Heroin use is on the rise in Burlington and authorities are concerned about its potential impact on the community. It's not that the drug is available on every street corner in the city. But it is creeping its way in and investigators in the Burlington Police Department's special operations division say the drug's potency is much higher than it was when it was popular among inner-city junkies injecting it in the 1970s. The typical user in this area is white, between 20 and 25 years old and from west Burlington, and pain killers that they find in mom and dad's medicine cabinet are often the gateway to their heroin addiction, said a Burlington police undercover drug officer who asked to remain anonymous because of ongoing investigations. [continues 754 words]
The number of cases involving heroin and methadone is on the rise and causing some concern for law enforcement agencies in Alamance County. We are starting to see this stuff much more," said Randy Jones, Alamance County Sheriff's Department spokesman. "It's becoming much more common place." The Burlington Police Department is also seeing more heroin on the streets and more methadone-related offenses, which frequently involve forged prescriptions, said Burlington police Assistant Chief Greg Seel. On Aug. 7, the sheriff's department executed a search warrant at a home on Mountain Trail in Snow Camp where undercover officers had bought .4 grams of heroin, 32 units of dilaudid and 62 units of methadone in the last few months. Six people were charged with several drug offenses, including trafficking. [continues 662 words]
Jessica Garrison was driving on Interstate 40 Wednesday morning heading to Greensboro to pick up her fiance when she was pulled over by a Burlington police officer in an unmarked car. Garrison, 23, of 918 E. Davis St., knew she wasn't speeding and didn't know why she was pulled over. She said the officer wasn't quick to tell her. Instead, her cell phone was taken from her, and she was questioned. Eventually, Garrison, who was waiting on the shoulder of the interstate with her 2-year-old daughter and pet Chow-Chow, was told that the SBI was searching the home she rents on East Davis Street, but she wasn't told why. Meanwhile, Burlington police officers, who had obtained a search warrant, were breaking into her house along with the SBI's clandestine laboratory response team. The officers were looking for a possible methamphetamine lab or remnants of one. [continues 1060 words]
An Alamance County jail officer was charged Wednesday with providing marijuana to an inmate who is accused of shooting a Lee County Sheriff's deputy in Burlington in January. Jo Ann Hensley, 58, of Mebane, who has worked as a detention officer for five years, was charged with providing drugs to an inmate. She was placed under a $2,500 unsecured bond and has a first appearance in Alamance County District Court Thursday, according to an Alamance County Sheriff's Department news release. [continues 481 words]
The former chief of the North Topsail Beach Police Department pleaded guilty Monday in Onslow County District Court to taking $200 from the town and obstructing a state probe into the case. Daniel Robert Salese, 40, was given a 45-day suspended sentence and was placed on oneyear supervised probation on the misdemeanor charges. He also must surrender his law enforcement certification to the N.C. Criminal Justice Education and Training Standards, perform 48 hours of community service and pay a $250 fine as well as court costs. [continues 581 words]
That's how former Onslow County sheriff's deputy, Luis Alers, described his decision to bring a duffel bag filled with 4 pounds of marijuana and two handguns from his dead nephew's apartment to the home of a woman he knew used drugs and was considered an informant by law enforcement. Alers, 44, who is on trial this week in Onslow County Superior Court on charges that he possessed marijuana, testified Wednesday afternoon. Prior to his Feb. 21, 2005, arrest, Alers worked for the Sheriff's Department for about three years. He had worked in the narcotics division for about four months when he was fired on the day of his arrest. [continues 1069 words]
Onslow County Sheriff's Capt. Rick Sutherland kept expecting Luis Alers to do the right thing in February 2005. Sutherland testified in Onslow County Superior Court on Tuesday that Alers, a former deputy who worked in the narcotics division of the Sheriff's Department back then, didn't turn in a duffle bag filled with 4 pounds of marijuana and two weapons after Alers found it at his deceased nephew's Jacksonville home. Alers, 46, who is on trial this week on charges that he possessed marijuana, was fired from the Sheriff's Department following his arrest Feb. 21, 2005. He is represented by Jacksonville attorney Ed Bailey. Assistant district attorneys Mike Maultsby and Stephanie Villiver are prosecuting the case, which is being heard by Superior Court Judge Paul Jones. The Sheriff's Department first learned that Alers had the drugs after receiving information from an informant who, at that time, frequently helped detectives - including Alers - set up drug deals. [continues 639 words]
It might look like cocaine or smell like marijuana, but appearance and odor aren't enough. Every time a law enforcement officer makes a drug bust, the evidence must be sent to the state lab for testing to confirm that what officers are alleging the drugs to be is true. Confirmation from a certified chemist is necessary to make drug charges stick in court. But with cases at the state lab in Raleigh constantly backlogged, it could be six to eight months before people charged with drug possession even see a courtroom. [continues 639 words]
Onslow County Sheriff Ed Brown doesn't really know what the next four years will bring, but he does know what kind of changes he hopes to initiate. In the 16 years Brown has served as sheriff, Onslow County has battled a drug problem. Although detectives have arrested their fair share of drug dealers, the problem continues to escalate, Brown said. He plans to spend his fifth term in office drawing more attention to drug crimes. "It's the No. 1 problem," Brown said. [continues 649 words]
A Jacksonville attorney charged almost two years ago with selling counterfeit drugs is suing the Jacksonville police officer that arrested him. While the District Attorney's office in June dropped the charges filed against attorney David Best, 57, of New Bridge Street in October 2004, Best claims in his lawsuit that Jacksonville police officer Jason Holland's actions damaged his business. Best "suffered monetary loss in terms of lost income from his business, severe damage to his reputation, expenses incurred as a direct result of the charges, suffered extreme embarrassment and was publicly humiliated and embarrassed," according to the lawsuit filed Sept. 15 by attorney Ralph T. Bryant of Havelock. [continues 401 words]
Some people hide it deep in the woods where it's difficult for passersby and law enforcement to see. But for a National Guard pilot with extensive training spotting vegetation in an area where there just shouldn't be neatly planted rows or water hoses, finding marijuana isn't that complicated. Communicating the location and hovering over the spot until a team of investigators with the Onslow County Sheriff's Department can navigate through thick brush, vines, snakes and possibly chiggers -- now, that's a different story. [continues 550 words]
Jacksonville/Onslow Crime Stoppers has always been a serious organization. Now, the Crime Stoppers board is attempting to deliver a serious message to the public in its latest campaign to "put drug dealers where they belong." Gone are the cartoon characters, including a Sherlock Holmes character holding a magnifying glass and a raccoon playing the role of masked bandit. The latest billboards -- there are currently six scattered around Onslow County -- have a photo of a law enforcement officer putting handcuffs on a drug dealer. [continues 449 words]
Law enforcement officials don't find many methamphetamine labs in Onslow County, and the drug is something they occasionally see on the streets. They want it to stay that way. But the number of methamphetamine labs found in North Carolina, especially in the western part of the state, is on the rise, and they know it's just a matter of time before labs will start popping up in Onslow County. It's one of many reasons why Jacksonville police Chief Mike Yaniero wants there to be regulations on the sale of cold medicine containing ephedrine and pseudoephedrine. [continues 802 words]
It's bright yellow, patriotic and eye catching. It has shiny rims, tinted windows, fancy tires and a 1,000-watt sound system. It's the kind of car that would attract any kid's attention, which is exactly what DARE officers who are trying to convince youngsters to stay away from drugs hope for. What Jacksonville police DARE officers John Ricker and Stephen Pierson didn't count on was that the department's DARE car would standout among other DARE cars across the state. [continues 432 words]
