Police make large-scale crack bust

By DUANE SHERRILL / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard

McMinnville Police Chief Joe Melton, left, and Lt. Investigator Derwin Adcock examine a crack rock as police raid a Swann Street home Monday afternoon. A total of 38 grams of cocaine was found. (Duane Sherrill photo)

A raid on a Swann Street crack house Monday ended with the arrest of a local couple and the seizure of large amounts of cocaine and drug money.

The alleged drug trafficker, Charles Clark, 27, is charged with possession of crack for resale and is being held under $300,000 bond. His girlfriend, Jamie Myers, 26, is charged with maintaining a dwelling for the trafficking of drugs and is being held under $100,000 bond. Her two children, one around 10 and the other a month-old infant, are in the custody of the Department of Children’s Services as lawmen suspect the children were in the house when numerous drug deals were being made.

“This is one of the largest ones we’ve ever gotten,” said McMinnville Police Lt. Investigator Derwin Adcock. “We found about 38 grams of crack cocaine both on his person and hidden around the house, along with over $5,400 which we suspect to be drug proceeds.”

The 38 grams of cocaine has a street value around $4,000. Lawmen say the couple attempted to flush some of the cocaine down the commode as police burst through the door Monday afternoon. However, they were caught in the act of trying to dispose of the drugs. Clark was also caught with a loaded 9mm handgun on his person along with the eight grams of cocaine he had hidden in his pockets.

The raid came following weeks of surveillance on the house. Police say Clark had been dealing from the house for a long time.

“We had officers watching the house closely and they reported seeing a high volume of traffic coming and going,” said McMinnville Police Chief Joe Melton. “We think this house represented a major drug trafficking area.”

Adcock said there were issues concerning a number of what were believed to be attack dogs outside the house as lawmen swarmed the residence, located near the intersection of Swann and West Sparta Street. However, as it turned out, the dogs were not vicious despite an abundance of “Beware of Dog” signs on the property.

“No dogs or officers were hurt in the raid,” Adcock said, noting the element of surprise was needed because they believed, correctly, Clark would be armed and that he would try to dispose of the cocaine he was holding.