Sheriff’s Office arrests seven after discovering hundreds of grams of drugs

Published 1:38 pm Friday, February 26, 2021

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Over a span of about a week, Stanly County law enforcement made more than half a dozen arrests and seized hundreds of grams of drugs in Norwood and Albemarle.

On Feb. 17 the Stanly County Sheriff’s Office and the Norwood Police conducted an operation in Norwood which resulted in the seizure of 61 grams of methamphetamine, according to Sheriff Jeff Crisco.

Christopher Maurice Tillman, 32, from Lilesville, was charged with 2 counts of trafficking in methamphetamine, possession with intent to manufacture, sell and distribute methamphetamine, possession of drug paraphernalia and carrying a concealed weapon. Currently in jail, his bond is roughly $250,000. His next court appearance is March 1.

Latavius Shanell Bennett, 38, also from Lilesville, was charged with two counts of trafficking in methamphetamine, possession with intent to manufacture, sell and distribute methamphetamine, possession of drug paraphernalia and misdemeanor child abuse. Currently in jail, her bond is roughly $260,000. Her next court appearance is March 1.

On Feb. 24, the Sheriff’s Office conducted an operation in Albemarle which resulted in the seizure of 504 grams of fentanyl/heroin and $4,638 in cash.

“That is the largest fentanyl case seizure to the best of our knowledge in this county’s history,” Crisco said, noting his office has been especially busy of late conducting numerous drug operations.

Fitzgerald Kennedy Ingram, 29, from Albemarle was charged with two counts of trafficking in opium or heroin and possession with intent to manufacture, sell and distribute heroin. Ingram was also served with a number of outstanding warrants. His bond is more than $2.5 million and his next court appearance is March 8.

Justin Michael Saunders, 23, from Charleston, West Virginia, was charged with two counts of trafficking in opium or heroin and possession with intent to manufacture, sell and distribute heroin. His bond is $2 million and his next court appearance is March 8.

Kiara Dawnielle Clark, 18, from Portsmouth, was charged with two counts of trafficking in opium or heroin and possession with intent to manufacture, sell and distribute heroin. Her bond is $2 million and her next court appearance is March 8.

Finally, on Feb. 25, the Sheriff’s Office and the Norwood Police conducted an operation in Norwood which resulted in the seizure of 217.8 grams of methamphetamine and $1,383 in cash.

Cormelius Antonio Smith, 30, from Wadesboro was charged with two counts of trafficking in methamphetamine and possession with intent to manufacture, sell and distribute methamphetamine.

Brianna Nicole Robinson, 21, from Wadesboro was charged with two counts of trafficking in methamphetamine and possession with intent to manufacture, sell and distribute methamphetamine.

Both of their bonds are $500,000 and their court appearance was Friday.

About Chris Miller

Chris Miller has been with the SNAP since January 2019. He is a graduate of NC State and received his Master's in Journalism from the University of Maryland. He previously wrote for the Capital News Service in Annapolis, where many of his stories on immigration and culture were published in national papers via the AP wire.

email author More by Chris