2,000-plus fentanyl pills, crack seized in Rock Hill drug raid; 10 charged, cops say
Police arrested 10 people Thursday in a drug raid where fentanyl, crack cocaine and guns were seized, York County drug agents said.
The incidents happened around 1:30 p.m. near Cherry Park, Sullivan Middle School and Cherry Park Elementary School, police said.
Most of the drugs were found in a truck at the intersection of Mount Gallant Road and Cherry Road after officers with the Rock Hill Police Department and York County Multijurisdictional Drug Enforcement Unit performed a traffic stop, said Marvin Brown, drug unit commander.
Several police units were involved in the stop. Officers from Rock Hill police and drug unit surrounded the vehicle, Brown said. The intersection was closed for a period of time as officers took the suspects into custody and cleared the vehicle of a weapon and narcotics, Brown said.
In the truck officers found more than 2,000 fentanyl pills, 127 grams of crack, and a handgun, Brown said.
Tyrone Johnson, 30; Matthew Tyler Epps, 32; and Diantae Ramon Brown, 20; were in the truck, Brown said. All three are charged with trafficking crack between 100 and 200 grams, distribution of fentanyl, and possession of a weapon during a violent crime, according to York County jail and court records. Johnson also faces an additional weapons charge, jail records show.
Officers then searched a home on Cherry Meadow Lane, Brown said. In the home police recovered more crack cocaine, marijuana, and another handgun, Brown said.
Police also seized more than $1,000 in cash, officers said.
Seven people were at the Cherry Meadow Lane house, Brown said. All were taken into custody and remain at the York County jail on drug charges, Brown said.
Arrested at the house were: Joe Lewis Armstrong, 36; Sylvester James Thompson, 20; Timothy Antonio Flanagan, 32; Larry Junior Ellis, 58; India Mon’e Jones, 26; Jayquan Dante Wilmore, 25; and Montega Javar Caldwell, 32, according to police and jail records.
The people at the house were each charged with felony crack cocaine distribution charges, as well as charges of distribution of drugs near a park or school, jail and court records show.
The fentanyl is believed to have been shipped to Rock Hill from another country, Brown said. Pharmaceutical fentanyl is a synthetic opioid pain reliever that is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine, according to the Centers for Disease Control website.
This story was originally published November 15, 2019 at 11:03 AM.
