Sheriff's agencies cracking down on drug problem
One month removed from worried citizens strategizing in a public forum with the Graham County Sheriff’s Office on the rampant drug problem plaguing the area, law enforcement officials are holding up their end of the bargain.
Residents might have noticed an increased street-patrol presence, but three sets of arrests around the region will certainly make a dent in the problem.
On Oct. 22, the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office served a search warrant at a residence in Andrews. The owner, 49-year-old Phillip Chambers, was arrested on numerous charges, including trafficking in opium or heroin, possession with intent to manufacture/sell/deliver heroin, possession of methamphetamine and possession of a firearm by a felon.
Additionally, 62-year-old Dennis Solles and 48-year-old Tracy Teesateskie Hemphill, both of Robbinsville, were also arrested at the residence. Each were charged with possession of heroin.
“We had been working with Cherokee County some, sharing information back and forth,” Graham County Sheriff Joseph Jones said. “Some of the information we had gotten through the sharing was that some of our local people were going over there, buying the drugs, then coming back over here and selling them.
“A lot of it will hinge on what the court system does with him (Chambers). If he gets out, he’ll start right back up. He was a major player in a lot of the dope that was coming into the county.”
Graham County officials had a warrant out for arrest on Robert Michael Phillips, 31, of Robbinsville, when his car was pulled over at the Shell gas station off U.S. 129 on Oct. 16. During a subsequent search of the vehicle, officers found 20 white pills – believed to be hydrocodone – and some other pills that were sent to a lab for further investigation.
Phillips was arrested on charges of trafficking in opium or heroin, maintaining a vehicle for the possession with intent to manufacture, sell and/or deliver controlled substance within 1,000 feet of a school, possession of controlled substance on prison/jail premises, driving while license revoked, false imprisonment and assault on a female.
A passenger, 22-year-old Jaidrienne Sierra Bateman of Aquone, was also arrested on charges of trafficking in opium or heroin and maintaining a vehicle for the possession with intent to manufacture, sell and/or deliver controlled substance within 1,000 feet of a school.
A seven-month investigation – spearheaded by the Asheville Police Department, Henderson County Sheriff’s Office, N.C. State Bureau of Investigation and U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration – also concluded over Oct. 23-24 with search warrants being issued in several western North Carolina counties. The primary targets – Fabian Carrillo Blas, Abel Carbajal and Mark Leman Tobe – allegedly conspired to distribute cocaine in kilogram doses across the western part of the state.
Four kilograms of methamphetamine, 1 1/2 kilograms of cocaine, small amounts of heroin pills and marijuana were all seized across the 26 arrests made in connection with the investigation, as well as multiple firearms and more than $90,000 in cash.
One month removed from worried citizens strategizing in a public forum with the Graham County Sheriff’s Office on the rampant drug problem plaguing the area, law enforcement officials are holding up their end of the bargain.
Residents might have noticed an increased street-patrol presence, but three sets of arrests around the region will certainly make a dent in the problem.
On Oct. 22, the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office served a search warrant at a residence in Andrews. The owner, 49-year-old Phillip Chambers, was arrested on numerous charges, including trafficking in opium or heroin, possession with intent to manufacture/sell/deliver heroin, possession of methamphetamine and possession of a firearm by a felon.
Additionally, 62-year-old Dennis Solles and 48-year-old Tracy Teesateskie Hemphill, both of Robbinsville, were also arrested at the residence. Each were charged with possession of heroin.
“We had been working with Cherokee County some, sharing information back and forth,” Graham County Sheriff Joseph Jones said. “Some of the information we had gotten through the sharing was that some of our local people were going over there, buying the drugs, then coming back over here and selling them.
“A lot of it will hinge on what the court system does with him (Chambers). If he gets out, he’ll start right back up. He was a major player in a lot of the dope that was coming into the county.”
Graham County officials had a warrant out for arrest on Robert Michael Phillips, 31, of Robbinsville, when his car was pulled over at the Shell gas station off U.S. 129 on Oct. 16. During a subsequent search of the vehicle, officers found 20 white pills – believed to be hydrocodone – and some other pills that were sent to a lab for further investigation.
Phillips was arrested on charges of trafficking in opium or heroin, maintaining a vehicle for the possession with intent to manufacture, sell and/or deliver controlled substance within 1,000 feet of a school, possession of controlled substance on prison/jail premises, driving while license revoked, false imprisonment and assault on a female.
A passenger, 22-year-old Jaidrienne Sierra Bateman of Aquone, was also arrested on charges of trafficking in opium or heroin and maintaining a vehicle for the possession with intent to manufacture, sell and/or deliver controlled substance within 1,000 feet of a school.
A seven-month investigation – spearheaded by the Asheville Police Department, Henderson County Sheriff’s Office, N.C. State Bureau of Investigation and U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration – also concluded over Oct. 23-24 with search warrants being issued in several western North Carolina counties. The primary targets – Fabian Carrillo Blas, Abel Carbajal and Mark Leman Tobe – allegedly conspired to distribute cocaine in kilogram doses across the western part of the state.
Four kilograms of methamphetamine, 1 1/2 kilograms of cocaine, small amounts of heroin pills and marijuana were all seized across the 26 arrests made in connection with the investigation, as well as multiple firearms and more than $90,000 in cash.