Local & State Headlines

Weekend raids nab nine people

• Refused an alcohol license, Marco's grocery continued to sell both beer and marijuana, authorities say.

Susan McCord

ALBANY — Weekend activities were cut short in one Albany neighborhood after the combined efforts of 10 law enforcement agencies led to the arrests of nine people, according to Commander Derrell Smith of the Albany- Dougherty Drug Unit.

“The most significant was Marco’s grocery,” Smith said. The convenience store was refused a city license to sell alcohol last month and is where officers arrested Jody Edwards around 6:30 p.m. and found 29.4 grams of marijuana and several cases of beer, Smith said.

ADDU officers laid out items removed from the 715 South Madison St. store, cigar boxes of rolled coins and bills totaling $1,167, a dozen tiny bags of marijuana and numerous bottles of beer, at a news conference Monday.

Edwards, 20, was charged with possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute.

A letter from the Georgia Department of Revenue ordered Edwards to immediately cease and desist the sale of alcohol.

Simultaneously, the assembly of 30-35 officers conducted roadblocks and served warrants on two neighboring residences, resulting in eight more arrests, Smith said.

At 603 Cotton Ave. residence, David Harper, 26, was charged with possession of cocaine with the intent to distribute.

A warrant served at nearby 604-A Gordon Ave. resulted in no arrests, Smith said.

In roadblocks set up at the nearby intersections of Gordon and Madison and Cotton and South McKinley Street, officers arrested seven people.

Charged with driving on a suspended license were Vincent Price, DeMarcus Cobb, John Johnson, Grady Rachels Sr. and LaWanda Hardy, all of Albany, Smith said.

Johnson, 26, was also charged with possession of less than an ounce of marijuana; Rachels, 58, was charged with driving under the influence.

Laqessa Redding was charged with driving without a license and a probation violation, while Otis Choice, 30, was arrested on four outstanding warrants, Smith.

“I was surprised at how many people we arrested at the roadblocks with DUIs and suspended licenses,” Smith said.

Cooperating in the operation were ADDU, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Georgia State Patrol, the Dougherty Sheriff’s Office, Albany Police Department, Albany’s probation office, Southwest Georgia Regional Airport police, the Dougherty District Attorney’s office and the Albany State University police force, he said.

Numerous citizen complaints gave rise to the effort, Smith said.

After the early evening bust, officers re-emerged around 11:45 p.m. Friday to serve warrants on a residence at 910 Rood Ave.

Inside, they found Zerike Montez Jones, Megan Marshall and seven children, along with cocaine ready to sell and guns, he said.

Jones, 27, was charged with possession of cocaine and marijuana, both with the intent to distribute, possession of a firearm by a felon and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime.

Marshall, 36, was charged with possession of less than an ounce of marijuana and carrying a firearm without a license, Smith said.

Jones also was charged with seven counts of reckless conduct, one for each of the children in the home.

“We got a lot of complaints about that area also,” Smith said.

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