This would not be just another ordinary day for field officers or even undercover agents as they prepared for a daunting task that lay before them. At 6:30 a.m. Sheriff James Williams instructed officers in the center’s briefing room on the pending arrests of 21 individuals who are suspected of both using and trafficking in illicit drugs.
The extensive undercover investigation began this past summer and has been dubbed by local authorities as Operation: Winter Clean-up, a sequel to last year’s Operation: Sleepy Eye. Following the briefing, officers assembled in the parking lot, armed with service weapons, protected by bullet proof vests, and in some instances assault rifles, as they began to split up into teams of three. Despite an early morning chill in the air, many of the officers commented on the “milder” day they laid before them.
“We have good weather conditions for the day’s busts,” Williams said.
Approximately four teams split up to canvas the county to serve a total of 70 warrants. Shortly after 7 a.m., officers dispersed from the Ashe County Courthouse parking lot to apprehend their assigned targets.
An undercover investigator instructed each team to be escorted by one uniformed officer and to exercise caution in apprehending the alleged users as some of them were known to flee from authorities while others may be armed.
The first suspect on the day’s agenda was 25-year-old Mark Allen Edwards who is known by authorities to be a flight risk.
“The sooner we can get him the better,” one officer said during the early morning briefing.
Agents and deputies made their move just in time. As officers in four unmarked vehicles approached a residence on West Fourth Street in West Jefferson at 7:15 a.m. they discovered Edwards and 21-year-old Amber Dawn McWatters sitting in a running vehicle in the adjacent driveway.
“They were probably getting ready to make a run,” Williams stated. “These people on drugs will stay up all night and day.”
Officers quickly moved into action and blocked the rear of his vehicle to prevent an escape. With deliberate calmness, Officer Brad Jordan and another unidentified agent apprehended the couple and then transported them for booking for at the Ashe County Jail. Inside the residence, authorities also apprehended 25-year-old Jessie Michael Poole on similar drug charges. Poole, and another suspect in the house, was not an initial target in the operation.
Throughout Tuesday morning, each team moved from target to target, in their cleanup of the county’s illicit drug users. Although the majority of the arrests were unrelated, Williams explained that many of the suspected users are repeat offenders.
By the time that officers had concluded the operation, 19 suspects were on their way to the Ashe County Jail for booking procedures. It is now know by authorities to be the largest drug bust in Ashe County history.
“This is something we have worked on over the past six months,” Williams said. “I really do appreciate the assistance we had from the other departments involved in the bust and I’m tickled to death with the number we caught.”
He went on to explain that the ACSO and other local agencies will remain dedicated to removing drugs from the streets of Ashe County and making the community a safer place for everyone.
“This is what I was elected to do and I intend to keep my promise,” he said.
Williams also issued a stern warning to anyone involved in using or trafficking in illicit drugs.
“If they want to keep up what they are doing then they can just hold on, because I’m coming for them.”
He also stated that the success of Tuesday’s operation hinged on the support of the ACSO staff.
“I really appreciate my staff and all of the folks who work for me,” he said. “They work hard and do what a great job from the narcotics officers right down to the patrol guys and jail staff. It takes a good team to pull something like that off and I’m lucky to have the best.”
The arrest list is as of Wednesday afternoon is as follows:
• Brian Lynn Brown, 32, of Creston was charged with one count of manufacture in marijuana. He is currently in jail under a $25,000 bond.
• Gregory Kelly Ellison, 29, of Jefferson was charged with one count of possession with intent to sell/deliver cocaine. He is in jail under a $75,000 secured bond.
• Damion Okayia Blevins, 17, of Todd was charged with one count of felony larceny and one count of trafficking in opium/heroin. He is jail under a $50,000 secured bond.
• Gregory Earl Stephens, 33, of Creston was charged with one count of manufacturing in marijuana. He is in jail under a $15,000 unsecured bond.
• April Rose Turner, 34, of Jefferson was charged with one count of exceeding the pseudophrine limit and is currently out of jail under a $500 unsecured bond.
• Cody James Collins, 18, of Jefferson was charged with two counts of conspiring to sell marijuana, two counts of conspiring to deliver marijuana, one count of conspiring to sell cocaine, and one count of conspiring to deliver cocaine. He is currently in jail under a $150,000 secured bond.
• Mark Allen Edwards, 25, of Jefferson, was charged with four counts of conspiring to traffic in opium/heroin, two counts of sell/deliver a Schedule I controlled substance, four counts of conspiring to sell/deliver cocaine. He is currently in jail under a $200,000 secured bond.
• Amber Dawn McWatters, 21, of West Jefferson, was charged with two counts of conspire to sell/deliver cocaine, four counts of conspiring to traffic in opium/heroin. She is currently in jail under a $150,000 secured bond.
• Angela Lee Turner, 34, of West Jefferson was charged with one count of exceeding pseuedphedrine limits and one count of possession of drug paraphernalia and is in jail under a $14,000 secured bond.
• Jessie Michael Poole, 25, of Jefferson was charged with one count of trafficking in opium/heroin, one count of simple possession of Schedule III controlled substance, and one count of fictitious information to an officer. He is in jail under a $53,000 secured bond.
• Dreama Elizabeth Taylor, 27, of West Jefferson, was charged with one count of trafficking in opium/heroin and one count of simple possession of Schedule III controlled substance. She is in jaul under a $51,500 secured bond.
• William Nicholas Fink, 30, of Jefferson, was charged with six counts of sell/deliver marijuana and three counts of possession with intent to sell/deliver marijuana. He is in jail under a $125,000 secured bond.
• Thomas O’Brian Maxwell, 17,of West Jefferson, was charged with one count of possession with intent to sell/deliver marijuana and two counts of sell/deliver marijuana. He is in jail under a $7,500 secured bond.
• Jonathon Conley Collins, 28, of Jefferson, was charged with one count of conspire to sell marijuana, one count of possession with intent to sell/deliver marijuana, and one count of possession of drug paraphernalia. He is in jail under a $25,000 secured bond.
• Robin McElhaney Woods Brown, 50, of West Jefferson was charged with four counts of obtaining a controlled substance by fraud/forgery and two counts of trafficking in opium/heroin. She is in jail under a $100,000 secured bond.
• Kenneth Lee Oliver, 45, of Creston, was charged with two counts of trafficking in marijauan. He is in jail under a $40,000 secured bond.
• Anthony Dustin Graybeal, 20, of West Jefferson, was charged with two counts of conspire to sell marijuana, two counts of conspire to deliver marijuana, and two counts of possession with intent to sell/deliver marijuana. He is in jail under a $125,000 secured bond.
• Michael Timothy Howell, 22, of West Jefferson was charged with one count of possession of marijuana up to half an ounce and one count of drug paraphernalia. He is currently out on a $2,000 secured bond.
• Nancy Jean Ellison, 40 of Lansing, was charged with two counts of sell/deliver cocaine, one count of possession with intent to sell/deliver cocaine, and one count of possession of drug paraphernalia. She is in jail under a $75,500 secured bond.
Authorities are still on the lookout for four additional targets that were not apprehended during Tuesday’s operation.
• Angel Michelle Severt, 37, of West Jefferson, is wanted on charges of two counts of sell and deliver cocaine, one count of possession with intent to sell/deliver marijuana, one count of possession with intent to sell/deliver cocaine, two counts of sell/deliver marijuana, two counts of possession with intent to sell/deliver methamphetamine, and two counts of sell/deliver methamphetamine.
• Deborah Lynn Dickerson, 45, of Warrensville, is wanted on charges of one count of trafficking in opium or heroin, one count of obtaining a controlled substance by fraud/forgery, and two counts of attempting to obtain a controlled substance by fraud/forgery.
• Donald Scott Lewis, 33, of West Jefferson is wanted on charges of one count of simple possession of a Schedule III controlled substance and one count of possession of drug paraphernalia.
• Danny Paul Maye, 41, of Lansing, is wanted on one charge of exceeding pseudoephedrine limits.
Anyone with any information that may lead to the arrest of these individuals should call 846-5400 or Ashe County Crime Stoppers at (336) 846-4188.
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