If you smoke marijuana in Lenoir County, your supply may have gone dry sometime in the past four weeks. There’s a reason for that.
“I truthfully believe that we are finding more of it because since Sheriff (Chris) Hill has been appointed, him, and us, and the administration have put emphasis on trying to find these types of things,” Lenoir County Sheriff’s Office Maj. Ryan Dawson said. “We have changed our department into a more proactive department, rather than reactive.”
Dating back to the middle of June, large amounts of the “sticky icky” have run into the waiting arms of law enforcement.
June 15 — Jimmy Dale Britt, 60, Grifton, arrested at a checkpoint on Will Baker Road for allegedly transporting 40 pounds of marijuana in four 10-pound bales. According to an LCSO statement, at the residence deputies seized 6 pounds of marijuana and about $10,000 in cash.
June 21 — Christopher Deon Jones, 21, Kinston, and Jeffery Leon Jones Jr., 22, Kinston, were arrested after a checkpoint on Banks School Road when LCSO deputies detected the odor of marijuana coming from a stopped black Chevrolet Impala. Following a search of the vehicle and a pat-down of the passenger, an LCSO statement says deputies seized 1 pound of marijuana from the trunk and 12 small bags of marijuana and a stolen handgun.
June 23 — Haley Goodman, 18, Kinston, and Samantha Goodman, 16, Kinston, were arrested after LCSO deputies attempting to serve a warrant for arrest detected the strong smell of marijuana from the Goodmans’ residence. Deputies seized 23 small bags of marijuana, four smoking devices and other paraphernalia.
June 26 — Anthony Spear, 45, Deep Run, arrested on pretrial release after law enforcement followed up a tip he possessed marijuana at his residence. LCSO narcotics detectives noticed a strong smell of marijuana coming from inside the residence and, after a search, seized 7 pounds of the substance.
June 26 — Billy Franklin Thigpen, 63, Seven Springs, arrested on pretrial release after law enforcement made several controlled purchases of illegal narcotics. After a search of his residence, LCSO narcotics detectives uncovered 1 pound of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.
July 2 — Quincy Demont Durham, 35, Dudley, and Henry Lee Solomon Jr., 33, Goldsboro, were arrested by narcotics officers with the Kinston Department of Public Safety on U.S. 70. Officers seized 5 pounds, 5 ounces of marijuana from the black 2013 Chevrolet Impala in which they were traveling.
July 4 — Robert Clifton Brow, 48, La Grange, was arrested after LCSO deputies followed up a complaint that marijuana was being smoked at his residence. After detecting the aroma of marijuana, deputies searched the residence and turned up 19 grams of the substance.
July 4 — Anthony Michael Hood, 37, Kinston, was arrested after a marijuana eradication operation by the LCSO discovered several marijuana plants allegedly tended by him in the 1900 block of Neuse Road.
Dawson said a decision by Hill to split off part of the LCSO to conduct solely civil affairs — taking those duties off patrol deputies — helps in law enforcement across the county and leads to seizures like those conducted recently.
“We’re able to keep them in the county, on the road, looking for the people who are doing stuff wrong,” Dawson said. “We’re trying to encourage them — ‘don’t hesitate to find people who are doing stuff wrong.’”
Dawson’s suggestion that the increase of marijuana seizures is due to a change in law enforcement behavior rather than an increase of marijuana in the county was echoed by KDPS spokesman Woody Spencer.
“We’re not looking at any more marijuana than usual,” Spencer said.
The 5 pounds of marijuana seized by KDPS officers on July 2, Spencer said, came from Goldsboro and had a destination further down the road — just passing through Kinston. Wayne County has been declared a county within the Atlanta High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area by the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy, along with several other counties in North Carolina. Lenoir County was not included in the latest available assessment.
“Traffic stops and traffic encounters do reveal other crimes that are occurring. I know recently we sent out a release where the checkpoint gave us 40 pounds of marijuana,” Dawson said. “One right after that, we got a pound of marijuana and a stolen firearm back with a couple arrests.
“So, things like that — our society is a mobile society, and to commit these crimes, they’re using vehicles to do it.”
Wes Wolfe can be reached at 252-559-1075 and Wes.Wolfe@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter @WolfeReports.