DTF drug bust sends 6 more to county jail
Published 12:05 am Friday, June 1, 2012
The sweep of Drug Task Force arrests continued Thursday with the arrest of a mother and son for allegedly distributing prescription pills twice to an undercover informant.
Agents, along with members of the Covington County Sheriff’s Office and the Andalusia Police Department, arrived first at 214 McCarton St. in Andalusia to serve warrants on Michael Solomon Ward and his mother, Deborah Cassandra Ward, for two counts of distribution of a controlled substance. When no one answered the door, law enforcement was directed to a neighboring house on Merrill Street, said DTF Commander Mark Odom.
“When we knocked on the door, we could see Michael Ward inside the residence,” he said. “We could smell the odor of burnt marijuana and then got all the occupants inside the home out.”
Two other men – Terrance Salter and James Allen Stallworth – were found inside the home and then held for investigative purposes. The men were inside the home of Jameka Ward, who was booked into the county jail on outstanding warrants.
Sheriff Dennis Meeks said he observed Capricia Parker signaling Mrs. Ward to leave the scene before she could be arrested; however, agents acted quickly and were able to take her into custody. Parker was charged with obstruction of governmental operations and held on a $3,000 bond.
“We got (the Wards) doing undercover buys to our CI on two separate occasions – once from a local grocery store parking lot and another from the Merrill Street residence,” Odom said. “Any time someone sells drugs inside the Andal-usia city limits, it occurs within three miles of a school and a public housing authority – which means that’s an additional 10 years added on the sentence if convicted.
“And really, that three mile rule covers every location in Anda-lusia city limits,” he said.
Salter, Stallw-orth and Ward were each charged with possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia after a search warrant of the home revealed marijuana, Odom said.
A crowd of more than 20 neighbors and friends gathered on the city streets to watch as agents placed the group into handcuffs and transported them to the Covi-ngton County Jail.
The arrests bring the total to 13 arrested by Drug Task Force agents for a host of drug-related charges in the last week.
“And don’t think that we’re going to stop making these kinds of arrests,” Odom said. “This is only the beginning. All the cases were worked simultaneously. We still have more investigations under way and more arrests to make.”