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TWO ARRESTED ON DRUG CHARGES

By Ray King/OF THE COMMERCIAL STAFF
Monday, June 29, 2009 11:24 PM CDT

Two Pine Bluff men arrested in separate incidents Sunday will be held on drug related charges after court hearings Monday.

Circuit Judge Jodi Dennis ruled prosecutors had probable cause to charge Casteal Buckhanan, 25, with possession of drug paraphernalia, and Willie Laws, 22, with possession of marijuana with intent to deliver, and fleeing.

Warrant served

Deputy Prosecutor Jill Reed said Buckhanan was arrested Sunday afternoon after police vice and narcotics officers and the Tri-County Drug Task Force served a search warrant at 1907 S. Amis St. and entered the house through an open front door.

Reed said investigators found a large quantity of liquor bottles and cans of beer, and cited the owner of the residence for selling alcohol on Sunday, a misdemeanor.

Detective Marcus Smith reported that Buckhanan was standing outside the house and when he was patted down for officers’ safety, police found four clear plastic bags containing a total of 10 grams. A set of digital scales were located in Buckhanan’s vehicle, Smith said.

Dennis set a $2,500 bond for Buckhanan.

Reed said Laws was arrested after vice and narcotics officers saw what they believed was a drug deal on the parking lot of a business on South Olive Street Sunday afternoon.

Reading from an affidavit from Detective Sharon Reed, Jill Reed said investigators followed a car Laws was in after it left the parking lot, then made a traffic stop when they saw the vehicle cross the center line.

Sharon Reed reported she approached the passenger side of the car, where Laws was sitting, and saw him moving around in the vehicle, then appear to try and pull his pants up before he got out of the car and fled on foot.

Car search

Jill Reed said Laws was caught a short distance away, and when investigators searched the car, found a bag containing marijuana on the passenger side of the vehicle, as well as $245 cash. Additional cash was found in the console of the vehicle.

She said two juveniles who were in the car, including the driver, were taken to the juvenile detention center.

The judge set a $15,000 bond for Laws, who Jill Reed said had two pending drug related cases, both stemming from arrests in 2008.

Laws told the court he would hire his own attorney.

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