Video: 53 Arrested in Pickens Drug Investigation

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PICKENS COUNTY, Ala. (Press Release) — Pickens County District Attorney Chris McCool and Pickens County Sheriff David Abston announced today that 53 people have been arrested in an ongoing drug enforcement operation in Pickens County.

For the past 18 months, the Twenty-Fourth Judicial Circuit Drug/Violent Crime Task Force, in conjunction with the Pickens County Sheriff’s Department and the District Attorney’s Office, has been conducting an undercover drug operation within the county, which has resulted in these and other forthcoming arrests.

The arrests occurred mainly on Thursday February 26, as investigators and other law enforcement within the county came together to serve the warrants. “We called our grand jury back in for a couple of days of special session in order to consider and issue indictments in these cases,” McCool said. According to McCool, this round of arrests is the latest salvo in the war against drugs. “There have been two parallel, but coordinated, operations going on for the past 18 months in the county, one spearheaded by former Chief Investigator Keith ‘Booty’ Cox with my office, and the other primarily conducted by Chief Agent Michael Shackleford of the Drug Task Force,” he said. “A few weeks ago, there were several arrests made, with more to come. This past week, officers arrested 53 more defendants, on charges of Distribution of a Controlled Substance.” McCool said that, altogether, these operations netted over 120 indictments and that more arrests are forthcoming.

This investigation was a joint venture between the Twenty-Fourth Judicial Circuit Drug/Violent Crime Task Force and the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office. Sheriff David Abston said that he was very pleased with the outcome of both operations, and that these arrests should make a positive impact on the county. “Throughout my career, I have been committed to ‘pressing the fight’ in the war on drugs, and these last few weeks have been very important victories in that fight,” Abston stated. “I appreciate Agent Shackleford and the Drug Task Force, as well as Investigator Cox of the district attorney’s office,” Abston said.

The indictments returned by the grand jury charge the defendants with selling drugs, many of which involved controlled prescription medications. “Prescription drug abuse has become a major problem in this area, and the sale of these drugs on the street is as prevalent now as marijuana and cocaine used to be,” according to McCool. McCool said that the Alabama District Attorneys Association has been working with the Governor’s Office to promote prescription drug abuse awareness and prevention. “People need to understand the dangers of prescription drug abuse; many of these cases arise out of the illegal sale of these drugs,” McCool said.

The following persons were arrested last week in connection with this operation:

From the Pickensville area:

-Marcus Deon Wilkins, age 24

-Willittie Dean Sherrod, age 28

From the Carrollton area:

-William David Adkins, age 23

-Sedrick Dewayne Hill, age 36

-Laglendale Jerel Hughes, age 24

-Temona Wendell Hughes, age 40

-Christopher Jerome Lavender, age 30

-Deanthony Rashon Pruitt, age 19

-Tabitha Nicole Oglesby, age 33

-Duarell Gipson, age 26

From the Aliceville area:

-Antonio Jermaine Ball, age 22

-Jeremy Dewayne Billups, age 28

-Timothy Ornez Blair, age 34

-Christopher Keon Clark, age 25

-Kendrick Lashaun Clark, age 22

-Trevonte Javaughn Colvin, age 19

-Keith Vondale Craig, age 30

-Roychester Keyon Degraffenreid, age 31

-Kelvin R. Degraffenreid, age 27

-Angela Regina Gavin, age 33

-Vondarius Hall, age 19

-James Arthur Hill, age 44

-Anthony S. Hines, age 35

-Jeremy Travon Hinton, age 23

-Deondrae Hughes, age 29

-Corey Breshon Jordan, age 24

-Whitney Kilpatrick, age 28

-Dewayne Lee Kirkland, age 25

-Deangelo Maurice Knight, age 24

-Lawrence Terrell Lacy, age 28

-Antonio Deion Lanier, age 28

-Kendarian Atkwon Little, age 20

-Kendall Deshon Martin, age 25

-Alex Mccaa, age 41

-Tevin Mccoy, age 19

-David Demetrius Mcmullen, age 28

-Robert Keon Mcmullen, age 29

-Lendell Cardrey Peebles,age 22

-William Deandre Peoples, age 29

-Kelly Lynn Poolen, age 25

-Jamil Pierre Prentice, age 25

-Donald Lee Prince, age 25

-Reggie Rice, age 41

-Anthony B. Smith, age 34

-Jimmie Leonard Spruill II, age 24

-Dominique Keshawn Summerville, age 21

-Castillo Taylor, age 60

-Chase Allen Townsell, age 24

-Rodney Turnipseed, age 37

-Michael Anthony Walker, age 34

-Thomas Fritzgerald Wilkins II, age 26

-Kelvin Keon Woods, age 31

-Sandi Ann Zacharias, age 35
Sheriff Abston said that the arrests involved coordination and assistance from several local law enforcement agencies. He thanked all these agencies for their involvement, including the Aliceville Police Department, Carrollton Police Department, Reform Police Department, Gordo Police Department, and the Alabama Office of Pardons and Parole.