25 sought in another drug raid in county
By Nick Hiltunen
Published in News on February 6, 2008 1:45 PM
Unseasonably spring-like weather might have influenced the name of "Operation Spring Cleanup," a Tuesday morning drug offender roundup in Wayne County.
Police sought 25 people named in warrants for 54 charges throughout the county, an operation conducted by the Goldsboro-Wayne County Drug Squad.
They picked up more than a dozen of those people by late Tuesday morning, Sheriff Carey Winders said.
Goldsboro police Chief Tim Bell praised citizens who are helping law enforcement officials pinpoint drug suspects.
"Thank God we've got good people out there to continue to work on this," Bell said.
Drug complaints are one of the chief concerns of Goldsboro's citizens, the chief said, and he encourages people to continue to voice their opposition to rampant drug use.
"(People report) when there's a whole lot of traffic at someone's house, which is always good," Bell said. "We encourage those types of calls when people see something suspicious in their neighborhood."
The squad teams Goldsboro police investigators with the those of the Sheriff's Office, aiming at folks in Goldsboro, Fremont, Pikeville, Seven Springs, Dudley and Mount Olive, the sheriff has said.
Facing narcotics charges are:
* Kevin Barksdale, 19, Wisteria Road.
* Louis McKinnon, 49, Randall Lane.
* David McCormick, 42, Mill Dam Road.
* Twalla Saintil, 48, A Street.
* Samuel Thompson, 31, Bryant Street.
* Lamonta Holmes, 19, Marvin Street.
* Frankie Holmes, 24, Brock Street.
* Akeem McKinney, 17, Garner Court, Mount Olive.
* Willie McArthur, 44, East Pine Street.
* Jesse Dixon, 19, South Running Deer Circle, Dudley.
* Christopher Robinson, 19, Slocumb Street, Mount Olive.
* Taylor Mills, 20, Eleanor Avenue.
Winders praised the efforts of law enforcement.
"I appreciate the hard work that our Goldsboro-Wayne Drug Squad has done in combating the drug problems in our county," Winders said.
Sheriff's Office officials said they wanted to make sure residents knew this investigation was separate from Operation Pop-A-Smurf.
That investigation continues to target people who surpass purchase limits on pseudoephedrine or are suspected of providing the drug to meth "cooks."