August 31,1995
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The Perquimans Weekly
350
Vol. 63, No. 35
The only newspaper for and about Perquimans County people
Hertford, North Carolina 27944
Suspected drug dealers busted
By SUSAN R. HARRIS
Editor
Alleged drug traffickers in
Perquimans County had a
head-on collision with law
enforcement last week.
Ten locals suspected of oper
ating a drug organization were
indicted by a federal grand
jury sitting in Raleigh on Aug.
15 and 16. The indictments
were unsealed on Aug. 22 and
eight suspects were arrested
last week. Two remain at large
and are now considered fugi
tives, according to Jane Jolly,
a prosecutor with the U.S.
Attorney’s Office.
Jolly said the group is sus
pected of supplying drugs
throughout the entire
Albemarle area.
Arrests
should
slow drug
traffic
Hertford Police Chief
Bennie Murphy thinks the
arrests of eight Perquimans
County residents on federal
drug charges will stem the
county’s drug traffic.
“It’s going to slow it down
quite a bit at least for a while,”
Murphy said. “It’s not going to
stop it, but it will slow it
down.”
Three of those indicted have
prior drug convictions in
Perquimans County. There are
also charges still pending
against several.
James Louis Riddick was
found guilty of possession of a
schedule II controlled sub
stance in Perquimans County
Superior Court in March.
Charges of driving while
impaired and driving while
license revoked were sched
uled to be heard here this
week.
Willie Louis Ford was found
guilty in February 1993 of pos
session with intent to sell and
deliver cocaine and possession
of a firearm by a felon. Five
other drug charges were dis
missed by the district attorney
at that time.
There are also prior convic
tions and pending charges
against Barry Lorenza Ford.
Ford’s probation was revoked
in March stemming from June
1992 charges of possession of a
schedule II controlled sub
stance. He was found guilty in
district court of resist a public
officer in March 1995. That
conviction has been appealed
to superior court and is still
pending. Other pending cases
against Ford are November
1993 charges of possession of a
schedule II controlled sub
stance, January 1995 charges
of pfossession with intent to
sell and deliver a schedule II
controlled substance, and
January 1995 charges of dri
ving while license revoked.
Delaware Khan Hunter was
convicted in 1990 of felony
breaking and entering.
Charges of assault inflicting
serious injury are pending
against Ponce Lament Lee.
Fronzy Miller was convict
ed of possession of less than 1
gram of cocaine in 1989. There
are two outstanding warrants
on Quandra Downing dated
December 1994 for possession
with the intent to sell and
deliver a schedule II controlled
substance and sell or deliver a
schedule II controlled sub
stance.
The indictments resulted
from an operation that has
been in progress for over a
year. Coordinating their
efforts, local, state and federal
agencies worked to piece
together sufficient evidence to
gain federal indictments and
seek long-term incarceration
for the alleged dealers. If con
victed on all counts, all 10
could receive life imprison
ment. They also face the possi
bility of having to pay fines
ranging from $8 million-$36
million. In addition, prosecu
tors will seek the forfeiture of
anjr property which was
derived from or used to facili
tate drug trafficking crimes,
including real estate and per
sonal property.
Jolly said she and fellow
prosecutor Christine Dean will
seek at a minimum mandatory
20 year sentences with no
parole for each defendant. She
will try to put defendant Barry
Lorenza Ford behind bars for
life because of his prior histo
ry, she said.
Arrested were;
• Barry Lorenza Ford, 39, of
Route 5, Hertford, charged
with conspiracy to possess and
distribute cocaine base (crack)
and four counts of distribution
of cocaine base.
• Willie Louis Ford, 36,
charged with conspiracy to
possess and distribute cocaine
base (crack) and 10 counts of
distribution of cocaine base.
• James Robert Miller, 27,
of Lot 64, Meads Trailer Park,
charged with conspiracy to
possess with intent to distrib
ute cocaine base (crack); dis
tribution of cocaine base; and
distribution of cocaine base to
a pregnant individual.
• Ponce Lemont Lee, 30, of
329 W. Market St., charged
with conspiracy to possess
with intent to distribute
cocaine base (crack) and dis
tribution of cocaine base.
• Rodney Lightfoot, 30, of
Route 1, charged with conspir
acy to possess with intent to
distribute cocaine base (crack)
and distribution of cocaine
base to a pregnant individual.
• Nicole Montressa
Lightfoot, 24, of Route 1,
charged with conspiracy to
possess with intent to distrib-
Last fling of summer
Residents at Hertford Housing Authority
enjoyed an end-of-summer picnic and fun
day Saturday, District Court Judge J.C. Cole
PHOTO BY SUSAN HARRIS
was head cook, serving up grilled hamburg
ers and hotdogs for neighborhood chiidren.
Everyone seemed to have a good time.
Gun thieves plead guilty to federal charges
By GINGER LIVINGSTON
The Daily Advance
NEW BERN - Five local men
pleaded guilty in federal court
here last week to stealing over
100 fmearms from an Edenton
pawn shop in January.
The men will be sentenced
sometime in November on
multiple counts of firearms
theft and possession of stolen
weapons, said Gloria Dupree,
spokeswoman with the U.S.
Attorney’s office in Raleigh.
Robert Mallory Jr., 22,
Henry Mallory, 44, and
Tylvoice Coston, 24, all of
Hertford, pleaded guilty to
stealing and unlawfuUy carry
ing away firearms from a fed
eral firearms licensee and
receiving, storing and conceal
ing stolen firearms.
Leo Downing, 18, of
Elizabeth City pleaded guilty
to those charges and to con
spiring to steal firearms from
a federal firearms licensee.
Sylvester Twine, 18, of
Hertford pleaded guilty to
stealing and unlawfully carry
ing away firearms from a fed
eral firearms licensee; receiv
ing, storing and concealing
stolen firearms; conspiring to
steal firearms from a federal
firearms licensee; and the
charge of being a felon in pos
session of a firearm.
The men pleaded guilty to
the Jan. 5 theft of rifles and
shotguns from J&H Pawn
Shop on Virginia Road in
ute cocaine base (crack) and
distribution of cocaine base to
a pregnant individual.
• Delaware Khan Hunter,
charged with conspiracy to
possess and distribute cocaine
base (crack) and two counts of
distribution of cocaine base.
• James Louis Riddick, 52,
of Route 2, charged with con
spiracy to possess and distrib
ute cocaine base (crack) and
distribution of cocaine base.
Also indicted were;
• Fronzy Levell Miller, 31,
of 329 W. Market St., charged
with conspiracy to possess
with intent to distribute
cocaine base (crack) and dis-
tribution of cocaine base.
• Quandra Demone
Downing, 19, of 221 King St.,
charged with conspiracy to
possess with intent to distrib
ute cocaine base (crack) and
distribution of cocaine base.
Jolly said that because preg
nant individuals are consid
ered at greater risk from drug
use than the general popula
tion, the charge of distribution
to a pregnant individual car
ries a double penalty.
According to U.S. Attorney
Janice M. Cole, the FBI, SBI,
Elizabeth City Police
Department, Hertford Police
Department, Perquimans
County Sheriffs Department
and Pasquotank County
Sheriffs Department were all
involved in the lengthy inves
tigation. Special agents with
the IRS assisted with the
arrests.
Suspects to
await trial in jail
Edenton. The Mallorys were
arrested two days later when
off-duty Elizabeth City police
officers hunting in the
Chapanoke area observed two
suspicious-acting men near a
shed in the Five Bridges Road
area. The officers examined
the shed area and discovered
approximately 10 weapons
they suspected were taken
from the pawn shop. The
Chowan County Sheriff’s
Department was called to
investigate along with agents
from the SBI and Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco and
Firearms. Within days Twine
and Downing were arrested.
Coston was arrested when fed
eral indictments were handed
down on Jan. 24.
By JOHN JACKSON
The Daily Advance
Five of the eight Hertford
residents arrested last week on
federal drug charges will
remain in the custody of feder
al marshal until their trials.
Federal District Court Judge
Terrence Boyle ruled last
Thursday.
James Robert MiUer, Ponce
Lemont Lee, Rodney Lightfoot,
Barry Lorenza Ford and
James Louis Riddick appeared
separately in U.S. District
Court in Elizabeth City.
Following testimony at their
first court appearance, Boyle
ruled all five would remain in
the custody of U.S. marshals.
Of the other suspects, two
are already incarcerated on
related charges, two are still
at-large and are considered
fugitives and one has yet to
make a first court appearance.
U.S. Prosecutor Jane Jolly
presented the evidence against
each of the alleged dealers and
asked the court that they be
detained until their trials.
Jolly said she considered all
five a risk to the community
who would possibly flee the
area. She said Fronzy Miller,
one of those indicted who
remains at large, is believed to
be in New York. He is the
brother of James Miller and
the cousin of Rodney
Lightfoot.
According to the evidence
gathered since 1991, Barry
Ford is the apparent ring
leader of the suspected organi
zation which primarily sells
and distributes crack cocaine
in Perquimans County. Jolly
said she will seek a mandatory
life sentence for Ford.
Miller is also suspected of
being a leader within the orga
nization, in charge of getting
the cocaine from sources in
New York.
Riddick is an alleged facili
tator within the organization.
Jolly said Riddick would take
interested buyers to the Fords
who would allegedly seU them
the crack cocaine.
Lee is a suspected local run
ner within the organization.
Lightfoot is an alleged lieu
tenant within the organiza
tion. Jolly said that agents
spent $11,000 this past June
purchasing drugs from
Lightfoot.
Outside
FRIDAY
High: Low:
High:
Low:
90s 60s
90s
60s
FAIR
CHANCE OF RAIN
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CHANCE OF RAIN
Hertford men say the accused are considered guilty until proven innocent
By SUSAN R. HARRIS
Editor
In America, you’re sup
posed to be innocent until
proven guilty. Two Hertford
men say that’s not the way
many people think.
Sidney Sheldon and
Kenneth Owens were served
with criminal summonses
charging them with breaking
and entering on July 18. The
men contend that they are not
guilty and hope to prove it in
court if they need to. But both
say that hasn’t stopped people
from treating them like crimi
nals.
Sheldon, the owner of
Sheldon’s Mini-Mart in
Winfall, said he’s even lost
customers since his name
appeared in the newspaper in
the arrest report.
In separate interviews, both
men told the same story of how
they came to be served with
papers summoning them to
Perquimans County District
Court on Aug. 31.
Sheldon owns a mobile
home in the Snug Harbor area
which he rents. He said the
renters were two months
behind on their rent as of July
1 and also still owed him some
money on the security deposit.
The renters stopped by his
store in late June and said if
the rent was not paid by July 1
to “consider them gone.”
Owens was there and verified
that he overheard the conver
sation. The rent was not paid
on July 1 and the renters had
not made further contact with
Sheldon.
On July 5, Sheldon hired
Owens to help him clean out
the mobile home. Both men
said the home was infested
with roaches, fleas and mag
gots.
“If Sid hasn’t been a friend
of mine, I would not have gone
in that trailer for any amount
of money,” Owens said.
The two men boxed and
bagged personal property left
by the renters and set off
bombs to try to kill the insects.
They removed pets left inside
the mobile home and chained
them up outside. The locks
were changed. They pair left
the property at approximately
2;30-2;45 p.m., Sheldon said.
At about 6 p.m., Sheldon
said he got a call from the
renters demanding to be
allowed back into the mobile
home or they would have him
arrested. Sheldon denied the
request.
In about 10 more minutes,
Sheldon said he got a call from
the couple, who had gone to
the Perquimans County
Magistrate’s office, asking
Sheldon to allow them to re
rent the mobile home. Sheldon
again refused, teUing them he
would not rent to them
because they had damaged the
mobile home and had not paid
the rent owed.*
Sheldon said he spoke next
with magistrate Todd Tilley,
who told him he had to rent
Please see Guilty Page 3