Articles Posted in Drug Charges

Recently, 42-year-old Cleopatra Price lost her job as a child-welfare case manager with Impower, an organization subcontracted by Brevard Family Partnership when she was arrested for allegedly trafficking methamphetamine and heroin.

In a December 21 news article at Florida Today, Dept. of Children and Families spokeswoman Kristi Gray stated that Price worked directly with families in some kind of capacity, a position of trust. Gray went on to say this type of charge is “absolutely unacceptable.” In her position as child-welfare case manager, Price oversaw 17 cases involving children and families.

Following a series of undercover drug buys of cocaine and heroin which Price was allegedly involved in, Brevard County sheriff’s deputies carried out a search warrant at her home. Removed from her $39,000 per year position, Price was charged with possession of meth with intent to sell, trafficking 30.5 grams of cocaine, and trafficking 56 grams of heroin. Authorities also claim to have discovered marijuana, Oxycodone pills, and three stolen handguns in Price’s dresser drawer. Her live-in boyfriend, Raybean Phillips, was also arrested and charged with various drug offenses.

Recently, a 20-year-old Mason, OH man was arrested after a pizza delivery driver from LaRosa’s Pizza provided the tip police needed to arrest the man for passing counterfeit $50 bills around town. When police arrived at the suspect’s doorstep, they found more than they bargained for.

According to a news report at WLWT5, the pizza delivery driver was given a $50 bill in payment for the pizza. When the note looked suspect to the driver, he drove straight back to the LaRosa’s location, where store officials called police. Police had been aware that fake $50 bills were used at various businesses in the area, and they had a surveillance video of the suspect at a Marathon gas station. When police found the pizza delivery was made to the same address where the suspect on the Marathon gas station video lived, they obtained a search warrant for the condo.

Upon searching the home of 20-year-old Devon Jicarr Cardwell, police found not only counterfeit $20 and $50 bills in the floor vents of one of the rooms, they also found marijuana packaged for sale and three guns. All of these items were in a single room within the condo; Cardwell was not allowed to own or possess firearms because he was a convicted felon. He was charged with drug trafficking, having weapons under disability, and forgery.

Many people find themselves facing charges of drug possession or DUI following a routine traffic stop. This was the case recently when a Downsville, LA man was pulled over for a minor traffic violation on Louisiana 15 at Emerson Road, according to a news report at The News Star.

On Friday, 50-year-old Jimmy L. Hollis Jr. of Downsville was charged with simple possession of marijuana and possession of crack cocaine with intent to distribute after a Union Parish sheriff’s patrol deputy said he detected the odor of burned marijuana coming from inside Hollis’s vehicle. The driver gave the deputy permission to search the pickup truck, which the deputy did.

According to Sheriff Dusty Gates, Hollis dropped a cigarette package and partially smoked joint (marijuana cigarette) to the ground while getting out of his vehicle. When the deputy picked up the cigarette package, two items believed to be crack cocaine rocks were found inside. Hollis told the deputy that he was delivering the crack to a friend after buying it in Monroe.

On Saturday November 28, a 33-year-old man was arrested on trafficking and drug sale charges. According to news reports, Robert Saucier, whom Gardiner, ME police list as a transient, was sitting in what they called a “suspicious” vehicle in a church packing lot when they decided to investigate.

Police reportedly discovered more than $2,000 in cash, 8 grams of heroin, 38 grams of crack cocaine, and drug paraphernalia in the vehicle at approximately 9:30 p.m.

Saucier has been charged with one count of sale or use of drug paraphernalia, and two counts of trafficking a scheduled drug. At the time of news reports he was being held on a $2,500 bail at the Kennebec County Jail.

On Friday November 20, 30-year-old William Garbe was arrested after alleged receiving marijuana that was shipped to his Yukon residence via the U.S. Postal Service. According to an article at KFOR 4, the package Garbe received weighed almost eight pounds, and contained $100,000 worth of high-grade marijuana grown in California.

Employees at an Oklahoma City mail processing center noticed the package smelled strongly of marijuana; at that point authorities brought in a drug-sniffing dog who alerted positively to the presence of illegal drugs in the package. At that point a search warrant was obtained for Garbe’s Yukon home, the delivery address listed on the parcel.

According to Canadian County Sheriff Randall Edwards, it is believed Garbe is the middle-man in an OK City drug smuggling ring. Edwards said they believe Garbe receives the drugs before delivering them to a street-level drug dealer. When the package was delivered to Garbe’s address, an adult female accepted it; the home was searched and the marijuana found less than an hour later.

Recently, a mother and son were arrested at their home in Main Line, PA after detectives conducted surveillance at the residence where they suspected drug activity was occurring. In all, three people were arrested including 24-year-old Jean Boller, 53-year-old Joann Badey, and 24-year-old George Badey IV. Badey’s ex-husband is Democratic Party chairman George J. Badey III.

According to an article at Fox 29, Badey and her son have been charged with possessing and peddling marijuana, prescription drugs, and heroin. Investigators said the pair was selling the drugs from the home to local college students, residents of the community, and to undercover officers. News reports indicate a local Cub Scout pack met at the residence, and that there were Boy Scout signs displayed outside as well. Undercover officers purchased drugs at the resident on several occasions, and upon searching inside found $800 in cash, heroin, prescription drugs, and approximately $4,000 worth of marijuana.

While Radnor Township police received several tips indicating sales of drugs at the residence were frequent, they also said the mother and son received drug deliveries at the home once or twice each week. In a press conference, investigators said the deliveries were what they would consider “heavy.”

Recently, four individuals were arrested for trafficking crack cocaine and heroin in Biddeford, Maine. The arrests came after the MDEA (Maine Drug Enforcement Agency) conducted an investigation into the illegal distribution of these schedule drugs over several months, and found the suspects were conducting business from a Hazel Street apartment.

Two of the individuals trafficking drugs from the apartment are from New York, 20-year-old Raymond Naveo and 20-year-old Celina Rodriguez. The other two suspects live reside in Biddeford, and include 33-year-old Corey Harmon and 33-year-old Niaomi Butts. According to a news article at WCSH 6, undercover agents bought crack cocaine from Harmon and Naveo on various occasions during the investigation. It was also determined that Naveo and Butts traveled to New York to purchase additional drugs for distributing in Biddeford.

Naveo, Butts, and Rodriguez were arrested when state police stopped the vehicle driven by Butts, who was arrested for operating a motor vehicle after suspension. Rodriguez was found to be in possession of heroin, and Naveo was arrested as well. Meanwhile at the Biddeford apartment, Harmon was arrested after agents found him inside and searched the apartment, where they found four grams of heroin and other items that indicated drug trafficking was taking place. Authorities were alerted that Butts was concealing illegal drugs within a body cavity at the time she was pulled over for operating after suspension; she was taken to a nearby health care facility where about 38 grams of crack cocaine was seized.

A recent article at the Northwest Indiana Times revealed that 47-year-old Dawn Maxson was arrested on October 29 for selling drugs in a Kmart parking lot, and is now charged with seven felony drug counts. Maxson is a LaPorte County deputy coroner, however she has been suspended from her duties without pay pending the outcome of her criminal case.

On Thursday, Maxson was arrested for allegedly selling a narcotic painkiller; the drug she was selling in the Kmart parking lot was said to be hydromorphone, a morphine derivative. Maxson was arrested by officers from the LaPorte Police Dept., Indiana State Police, and Sheriff’s Office which comprises the Metro Operations Unit. She was charged at that time with felony dealing a schedule I, II, or III controlled substance.

Since the initial charge, Maxson has been charged with six additional counts involving the sale of 7 to 15 hydromorphone pills for between $50 and $100, and the sale of six Norco pills for $130. The initial charge involved the sale of 70 hydromorphone pills in the Kmart parking lot for $500.

On October 26, two Lima, OH residents were taken into custody for their involvement in what police said was one of the largest heroin busts in Allen County’s history. 39-year-old Anthony Duvernay and 45-year-old Marvin Thomas are now facing multiple drug charges.

An ongoing investigation conducted by a multi-agency law enforcement task force revealed Duvernay and Thomas were in possession of two kilos of heroin, which authorities believe was being brought in by the two men from out of state to distribute in Ohio. The 4.4 lbs. of heroin has an estimated street value of about $330,000, according to Allen County Sheriff Sam Crish.

The suspects were indicted by a grand jury on Friday on charges of possession of heroin, trafficking in heroin, illegal manufacture of drugs, and engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity. Investigations are ongoing, and authorities believe there will be addition arrests in the future connected to the case.

On Thursday, October 15, police in Dixon IL conducted a search at a home in Dixon after a search warrant was executed. In searching the home, officers discovered more than 70 tabs of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), over 450 grams of cannabis, three grams of cannabis oil, over one gram of molly (MDMA), and cocaine in an amount of less than one gram.

Two individuals were arrested following the search, including 21-year-old Kasandra P. Newton and 22-year-old Trevor C. Crawford. Both live at 210 North Dixon Avenue, according to a news report at KWQC.com. A tip from a confidential informant led police to conduct a search of the home. Police also found more than $800 in cash at the residence.

The couple faces numerous charges including unlawful possession of cannabis (marijuana) with intent to deliver, unlawful possession of cannabis, unlawful possession of a controlled substance (cocaine), unlawful possession of a controlled substance (MDMA), Unlawful possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver (LSD). Additional charges were pending, according to police. Three of the charges Newton and Crawford face are class 4 felonies; possession of LSD with intent to deliver is a class X felony, the most serious charge an individual may face in Illinois. LSD in objects/segregated parts of between 15 and 200 may result in criminal penalties including between six and 30 years in prison.