Cherokee Man With Machete, Hammer Pleads In Assault Case

WOODSTOCK, GA — A Woodstock man has pled guilty to several charges, including false imprisonment, in connection with the physical assault of a woman in March 2024, Cherokee County prosecutors said Friday.

Cherokee County authorities began investigating David Ray Graham, 38, last year after a woman said Graham punched and kicked her multiple times, threatened her with a machete and hammer and held her against her will inside of her Woodstock home, prosecutors said.

The woman was treated at Northside Cherokee Hospital for her injuries, prosecutors said.

“Evidence in this case showed that over the course of one terrifying night, this defendant subjected a woman to prolonged and brutal violence,” Cherokee County Deputy Chief Assistant District Attorney Rachel Ashe said in a news release.

Ashe said Graham previously abused the woman before that night, adding the last time could have turned deadly. She said Graham then threatened the woman via jail calls and pressured her to recant her story.

Graham on Thursday entered a negotiated guilty plea to two counts of family violence aggravated assault, false imprisonment, three counts of family violence battery, influencing a witness and terroristic threats, prosecutors said.

He was sentenced to 50 years, with the first 20 years to be served in prison and the remainder on probation, prosecutors said.

Special conditions of his probation included no contact with the woman, participation in a family violence intervention program, evaluation and treatment for mental health and substance abuse and forfeiture of all weapons, prosecutors said.

“Domestic violence threatens the safety of all citizens and has no place in our community," Cherokee County District Attorney Susan K. Treadaway said in the release. "For this reason, we remain steadfast in our commitment to pursuing justice for all who are affected. We commend the Cherokee Sheriff’s Office and the staff at Northside Cherokee Hospital for their compassionate response to protect and support the woman assaulted by this defendant.”