Arrests number 17, charges 65 in latest CC drug sweep

Law enforcement personnel from the Twin Rivers Multi-Jurisdictional Drug Task Force paid visits to several Charles City residences last Thursday as part of Operation Happy Holidays. Officers, however, neither delivered gifts nor offered well wishes for the holiday season. Instead, they came bearing search and arrest warrants plus indictments.

Authorities rounded up 16 suspects as part of the latest crackdown on the area’s crack cocaine trade. A 17th suspect was arrested early Sunday. In all, 65 charges, mostly for distribution and conspiracy to distribute crack, have been filed.

Investigators look upon the effort as their Christmas present to the community. They also view it as the gift that keeps on giving since several more arrests are expected as the operation continues through the holidays.

“We put a major dent in the crack cocaine trade in Charles City,” said Charles City sheriff’s Capt. Jayson Crawley on Friday. “I would say that 75 percent of drug activity here has been impacted by this operation.”

All 17 suspects had been indicted by a Charles City Circuit Court grand jury that convened on Nov. 4. Those indictments were promptly sealed and remained so until Thursday when arrests began. All were arrested without incident, Crawley said. Most of the suspects operated independently of each other, he added.

Armed with search warrants, authorities raided two houses in Charles City and another in the Varina area of Henrico County. Arrests were made at those locations as well as at the residences of several other suspects. All but one, who later surrendered to authorities, were found at home, Crawley said.

Suspects arrested include a mother and son, a pair of brothers, and one individual who was convicted after a drug sweep through the county in 2005, he added.

Fifteen of the suspects are Charles City residents. Of the other two, one is from New Kent and the other from Richmond.

Charles City suspects arrested and the charges they face are:

–Carneal C. Crewe, 35, of 11900 Green Oak Road (one count of crack cocaine distribution);

–Antonio D. Black, 24, of 7300 Courthouse Road (two counts of crack cocaine distribution);

–Kenneth L. Jones, 50, of 6201 Barnetts Road (one count each of crack cocaine distribution and conspiracy to distribute);

–Andrew L. Brown, 47, of 8130 Church Lane (three counts of distributing crack);

–Jarvis A. Barnes, 40, of 6020 Adkins Road (three counts of distributing crack);

–Casey J. Crawley, 19, of 9601 Kimages Road (one count each of distributing crack and conspiracy);

–Danny C. Cotman, 54, of 8200 Little Elam Road (13 counts of crack distribution and seven conspiracy counts);

–Sylvia D. Johnson, 40, of 9431 Little Elam Road (one count of crack distribution);

–Antwan L. Charity, 29, of 10421 Courthouse Road (one count each of crack distribution and conspiracy);

–Stephen S. Cotman II, 19, of 8701 Adkins Road (10 counts of distributing crack and two counts of conspiracy);

–Jean B. Cotman, 51, of 8701 Adkins Road (two counts of distributing crack and one count of conspiracy);

–Michael O. Brown, 48, of 8921 Church Lane (one count of crack distribution);

–Alden R. Johnson, 22, of 4230 Wayside Road (two crack distribution counts and one conspiracy count);

–Timothy Little Jr., 23, of 12755 Tyler’s Ridge Court (one count of distributing ecstasy).

–Robert J. Woodley, 24, of 7620 Courthouse Road (one count of distributing crack).

The non-Charles City suspects are:

–Sterling S. Barnes, 31, of 6132 Almond Creek Lane in Richmond (three counts of crack distribution and one conspiracy count);

–Barbara A. Chandler, 37, of 7400 Lakeshore Drive in Quinton (two counts each of crack distribution and conspiracy).

Crawley described Jean B. Cotman and Stephen S. Cotman II as mother and son. He said they allegedly operated a small distribution business out of their home.

Jarvis A. Barnes and Sterling S. Barnes are brothers, Crawley said, adding that Sterling Barnes has been under investigation for several years for allegedly dealing drugs.

Alden R. Johnson, meanwhile, was caught up in a 2005 drug sweep. He was charged with six crack distribution counts and later pleaded guilty under terms of a plea agreement to three counts.

Twenty years in prison were imposed on each charge with all but two suspended. He served those two years in the state’s detention program for youthful offenders, and still has 58 years of suspended time hanging over his head.

Danny C. Cotman, who faces the most charges, allegedly served as a middleman between dealers and users, Crawley said. The investigator labeled the area around Cotman’s Little Elam Road address as an open-air drug market.

All 16 defendants are being held in jail without bond pending Nov. 21 hearings in Charles City General District Court, Crawley said.

The arrests climaxed an eight-month investigation by the drug task force. With a New Kent Sheriff’s Office tactical response team leading the way last Thursday, authorities raided the Cotman residence at 8701 Adkins Road and the Barnes residence at 6020 Adkins Road, Crawley said.

At the Cotman house, officers seized about three grams of crack, digital scales, and a .22 caliber revolver while a small amount of drug paraphernalia was found at the Barnes house.

“We’ve got a good working relationship with New Kent, so we’ll be aggressively attacking the drug trade in both counties,” Crawley said.

State Police, meanwhile, raided the Varina address in Henrico where officers discovered five grams of crack, 30 methadone pills, and a sawed-off shotgun, he said.

Crawley attributed the drug sweep’s success to anonymous tips provided by the public.

“Those tips are useful,” he said, “and hopefully people will keep on calling.”