DRUGS FOUND ON WC STUDENT

By Ray King/OF THE COMMERCIAL STAFF

An 18-year-old student at Watson Chapel High School was arrested Monday afternoon after school officials reportedly found bags of marijuana in his pocket.

At a court hearing Wednesday, Circuit Judge Berlin Jones ruled prosecutors had probable cause to charge Kevin Rauls with possession of marijuana with intent to deliver, and distribution near certain facilities, and set a $2,500 bond for Rauls.

Reading from an affidavit from vice and narcotic detective Brett Talley, Deputy Prosecutor Karres Manning said the school’s principal and assistant principal escorted Rauls to the office of Deputy Paul Jones, who is the security officer for the school district, after a report that Rauls was possibly in possession of a controlled substance.

Manning said Rauls was asked to empty his pockets and when he did, removed a clear plastic bag containing seven smaller bags with a green leafy substance that field tested positive for marijuana. A member of Rauls’ family told the court they would hire an attorney for Rauls.

Also Wednesday, a $5,000 bond was set for Jerhmain Brown, 27, of Altheimer, after Judge Jones ruled prosecutors had probable cause to charge Brown with possession of ecstasy with intent to deliver, possession of marijuana, and possession of cocaine.

Reading from an affidavit from Tri-County Drug Task Force Sgt. Yohance Brunson, Deputy Prosecutor Rik Ramsey said the task force and police vice and narcotics officers arrested Brown after they served a search warrant at 206 E. Third St. in Altheimer at 10:45 a.m. Monday.

Ramsey said Brown and a female were detained while the search was conducted, and officers found 1.6 grams of marijuana, 2.7 grams of crack cocaine, and five colored pills that field tested positive for MDMA, the active ingredient in ecstasy.

In the affidavit, Brunson reported that investigators seized $1,546 from Brown, who said he was unemployed and admitted he had been selling drugs out of the house for seven or eight months.

Another search warrant Monday resulted in the arrest of Trumorrow Rainey, 33, of Pine Bluff, on charges of possession of marijuana, possession of cocaine, and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Manning said the search warrant was served at an apartment at 509 W. Barraque St., at about noon, and officers forced entry after knocking on the door several times without results.

Vice and narcotics Detective J.R. Harrell reported that Rainey and a female were found in a bedroom. Investigators found a brown clipboard with a small amount of marijuana and a small bag of crack cocaine sitting on a table and a set of digital scales and $344 in the bedroom where they found Rainey and the female.

Manning reported the marijuana weighed 5.3 grams, while the weight of the crack cocaine was .04 grams.

The judge set a $5,000 bond for Rainey, who told the court he would hire his own attorney.