Articles Posted in Drug Charges

Recently, a man who was using a motor home to transport and sell cocaine and heroin “flipped” on his customers after he was caught by authorities transporting the drugs. While the drug dealer’s name was not revealed in an article at the Baltimore Sun, nine men were charged in the case after the dealer began working with law enforcement and setting up transactions with buyers.

A tipster allegedly alerted the FBI to a drug shipment that initiated in California and was on its way to Aberdeen in the motor home, which had Louisiana plates. The driver of the motor home was taken into custody after he arrived in the Baltimore area in early August of last year.

Five of the men had previously pleaded guilty in the case. On Friday, March 20, four of the men were convicted by a federal jury. Those found guilty include 35-year-old Ronald Sampson, 30-year-old Dominic Parker, 39-year-old Jermaine Cannady, and 29-year-old Cornell Brown. Brown and one of the men who had pleaded guilty, Tavon Hopkins, had more than $155,000 cash in a bag when they arrived to purchase four kilograms of cocaine from the informant, according to prosecutors.

On Sunday, March 15, 24-year-old Caleb Moore, son of Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore, was arrested for alleged drug possession at the scene of an attempted break-in, according to a news article at Al.com. Moore was charged with marijuana possession, and possession of a controlled substance. He claims the accusations are nothing more than an attack on his father for what he stands for, and said as much on a Facebook post following the arrest. Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore has been involved in a legal battle regarding gay marriage after he issued a controversial order to halt same-sex marriages, even thought the U.S. Supreme Court ruled they could continue in the state.

Court documents claim that police received a report of an attempted home break-in in Troy in the 1200 block of Allen Street. Upon arrival, officers discovered five men outside the location near a pickup truck; on of the men was Caleb Moore. Officers said the truck had a strong odor of marijuana. The suspects claimed there were no drugs in the truck, however upon searching it officers discovered Moore’s passport, along with a bag of marijuana that also contained several Xanax pills.

After being arrested and transported to the Troy jail, Moore was released on a total bond of $8,500. He posted on Facebook that the arrest was nothing more than a prime example of how crooked police officers and the media are trying to destroy both his father’s career, and their family. Moore went on to say that the drug test he took will prove that he is not a drug user, and that justice would be served in regards to the possession charges.

On Saturday, March 7, Melanie Ann Pruitt was arrested on felony drug trafficking charges after authorities asked for the public’s help in locating the 39-year-old Salisbury, NC woman. Her boyfriend, 50-year-old Robin Lee Guest, was also arrested.

According to a news article at the Salisbury Post, the two shipped large amounts of methamphetamine from Salisbury to California through the U.S. Postal Service from July to October of last year. The two were caught when they allegedly sold meth to undercover investigators.

Pruitt was found hiding inside a closet at a rented residence. Guest was arrested on the Catawba College campus, and is said to be in federal custody at the present time. According to the college, he worked there and was suspended before being terminated from his job.

On Monday, February 23, a sixth-grade teacher at Memminger Elementary School in Charleston, SC turned herself in to the County Sheriff’s Office after an investigation on Friday revealed the presence of marijuana at her home. Faith Jones-Paulus turned herself in this morning; her husband, Christopher Andrew Paulus, was arrested on Friday.

The incident began when investigators with the Charleston County Metro Major Case Unit were watching the home where the Paulus’s live on Friday. According to an ABC News article, deputies witnessed a white male going toward the back of the house; as they attempted to talk to him, he allegedly threw a 9mm firearm to the ground. The man was identified as Paulus, who then asked investigators if he could go into the house to get water and secure his dogs. Deputies went with Paulus, and noticed an odor of marijuana in the house. Paulus allegedly admitted that marijuana was in the home.

While investigating the house, deputies discovered an electric bill that had the name of Faith Jones-Paulus on it. They also discovered 451 grams of marijuana in one bedroom, and 6.2 pounds in another. While news reports do not say, it appears that Faith Jones-Paulus was not at home at the time investigators went through the house. Christopher Paulus was charged with several marijuana offenses, including second offense trafficking and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. He was also charged with possession of marijuana in the proximity of a school.

Friday the 13th did prove to be a very unlucky day for 43 people who were arrested for allegedly distributing methamphetamine and other drugs in Clayton, Oklahoma. According to a news article at Fox 25, the 43 arrests account for about 5% of the entire population of Clayton.

At the time of news reports, 23 of the suspects were in custody, and three more suspects had been arrested for outstanding warrants. Most of those arrested reside in rural areas in LeFlore, Latimer, and Pushmataha Counties. Pushmataha County is where the investigation into the drug distribution ring began back in December of 2013. Involved in the investigation were local authorities, and the OBN (Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics). According to Mark Woodward, spokesman for the OBN, the suspects would sell substantial amounts of prescription drugs and ‘ICE’ or crystal methamphetamine in Clayton and nearby vicinities.

Authorities began dismantling the drug ring early Friday morning as they began serving arrest warrants at about 7 a.m. Just over three hours later, they had taken 23 of the 43 suspects into custody. All were taken to the Pushmataha County Jail, and will face charges including the distribution of controlled substances.

On Tuesday February 3, a 25-year-old Florida man was arrested in Palm Beach County after he allegedly admitted to police that he was a drug dealer after being stopped for driving a stolen car. According to the New York Daily News, Robert Phillips is a felon who has been convicted numerous times in the past for various crimes.

Apparently, Phillips wrote that his occupation was a “drug dealer” on the police report filed by the arresting officer. However, some are suspicious that it may have been the officers who filled in this information, rather than the defendant. Police were allegedly cut off on Interstate 95 while driving an unmarked police vehicle by Phillips, who was said to be driving a stolen vehicle. The arresting officer discovered the vehicle was stolen after looking up the registration for the car.

The police officer then followed the car Phillips was driving, noting that Phillips stopped off at an arts and crafts store and conducted a drug deal along the way. Phillips allegedly ran through the store as the officer pursued him on foot, knocking a woman in the store down and dropping a gun inside the arts and crafts store, said to be a semi-automatic.

On Wednesday January 28, an Albuquerque woman made a costly mistake when she dialed a number on her phone and tried to sell the person who answered heroin and cocaine, according to a recent news article at the NY Daily News. 30-year-old Renea Lucero thought she was dialing one of her buyers, but instead she mistakenly dialed the cell phone number of a detective with the Albuquerque Police Department.

Lucero was not aware she was talking to someone with law enforcement when she asked if he wanted to buy any narcotics. The detective didn’t give himself away; instead, he agreed to meet Lucero and called for backup to help with an undercover sting so that police could nab Lucero.

The officers involved in the sting wore civilian clothes to the meeting, where the suspect allegedly pulled a baggie from her bra; it contained heroin, according to the report. She then handed the baggie to Luciano Navarro, her driver, who weighed out the drug and sold it to the officer for $30.

On Saturday January 24, a drug bust in Ivey located in Wilkinson County, GA resulted in the arrest of two individuals, 32-year-old Amanda Helms, and 57-year-old Herman Bill Hendricks, Helms’s uncle, according to a news article at 13WMAZ.com. At the time of news reports, a third suspect, 51-year-old Cynthia Mixon, could not be located.

According to an Ocmulgee Drug Task Force news release, authorities had been investigating the sale of prescription drugs including oxycodone for about a month prior to the arrests. Helms was followed by investigators when she met with Hendricks, who allegedly gave her money to buy prescription drugs from Mixon. As they continued investigating, Helms went to Mixon’s home, then left and proceeded to go back to give the drugs to her uncle (Hendricks) when both were arrested.

A search warrant was served by agents at Mixon’s residence, but she was not there. According to Task Force commander Wesley Nunn, Mixon knew that a warrant had been issued for her arrest for selling prescription drugs. Authorities believe that she is on the run, and that her two teenage children may be with her. Upon entering Mixon’s home, agents seized evidence including prescriptions pills, methamphetamine, cell phones, pistols, and other guns.

On Friday January 16, a woman who works as an addiction counselor at a Gallipolis, OH based facility was arrested for allegedly trafficking morphine, according to a recent news article at the Pomeroy Daily Sentinel. 52-year-old Roberta Payne of Cheshire has been charged with felony aggravated trafficking in drugs; the charges involve morphine, which police claimed had a value of more than $36,000.

The investigation into Payne’s activities began after authorities received a tip that the addiction counselor offered to sell morphine to a client who was being counseled for drug addiction. Authorities then set up an operation to catch Payne in the act; she was caught when she allegedly sold 30 mg. of liquid morphine and more than 2,000 pills of the same substance to an undercover police officer.

Colleen Williams, Meigs County Prosecutor, called the arrest “shocking,” saying that Payne was trying to profit by preying on those she should be helping. Payne was arrested by the Gallia-Meigs Major Crimes Task Force.

Over the past year, a special task force that was unknown to the public has arrested more than 125 individuals who allegedly dealt in heroin. On Tuesday, January 13, the Westchester County Northern Narcotics Initiative performed a sweep that nabbed 21 additional individuals allegedly involved in dealing heroin and crack, according to a news report at Lohud. This is when the task force revealed its existence.

The task force has been working on eliminating the crack and heroin dealers who are selling the drugs on the street, along with their suppliers. Targeting Westchester County, the task force is said to be comprised of Westchester County police, seven local police departments, and FBI agents.

Several of the individuals arrested sold drugs to undercover police officers, according to an indictment charging 15 of the 21 arrested on Tuesday. Evidence also includes telephone conversations regarding crack and heroin sales, converting powder to crack, and other drug related topics mentioned in the indictment.