Cherokee County judge refuses to dismiss charge in woman’s legal battle with former deputy

Editor’s note: The video above is from previous coverage.

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — A Cherokee County judge has refused to dismiss the obstruction charge against a woman arrested while deputies were trying to find her son.

Natasha Lopez said on Aug. 30, 2025, Cherokee County deputies came to her Woodstock home looking to speak with her adult son about a traffic incident. A search warrant obtained later states that the sheriff’s office wanted her son, Joseph Helms, for fleeing and attempting to elude. Lopez said her son was visiting her house but does not live there.

Lopez provided Atlanta News First with outside Ring camera footage from her house that shows an officer, later identified as Deputy Charles Mills, enter the home.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Legal battle between Cherokee County deputy, mother arrested reaches yearlong mark

Lopez also provided surveillance camera footage from inside her home that showed her and the deputy exchanging words in the doorway. Lopez said she kept asking to see a warrant while she called 911, which is heard in her surveillance video.

“That was my first instinct. Like, what are we supposed to do? So, I call 911, and as the operator is picking up and I’m getting ready to ask, like, for help, he snatches me up,” Lopez said. “He was mad. He snatched me immediately.”

The surveillance video shows the deputy handcuffing and arresting her for misdemeanor obstruction.

Lopez claims her arrest was unlawful.

>> READ THE FULL RULING BELOW

A Cherokee County judge on Thursday refused to dismiss the case, finding that Mills had probable cause to enter Lopez’s home and that the affidavits presented in the case are still valid.

“When, at the time of Helms’ arrest, he did not possess a cell phone, denied having a cell phone, and had phone numbers drawn onto his arm, this suggested to Cpl. Mills that he was leaving, or hiding, his phone at the Defendant’s residence. Given this scenario, this Court finds that it was not unreasonable for Cpl. Mills to believe that exigent circumstances existed to enter and secure the home prior to obtaining a search warrant,” the order says.

Mills was later fired following an allegation that he created a fake Facebook account that “targeted an individual the deputy had previously arrested in 2025,” the agency said.

RELATED: Cherokee County deputy fired following allegation of fake Facebook account

Lopez’s attorney previously said the Facebook account was meant to mock Lopez’s YouTube profile and Lopez personally.