the truck, which was then reported stolen.

“Both of the women were fearful for their lives. During a phone call, Roberts told his ex-wife that he’d snap her neck ‘like a twig,’” said Deputy Chief Assistant District Attorney Rachel Ashe, of the Domestic Violence Unit, Office of the District Attorney. “In text messages, he told his girlfriend he would cut her throat. He also threatened gun violence with law enforcement officers.”

After the stolen truck was located in Gainesville, Canton Police warned responding officers to use “extreme officer safety” in arresting Roberts.

A Canton police officer called Roberts on the phone to reason with him, but Roberts talked about his relationships with the two women and said that police were going to have to shoot him.

He threatened to crash into another vehicle head-on or kill himself by running off the road.

A Forsyth County deputy performed a PIT maneuver on Roberts and he was brought back to Cherokee County to face charges of terrorist threats and theft by taking.

Roberts was released on bond, fitted with an ankle monitor, and ordered to avoid drugs and alcohol.

Then on August 17, 2020, Canton police received another 911 call involving Roberts.

While his girlfriend was at work, he logged into her Facebook account to read her private messages.

He sent her multiple angry texts accusing her of being unfaithful.

When she returned home, he grabbed her by the throat and choked her until she passed out.

As soon as she woke up, he told her, “I just put you to sleep” and “I could have killed you right then.

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He then threatened her with a knife, knocked a hole in the wall, and left the home with her phone, wallet, and car.

When police responded to their home, Roberts called his ex-wife to apologize for his actions, claiming he was drunk and would die tonight.

Officers were able to speak to him on the phone and he once again said police would have to kill him.

Roberts then cut off the ankle monitor and drove to South Carolina, abandoning his girlfriend’s car where it was later recovered.

He was arrested in Virginia after stealing another car and running from law enforcement in that state.

Roberts served time in Virginia before returning to face charges in Cherokee County.

Roberts was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Following his release he will be on probation for 15 years.

Roberts was prosecuted as a recidivist offender, removing the possibility of him being paroled.

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