Nine Arrested In
Raid On Drug, Gambling Ring
BY KRIC CARLSON
A man police say was the kingpin for a major fivc
county illicit lottery operation was amiwg the nine peo
ple arrested after the Brunswick County Sheriff's
Department drug squad raided two Lcland mobile
homes allegedly used for cocaine trafficking, gambling
and illegal liquor sales.
Among the items seized at what one officer called a
"mini-country club" was a pound of while powder be
lieved to be cocaine, more than S37,(XX) cash, numer
ous firearms, S16,(XX) worth of gold jewelry, 42 cases
of beer, numerous bottles of liquor, a Dmlgc van and
about 25,(XX) lottery tickets.
The two mobile homes arc located at the end of a
dirt road in Ballard's Mobile Home Park in the Phoenix
area near Lcland, Dctcctivc Lt. David Crocker said
Monday.
"It's an isolated area where 90 percent of the resi
dents arc family members," Crockcr said. "They main
tain a surveillance with spotters who watch for out
siders."
One of the trailers was used for drug trafficking.
Cocker said. Another trailer and a garage apartment
were used as headquarters for the lottery gambling op
eration. One room was set up with a bar, where cus
tomers could have a drink while they wailed for drugs
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Aflcr making an undercover purchase of cocaine at
ihc mobile home park Thursday afternoon, detectives
arrested four men and a woman on multiple drug traf
ficking charges. Three other women were charged with
lottery violations.
A fourth suspect. Hardy Ballard Jr. (also known as
"Rev" or "Shorty"), 39, turned himself in to sheriff's
detectives Tuesday. He is believed to be the head of the
gambling operation and was charged with three misde
meanors involving the possession and sale of lottery
tickeLs.
"Mr. Ballard is THE lottery connection for Bruns
wick, New Hanover, Pender, Columbus and Bladen
counties," said Crocker.
Ballard allegedly supervised the operation of at
least a dozen "houses" in the five-county area where
customers could place bets ranging from SI to Sl(X) on
the winning three-digit number in the New York or
Illinois lotteries, Crocker said. The numbers arc pub
lished daily in some newspapers.
The houses were operated by "writers" who would
bring Ballard the money collected and copies of their
daily sa'es receipts. Ledgers and account books docu
menting each writer's activities were among the items
seized from Ballard's trailer, Crocker said.
Police believe that more than S5(),(XX) in confiscat
ed cash and jewelry were proceeds from Ballard's gam
bling business.
"We can't seem to find any legitimate source of
revenue for Mr. Ballard," Crocker said.
Thursday's raid at Ballard's Mobile Home Park
culminated an extensive two-year undercover investiga
tion involving the Brunswick, New Hanover and
Onslow County sheriff's departments with assistance
from the State Bureau of Investigation Crocker said.
Informants had given detectives evidence of numer
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according to an application for a search warrant on file
at the Brunswick County Clerk of Court's office. One
informant allegedly told police that Ballard had been
selling cocaine for more than five years.
Alter making several purchases of cocaine at the
mobile home park from Debra Elaine (a.k.a. "Bootsie")
Robbins, 34, an undercover agent arranged to purchase
a pound of cocaine, Crocker said. The agent showed
her S35,(XX) cash and she agreed to the deal, telling him
to come back the next day.
Armed with search warrants for both trailers.
Brunswick detectives made the deal and arrested
Robbins and others involved in the operation. The
white powder and cash used to make the purchase were
recovered, Crocker said.
As policc searched the mobile home, a detective
saw one of the coconspirators make a phone call from
a nearby store. A short time later, two women were
seen ninning out of Ballard's home carrying a heavily
loaded duffel bag and a plastic garbage bag.
The two were stopped and the duffel bag was found
to be stuffed with more than 25,(XX) lottery tickets,
Crocker said. The garbage bag contained a set of triple
beam scales of the type commonly used to weigh drugs.
In a search of the two trailers and Ballard's garage
apartment, detectives sci/cd loaded handguns, two
shotguns, a safe, a fax machine, two cash registers, sev
eral calculators, two Roiex watches and other jewelry, a
35mm camera, two video cameras, courier radios, a
scanner and stacks of papers believed to be business
records of illegal activities, Crocker said.
The confiscated white powder, thought to be co
caine, was sent to the SBI laboratory in Raleigh for
qualitative and quantitative analysis, Crocker said.
Those arrested in the case, with their charges in
clude:
? Hardy Mallard Jr., one count each of possessing lot
kijf livrvCiS, uttiu^ iiS um u^Cut iPi uii.'i >iait um u univ.i v,
selling lottery tickets and possession of drug parapher
nalia;
?Debra Elaine Robbins, three counts each of selling
and delivering cocainc and possession with the intent to
sell and deliver cocainc and one count each of conspir
ing to traffic in cocaine by selling, delivering, transport
ing and possessing more than 4(X) grams of the drug;
and one count each of trafficking by selling, delivering
and possessing between 28 and 2(X) grams of cocaine;
(Each step of a cocainc transaction?possession,
transport, delivery and sides?can constitute a separate
trafficking offense punishable by a minimum mandato
ry sentence of 35 years in prison.)
?Julius Drake Lewis (a.k.a. "Buddy"). 37. of Hevener
Road Leland, conspiracy to sell and deliver cocaine and
one count each of trafficking by possession, transport,
delivery and sales of 4(X) grams of cocaine;
?Jack Lowers Bcssent, 29, of Wilmington, conspiracy
to sell and deliver cocaine and one count each of traf
ficking by possession, transport, delivery and sales of
4(H) grams of cocaine;
?Harvey Lee Grady (a.k.a. "Bird"), 29, of Old Cedar
Hill Road, Leland, conspiracy to sell and deliver co
caine and one count each of trafficking by possession,
transport, delivery and sales of 400 grams of cocaine;
?James Franklin Simmons, 34, of Holly Ridge, con
spiracy to sell and deliver cocaine and one charge each
of trafficking by possession, transport, delivery and
sales of 4(X) grams of cocaine;
?Mary Jane Ballard, 37, of Lane Trail, Leland, one
count each of possessing lottery tickets, acting as an
agent for a lottery, selling lottery tickets, dealing in lot
tery tickets, possession of drug paraphernalia and pos
session of an alcoholic beverage for sale;
?Latoya Benita McKinney, 16, of Lang Road. Leland,
one count each of possession of lottery tickets, acting
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in lottery tickets and possession of drug paraphernalia;
?Tommic Catherine McKinney, 41, of Atlanta, Ga.,
one count each of possession of lottery tickets, acting
as an agent for a lottery, selling lottery tickets, dealing
in lottery tickets and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Still in jail Tuesday (with their bond) were
Robbins, S250,(XX); Lewis, S125,(XX); Bcssent.
$125,000; Grady. S125,(XX); and Simmons, S5(),(XX).
Mary Ballard, Latoya McKinney and Tommic Mc
Kinney were released on S2,(XX) bond. Hardy Ballard
was freed on S5,(XX) bond.
Active Prison Terms Given In Burglaries, Sex Offenses
One of four men charged in a sc
ries of home break-ins last summer
in the Supply and Bolivia areas was
sentenced to 14 years in prison after
pleading guilty in Brunswick
County Superior Court to 38 felony
chargcs.
Timothy L. Barnes, 26, of Route
3, Supply, pleaded guilty to 12
counts each of sccond-degrce bur
glary, felonious larceny, possession
of stolen goods and one charge each
of obtaining property under false
pretenses and conspiracy to obtain
properly by false pretense.
Barnes, his brother and two other
men were indicted in late August on
chargcs stemming from the theft of
more than SI0,000 worth of proper
ty from homes mostly in the Tan
glcwood. Seashore Road, Kirby
Road and Sandy Bluff areas of Sup
ply and on Swain Street, Bolivia.
The burglaries occurred between
June 1 and July 18.
Among the items stolen in the
night-time break-ins were guns,
computer equipment video cassette
recorders, televisions, fishing tackle,
appliances, tools, liquor, stereo
equipment and furniture.
Barnes was also charged with
cheating a State Bureau of Investi
gation agent out of S51.50 for the al
leged purpose of purchasing a quar
tcr-ounce of marijuana, according to
the indiclmcnts.
As pari of a pica agreement, the
eases were com Hi noil for sentencing.
Barnes was ordered to pay S1,080 in
court appointed attorney fees.
Superior Court Judge Dexter
Brooks presided over three days of
court last week. No jury trials were
held. Assistant District Attorney Lee
Bollinger was the prosecuting attor
ney.
In other eases heard last week:
?Charles Edward Flynt, 58, of Pine
Forest Mobile Home Park on N.C.
133 outside Southport was sen
tenced to 17 years in prison after en
tering a negotiated plea of guilty to a
charge of committing a second de
gree sexual offense against a child
under the age of 13. He had been
charged with a first-degree sexual
offense. Flynt was also ordered to
pav court costs and attorney fees of
S720.
?Almond Junior Graham, 40, of
Fairhavcn Mobile Home Park,
Lcland, was sentenced to 12 years in
prison after agreeing to plead guilty
(o a charge of second degree ra[V. He
had been charged with first degree
rape of a child under the age of 13
and a statutory sex offense. The
judge gave Graham credit for the 293
days he spent in jail awaiting trial
and ordered him to pay court costs
and to undergo an alcohol and sub
stance abuse evaluation.
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?Jerry Carlion Foster Jr., 26, of
Fawn Brixik Mobile Home Park,
Bolivia, woS SCl'lUllllU to UlieC
years in pnson after pleading guilty
to a charge of taking indecent liber
ties. He was ordered to pay court
costs anil S270 in attorney fees.
?Kenneth Lee Nobles, 22, of Route
1, Leland, entered a negotiated
guilty plea to a charge of misde
meanor child abuse and was given
five years supervised probation. He
was indicted last April on a charge
of felonious child abuse for alleged
ly inflicting serious injuries, includ
ing multiple fractures of the arms
and legs, on his 13-month-old step
son. Nobles was given a two-year
suspended sentence, fined S1(X) and
court costs and ordered to pay S6(X)
attorney fees.
?Robert E. Rose, 26. of Route 1,
Ash, pleaded guilty to three charges
of felonious larceny and was fined
SHX) and put on live years super
vised probation. He was charged
with stealing more than S14,(XX)
worth of cable from Black Industries
Inc. in three separate thefts. He was
put on five years probation, ordered
to perform 1(H) hours of community
service and fined SHX) and court
costs.
?Jessie Lee Tipton, 44, of Shell
Point Road, Shallotte, entered a ne
gotiated guilty plea to two misde
meanor charges of possessing stolen
g(xxls. He had been charged with
nine counts of felonious possession
of sioien goods. Tipton pleaded
guilty in two break-ins last July in
which he stole a color television, a
lawn mower, a grass trimmer two
remote control toys, fishing tacklc,
assorted baseball cards and other
items valued at SI, 140. He was giv
en a two-year suspended sentence,
three years probation and ordered to
pay a Sl(K) line, court costs, S900
attorney fees and SX30 restitution to
two Myrtle Beach, S.C., pawn
shops.
?Traccy Lee Simmons, 24, of Cais
on Loop Road, Winnabow, pleaded
guilty to lour charges of breaking
and entering and larceny and one
charge of possession with intent to
manufacture marijuana. Simmons
was charged in break-ins at the
Winnabow Florist, American Leg
ion Post 650, a home on Caison
Loop Road and another in Leland.
Simmons was given a 10-year sus
pended sentence and five years pro
bation and ordered to pay a SI00
fine, court costs, S4X0 attorney fees
and 53,280 restitution.
?Terry Wayne Woolen, 30, of
Route 1, Supply, pleaded guilty to
driving while impaired and driving
while his license was revoked. He
was given a seven-day active jail
term, a two-year suspended sen
tence, live years probation, and was
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ordered to pay a fine of S250 and
court costs. He will be required to
perform 75 hours of community ser
vice and will be put on electronic
house arrest for 30 days when he
gets out of jail.
?( '(xiper McLean Cannon, 22, of
Fayetteville pleaded guilty to one
charge each of consuming beer in
the passenger area of a motor vehi
cle, possession of marijuana and
possession of drug paraphernalia.
He was given a one-year suspended
sentence, three years probation and
was fined S250 and court costs.
?Wanda Ballard, 29, of Route 5,
Lcland, admitted violating the terms
of probation imposed after her April,
1990, guilty plea to a charge of pos
session with intent to sell and deliv
er cocaine. Her three-year prison
sentence was activated and she was
ordered to pay S720 in alter icy fees.
?Kimberly Dawn Pittman, 19, of
Wilmington pleaded guilty to a
charge of purchasing alcoholic bev
erages while underage. Judgment
was postponed on the condition that
she pay court costs.
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