20 arrests, mainly for meth and fentanyl | News

Methamphetamine, closely followed by fentanyl, dominated the cases. Cocaine, heroin and marijuana were also seized.

Dancy said 1,070 grams of fentanyl worth $53,000, 105 grams of meth worth $2,000, 57 grams of cocaine worth $2,400, 24 pills worth $750 and 21 grams of heroin were seized.

Fentanyl, a dangerously powerful synthetic opioid, is sold on the street in pill or powder form, or mixed with other drugs. Authorities say the amounts of fentanyl mixed with other drugs vary widely, making it even more dangerous.

During drug arrests, officers often find naloxone, a life-saving medication given to people who have overdosed on opioids. Dancy said the increased availability of naloxone has helped reduce overdose deaths in Wilkes.

Authorities report that xylazine, an animal tranquilizer, is increasingly turning up as an abused drug, often along with fentanyl. Federal authorities have classified xylazine as a “new drug,” primarily because naloxone has no effect on this non-opioid.

Dancy said officers found xylazine in one of the 20 arrests. That was the arrest of China Kanique Wellington, 42, of 882 Camp Joe Harris Road, North Wilkesboro, who is charged with trafficking a Schedule 1 controlled substance, trafficking heroin and possession of cocaine with intent to sell and deliver. He said the xylazine appeared to have been mixed with fentanyl in that case, but lab test results are awaited to confirm.

Dancy said an investigation that led to another of the 20 arrests was launched when a drug-sniffing dog belonging to Det. S.A. Jones of the Piedmont Triad International Airport Police Department in Greensboro detected fentanyl in a package that arrived at the airport. He said it was sent to an address on South Center Church Road in Thurmond.

Dancy said Oswaldo Jesus-Andrade Rodriguez, 29, of 1425 South Center Church Road, Thurmond, was arrested and charged with trafficking fentanyl and possession of a dwelling to possess controlled substances after a sheriff's office narcotics agent, disguised as a delivery man and driving a delivery truck, delivered the package to the South Center Church Road address while other officers were nearby.

Dancy said Rodriguez was charged with level three drug trafficking, the most serious considering the quantity of drugs. He described Rodriguez as a “drug mule” and “major supplier in Surry, Yadkin and Wilkes counties.”

He said Christopher Scott Bauguess, 38, and Amanda Kathryn Wayne, 37, both of 117 Eagles Hill Road, Purlear, are charged in the same case. Bauguess is charged with two counts each and Wayne is charged with one count each of sale of meth and possession with intent to sell and deliver meth. Bauguess is also charged with possession of a firearm as a felon and maintaining a dwelling for the storage of controlled substances.

Dancy said Danny Keith Jones, 48, of 477 Henry's Country Lane, North Wilkesboro; Larry Scott Campbell, 62, of 254 Raven Oak Drive, Wilkesboro; and Casandra Lee Dennis, 40, of 434 Old Lankford Road, North Wilkesboro, are charged in the same case. Dennis is charged with two counts of trafficking meth and possession of cocaine with intent to sell and deliver. Jones and Dennis are both charged with possession of a Schedule II controlled substance with intent to sell and deliver. Campbell is charged with maintaining a dwelling for the storage of controlled substances. Dennis and Campbell are both charged with conspiracy with Jones. Jones is also charged with possession of a firearm as a convicted felon.

Floyd Edward Nance, 49, of 352 Nance Road, Wilkesboro, and Robert Weston Fisher, 43, of 638 Cooter Hollow Road, North Wilkesboro, are each charged with two separate counts of possession of Schedule II controlled substances with intent to sell and deliver and possession of a vehicle for controlled substances.

Dancy said other people were arrested and face the following charges:

• Betty Taylor Childress, 65, 235 Cali Lane, Thurmond, possession of a Schedule I controlled substance with intent to sell and deliver and two counts of trafficking heroin;

• Kevin Winston Jordan, 30, 160 Old Red, White and Blue Road, Roaring River, possession of heroin;

• Pamela Kaye Bullis, 54, 121 Newport Lane, North Wilkesboro, possession of Schedule II controlled substances with intent to sell and deliver, possession of marijuana with intent to sell and deliver and possession of a vehicle for controlled substances;

• Stephanie M. Goforth, 62, 112 Sweet Pea Lane, Elkin, possession with intent to sell and deliver Schedule II controlled substances, sale of Schedule II controlled substances and maintaining a dwelling for the storage of controlled substances;

• Benjamin Phoenix Branciforte, 24, 912 H Street, North Wilkesboro, possession of Schedule IV pills.

In other cases, the following people were arrested for meth possession: Floyd Jay Martin Combs, 37, 281 Hart Lane, Millers Creek; Britanny Michelle Roberts, 32, 101 Riverside Drive, North Wilkesboro; April Millicent Pearl, 530 Laurel Mountain Road, North Wilkesboro; and Tommy Lee Rhodes Jr., 54, 181 Cotton Mill Road, Roaring River. Pearl is also charged with maintaining a controlled substance dwelling. Dancy said the investigation into Pearl stemmed from calls from residents in the Lynnwoode neighborhood. Rhodes is also charged with pill possession.

Wilkes Sheriff Chris Shew said the lack of security at the border with Mexico has led to a rise in illegal drugs being brought into American cities and then into rural areas like Wilkes. “It's going to get worse until they seal off the border,” Shew added. “That's the reason for all of this.”

Shew said the lack of border security also puts police officers in the U.S. at greater risk, especially during traffic stops.

He highlighted the North Carolina Probation Department for its great assistance in drug-related cases and also mentioned the assistance of the Piedmont Triad International Airport Police Department, the North Carolina Yadkin Sheriff's Office and the North Carolina Highway Patrol.