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FOUR POUNDS OF MARIJUANA SEIZED THURSDAY

By Ray King/OF THE COMMERCIAL STAFF
Friday, June 26, 2009 11:26 PM CDT

Four pounds of marijuana, a loaded gun and other items were seized Thursday and two people arrested as a result of an investigation into drug-related activity on the west side of Pine Bluff.

James Taylor, 34, and Mary Rice, 30, both of Pine Bluff, were taken into custody after police vice and narcotics officers, the U.S. Marshal’s Service, Game and Fish officers and agents of the Tri-County Drug Task Force served a search warrant at 1919 W. Ninth Ave., at 9:49 a.m.

During a court hearing Friday, Deputy Prosecutor Cymber Gieringer said investigators forced entry when no one answered the door, and found Taylor and Rice, in bedrooms, and also located a 10-year-old girl.

Reading from an affidavit from vice and narcotics Detective Sharon Reed, Gieringer said investigators found a black bag containing four one-gallon bags of marijuana in the living room behind a couch. The estimated street value of the marijuana was listed in a police report as $6,400.

A M-11, 9-millimeter handgun with three magazines containing 27 rounds was found on a chair in a bedroom, and Reed reported investigators found additional 9-millimeter magazines, loose shells, and a .45-caliber magazine in the residence.

Gieringer said the officers also found three laptop computers in the living room floor, several sets of digital scales, plastic sandwich bags, and documents with Rice’s name on them, along with $308 in cash.

She said Taylor waived his right to an attorney and told officers the marijuana and scales were his, and the gun belonged to Rice. Rice refused to make a statement.

During the court hearing, Circuit Judge Rob Wyatt Jr., ruled prosecutors had probable cause to charge Taylor and Rice with possession of marijuana with intent to deliver, possession of drug paraphernalia, simultaneous possession of drugs and firearms, and told both they could also face an enhanced penalty because a church was located within 1,000 feet of the house where the drugs were seized.

The judge set a $10,000 bond for both Taylor and Rice, who told the court they would hire their own attorneys.

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