BUSTED
By John Joyce
Published in News on September 20, 2015 1:50 AM
Full Size
News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
K-9 Sally searches a vehicle that smelled like marijuana at a checkpoint.
News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Deputy Martin McAulduff looks for a serial number on a handgun found on a driver after searching his pockets at a North William Street checkpoint, one of four guns found Friday.
Full Size
News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Interim Police Chief Mike West speaks with Sheriff Larry Pierce and Eric Swin with Alcohol Law Enforcement before a team briefing at Wayne Community College Friday night before officers were dispatched into teams.
Assembled in a lecture hall somewhere on the campus of Wayne Community College Friday, more than 90 law enforcement officers from 10 local, state and federal agencies broke into teams and received their assignments.
The mission: Get as many as you can.
In the largest show of force by law enforcement in the history of Wayne County, the Goldsboro Police Department spearheaded a campaign Friday and Saturday night backed by the Wayne County Sheriff's Office, N.C. Alcohol Law Enforcement, the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation, the Wayne County Alcoholic Beverage Control Board enforcement division, the U.S. Marshals Service, the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the N.C. Department of Probation and Parole.
"I think it was a success. We got what, four firearms off the street and a bunch of people locked up," Goldsboro Interim Police Chief Mike West said.
The operation -- several weeks in the making -- resulted in 19 arrests, four guns and an untold amount of drugs and cash seized, as well as three DWI charges. And that was just the first night.
Goldsboro took the lead on what began as an ALE operation investigating alcohol and drug violations in and around local drinking establishments. The local and state agencies came together after talks between West, City Manager Scott Stevens and city council member and Mayor Pro Tem Chuck Allen reached the ears of N.C. State Rep. John Bell.
Bell contacted the Governor's Crime Commission in Raleigh and asked for help.
Weeks of planning meetings and conference calls led to a citywide sweep complete with roving checkpoints, a mobile command center and the targeting of night clubs and liquor houses throughout the city.
"I think it's phenomenal. I think these guys are risking life and limb to help us here in Goldsboro with our issues," Allen said.
He called it the start to a new beginning.
"I really believe that we're going to let the people know crime is not going to pay in Wayne County," he said.
Allen, Bell and other officials spent part of their weekend riding along with the multi-agency task force conducting the sweep. Each said they were impressed with what they saw and promised this new tough stance would not be a fleeting occurrence, but is rather a permanent shift in the city and county's method of operation.
"We believe we know that we have elevated gang activity. I think we have a lot of shootings. The shootings are spreading all over the city," Allen said.
He said he has received phone calls from citizens saying they are afraid to leave their homes at night or to go to Walmart.
"Well, that bothers me. I don't like hearing that. These guys don't care about other people they don't care about their own lives. The only way to stop them is things like this," Allen said.
In addition to the traffic stops and liquor house operations, the Wayne County ABC board says it will be paying close attention to the ABC stores and local establishments with liquor permits.
Wayne ABC enforcement chief Joe Sadler said he was contacted weeks ago to help coordinate some of the planning for the weekend sweep."
"At some of our ABC stores that are usually really crowded on Friday night, sometimes we have known gang members that will go there," he said.
Sadler said some of the suspected and known gang members might be on the wanted list.
"There might be outstanding warrants on them, might be probation violations on them," he said.
From about 8 p.m. on, teams of officers and agents deployed throughout the city conducted checkpoints and traffic stops checking driver's licenses and vehicle registrations. Several of the stops led to searches, which generated the arrests and citations still being compiled by officials. Among the charges listed so far were no operator's license, driving while license revoked, possession of controlled substances, possession of drug paraphernalia, carrying concealed weapons, seat belt violations, littering and child restraint violations.
The first night of operations wrapped up at about 2 a.m. Saturday at the mobile command post, which was set up at the corner of East Ash and North John streets. Inside an ALE mobile substation, a magistrate had been posted the whole night processing a line of detainees who were assigned either secured or unsecured bonds and who were either jailed or cited and released.
Wayne County Sheriff Larry Pierce said at the conclusion he was pleased with the turnout.
"I think it was a very successful operation. I want to thank all the agencies for participation. It was a collaborative effort between Goldsboro, the sheriff's office, the state and federal agencies. (It was) a great show of force and we look forward to doing it again," he said.
Allen said he hoped the message to the criminal element operating in Wayne County and in Goldsboro was simple.
"Not in Goldsboro. Not in Wayne County. We are not going to tolerate it anymore," he said.