Twenty people entered not guilty pleas at Walker County Superior Court during their arraignment on June 12.

Those individuals were arrested in May, following a bust involving a “regional marijuana distribution” ring, according to Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit district attorney Herbert “Buzz” Franklin.

“It remains uncertain if the cases will be tried separately or altogether,” Franklin said.

Six of those individuals were arrested on Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) charges, including three men from Chickamauga: Ronald Steven Hise, Randall Allen Ferguson and Barry Lamar Franklin.

Warren Everette Smith, along with his wife Barbara Sue Smith and son Seth Elliot Smith from Lookout Mountain, face the same charges and turned themselves in to authorities a few days later.

Franklin categorized the operation as a “significant size marijuana distribution ring.”

He could not release the amount of drugs sold or how much money had exchanged hands in the operation.

The operation had been selling marijuana for “several years,” according to Franklin.

The Lookout Mountain Drug Taskforce conducted a four-month investigation, which began in November 2011.

Franklin could not comment if officials were delving into the financial statements of the Smith’s two businesses. An antique store and a barbecue restaurant were also operated at their Lookout Mountain home.

A professional-grade barbecue trailer was among the $1.1 million in assets taken during the April raid, which also seized several vehicles and trailers believed to be used to transport the marijuana, according to Pat Doyle, commander of the Lookout Mountain Drug Taskforce.

The case could potentially be tried in November, according to Franklin.