8 Drug BY RAHN ADAMS One month after being Indicted in "Operation White Tide," eight drug defendants?including a former Ocean I cln Roonh ficial?pleaded guilty this week to cocaine trafficking charges and were sentenced. The eight included former Ocean isie Beach Commissioner DeCaro'l Williamson, 37, Arthur Boyd Duncan, 27, and Sheila Jane Edwards, 25, all of Ocean Isle Beach; Jerry Delano Carter, 31, Charles E. Marec, 31, and James Wallace Stone Jr., 27. all of Shallotte; Brian Keith 1-ewis, 24, of Wilmington; and Randy Dee Smith, 28, of Myrtle Beach, S.C. They were among 48 individuals named in 270 drug trafficking indictiPn, Twenty-sixth Year, Numb 7 !Sii& SHALLOTTE RESCUE SQUAD me the body of Shallotte businessman Jt section of the Waccamaw River ne body was found after rescue volui Local Busiru BY DOUG RUTTER Investigation into the drowning death of a prominent Shallotte businessman continued Tuesday after his body was recovered from the Waccamaw River last Friday. Rescue workers found the body of Jesse Oliver Simmons, 58, of Shallotte and Route 2, Ash, last week in the section of the Waccamaw River known as Big Babson I-ake. orunswicK vaiuiuy coroner tireg White said the cause of death was drowning. However, Charles Haynes, master enforcement officer with the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, said Holden Bec BY DOC A Holden Beach child lost his I was found floating in a canal outside William Derek Williamson, the son and Pauline Williamson, died T Memorial Hospital in Chapel Hill, t The child, who was found in the 10:30 a.m. Monday, was flown to N. after first being treated at The Bn Hanover Memorial Hospital in Wilr He had been in critical conditio! Brunswick Hospital spokesperson f at the Supply hospital in a Coastline at 11:15 a.m. Monday and about ai Hanover Memorial Hospital with thi She said the boy's condition was cri! turc. 1 h Defendants I ments handed down last month by a Brunswick County investigative grand jury. Special Assistant District Attorney Bill Wolak said Monday that the eight were involved in the same "conspiracy," which occurred in early 1984, according to indictments. With their cases handled together, the defendants entered guilty pieas Monday in Brunswick County Superior Court and were sentenced Tuesday by Judge Giles R. Clark. Each was convicted through a plea arrangement, according to testimony. Also, all eight received lighter sentences and fines than are required by drug trafficking laws, after Clark determined that each had been of HO AG ^ fifiMc . ?~ OVUK. bin spring-port mi 492g 2F 28 t)19M THE BRUNSWICK BEACON m* jgk K?^r? 'JW^r. %jnv: SCT9 fflgt"jQ3 ~ m mbers search for dragged the area ssc Simmons in a hired here, from I ar Kreeland. The and Greg White, iteers and divers oner. sssman Drow Tuesday he was still investigating the incident. He said he was waiting for the coronor's report and results of a blood test. Haynes said there was no reason to suspect foul play. Simmons, who was owner of R.E. Bellamy & Sons Hardware in Shallotte, was apparently fishing at the time of the drowning. Brunswick County Emergency Management Direclor Cecil Logan said Simmons left the house Thursday about 7 p.m. to check fishing nets which he had put out earlier in the day. Logan said he was called Friday 3ch Boy Foun< GRUTTER battle for life Tuesday night after he i his mother's home Monday morning, four-year-old son of William Williamuesday at 8:14 p.m. at North Carolina i hospital spokeswoman said, canal east of Sand Dollar Drive about C. Memorial early Tuesday morning jnswick Hospital in Supply and New nington. i for more than 33 hours. According to 'rancis Williamson, the child arrived : Volunteer Rescue Squad ambulance i hour later was transported to New : help of a hospital critical care team, tical at the time of arrival and depar ^lead Guilty; \ "substantial assistance" to the state during the drug Investigation. Until ! that determination, each faced a i mandatory minimum sentence of 35 i years in prison and a $250,000 fine. I Williamson?a local businessman 1 and the son of Ocean isle Beach developer Odell Williamson?plead- j ed guilty as charged to conspiracy to s traffic in more inan 400 grams of co- ( caine and trafficking by possession of t more than 400 grams of cocaine. t According to the Brunswick County Clerk of Court's office, he was sentenced to a two-year prison term and $10,000 fine on the consolidated charges. Clark recommended the defendant for immediate work I release. r M Shallotte, North Carolina, *^* ***~\* S (See LOCAL, Page 2-A) d Floating In < New Hanover Memorial spokespe was still in critical condition when he N.C. Memorial early Tuesday morninj Holden Beach Mayor John Tandy, sioners on which the child's fathe "Everybody and his brother was at the really bad news." Although details of the incident wc Tandy and Allen Dameron, another frit said they heard reports that someone < present when the child was found in th part in restoring his breathing. Ta neurologist was called in Monday nigh to Chapel Hill. Repeated attemoLs to pet inforrr Ilolden Beach Police Department wer Brunswick Beacon the matter was still Williamson G Brunswick County Sheriff John C. Oavis said Williamson was in :ustody at the county jail Tuesday jfternoon and was to be turned over ,o the N.C. Department of Correcions Wednesday. Ttio 1 * ' ..n. WKI OKVCII UCltllUaillS eacn jleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to traffic in more than 400 jrams of cocaine, in keeping with heir plea agreements, additional rafficking charges against them vere dismissed by the state. Two others besides Williamson were given active prison time. According to the clerk of court's office, Carter and Maree were sentenced to $2,500 fines and two-year terms, suspended for three years, with three CKfe Thursday, May 19, 1988 19 Indict i unaercc BY RAHN ADAMS Local and state law enforcement agencies joined forces in a year-long undercover investigation that resulted in drug indictments this week against 19 individuals described by a local narcotics agent as "street dealers." "What we're trying to show is, not only are we going after major drug traffickers, we're trying to get the street dealers, too," said Detective Sgt David Crocker of the Brunswick County Sheriff's Department. "We're not forgetting about than," A Brunswick County grand jury Monday returned 93 true bills of indictment against 18 Brunswick County residents and a Florida man, ac-., cording to the Brunswick County Clerk of Court's office. The indictments?involving marijuana, cocaine and prescription drugs?stem from the joint probe by the sheriff's department, SBi ana Southport Police Department, Crocker said. He said the investigation?dubbed 'Operation Beach Sand"?was cooriinated by the sheriffs department and involved undercover buys made by an SBI agent and a Southport officer between April 1987 and March in the Ocean Isle Beach, Holden Beach, Long Beach and Southport areas. The buys ranged from at least one-quarter ounce of marijuana to as much as two ounces of cocaine. Sheriff John C. Davis said Tuesday afternoon that officers were attempting to round up the defendants. Information on the number apprehended Tuesday was unavailable at presstime. "This has been kept behind closed doors, as of this date," Crocker said Monday. "The ones we know will flee, we will be picking them up first." According to the clerk of court's office, individuals indicted Monday ineluded the following: Tony Brown, Bolivia, sale of marijuana, and possession of marijuana with intent to sell and deliver. Lori Ann Busby, Southport, sale of dexpropropoxyphene, hydrocodone, chlordiazepoxide and alprazolam, and possession with intent to sell and deliver each of those prescription drugs. Stephen Reese Dean, Shallotte, Cana/ Dies rson Audra West said Williamson was transported by helicopter to J ? who chairs the board of commis:r serves, said early Tuesday, | hospital yesterday afternoon. It's ;re still sketchy Tuesday evening, :nd of the Williamson family, both with a background in nursing was ie canal and that she played some ndy also said he heard that a t before the child was transported iation on the accident from the e unsuccessful. Officers told The I under investigation. ets 2-Year Sc years of special probation. In addition, each was ordered to serve four months in the Brunswick County Jail and perform 100 hours of community service work. Duncan, Ms. Edwards, Lewis, Smith and Stone were sentenced to IB-month prison terms, suspended for three years, with three years of probation, according to the clerk cf court's office. Each was fined {1,500 and was ordered to perform 150 hours of community service work. Testimony during court proceedings Monday indicated that at ieast six of the eight defendants sign cu pica agiceiueiiu* monins prior 10 the April indictments. District Attorney Mike Easley told the Beacon Monday that the plea Read 25c Per Copy ed Mon< >ver Dru< * three counts ot sale of marijuana, three counts of possession of man juana with intent to sell and deliver, and three counts of maintaining a dwelling for the purpose of distribution. Jeffery Mark Harden, Holden Beach, sale of marijuana, and possession of marijuana with intent to sell and deliver. Freddie Hewett, Shallotte, sale of marijuana, possession of marijuana with intent to sell and deliver, and conspiracy to seii marijuana. Michael Hampton Hewett, Shallotte, sale of marijuana, possession of marijuana with intent to sell and deliver, and conspiracy to sell marijuana. Weldon Paul Hewett, Shallotte, felonious possession of marijuana and maintaining a dwelling for the purpose of distribution. Robert Hicks, Southport, sale of alprazolam, chlordiazepoxide and of hydrocodone, and possession with intent to sell and deliver each of those prescription drues. Bubba Howard, Southport, sale of marijuana, and possession of marijuana with intent to sell and deliver, and conspiracy to sell marijuana. Ellery Charles Jett, Holden Beach, four counts of sale of marijuana, four counts of possession of marijuana with intent to sell and deliver, two counts of conspiracy to sell marijuana, and four counts of maintaining a dwelling for the purpose of distribution. Stacy Earl Leonard, Holden Beach, two counts of sale of cocaine, two counts of possession of cocaine with intent to sell and deliver, and v! jj Ijvij i . ' U irM Fe"=lc 1 !U' >?wi^ kir\? Ashley Marshall of Shallottc tap dam Saturday's Junior and Teen Miss Br Middle School. Miss Marshall was It County, while the title of Teen Miss ' story and more photos arc Inside this t ?ntence agreements were obtained in tliat manner "so we can quietly move to the top (of a given conspiracy). That's why we use the investigative grand jury." The district attorney's office obtained a plea agreement from Stone on July 14,1987; Williamson, Oct. 26, 1987; Maree, Dec. 24, 1987; Carter, Dec. 31,1987; Smith, Jan. 5; and Duncan, Jan. 12. No dates were given for the agreements signed by Ms. Edwards and I,ewis. As far as additional indictments in "Operation White Tide" are concerned, Easley said Monday that the investigation is continuing. "We're just working on it the best we can," he said. ON 40 Pages Plus Insert Jay In g Probe two counts of maintaining a dwelling for the purpose of distribution. James McClain, I.eland, two counts of sale of cocaine, two counts ui pi?scy>iun ui cocaine wiin imenuo sell and deliver, two counts of conspiracy to sell cocaine, and two counts of maintaining a dwelling for the purpose of distribution. Frank Simmons, Leland, two counts of sale of cocaine, two counts of possession of cocaine with intent to sell and deliver, two counts of conspiracy to seil cocaine, and two counts of maintaining a dwelling for the purpose of distribution. Marshall Eugene Starncs, Yaupon Beach, sale of cocaine, and possession of cocaine with intent to sell and deliver. Rodney Wayne Suggs, Holden Beach, sale of marijuana, possession of marijuana with intent to sell and deliver, and conspiracy to sell marijuana. Connie Blackwelder Underwood, laing Beach, saie of cocaine, possession of cocaine with intent to sell and deliver, and maintaining a vehicle for the purpose of distribution. Jerry' Varnam, Southport, sale of marijuana, possession of marijuana with intent to sell and deliver, and conspiracy to sell marijuana. Boyd Walter, Ocean Isle Beach, sale of marijuana, possession of marijuana with intent to sell and deliver, and maintaining a dwelling for the purpose of distribution. David Boyer, Orlando, Fla., three counts of trafficking in cocaine and maintaining a vehicle for the purpose of distribution. i Uii.v 1 |y ! tkw