SWAT raids in Rock Hill, York net 8 arrests and seizure of fentanyl, guns, other drugs
Almost-simultaneous raids by SWAT teams in Rock Hill and York netted eight arrests Tuesday, along with seizure of fentanyl, guns, and other drugs, officials said.
Police found more than 5,000 illegal fentanyl pills, methamphetamine, marijuana, crack cocaine, and two handguns, according to police incident reports.
The arrests came after the federal Drug Enforcement Agency issued a public safety alert Monday about increased overdose deaths related to illegal fentanyl and meth pills.
York County drug agents arrested six suspects when SWAT teams from the Rock Hill Police Department and York County Sheriff’s Office served search warrants at homes in Rock Hill and York in separate cases, said B.J Kennedy, commander of the York County Multijurisdictional Drug Enforcement Unit. Two other people not connected to the searches also were charged, Kennedy said.
York SWAT search
In York outside a home on Galilean Road, police and SWAT serving a search warrant seized 102 grams of fentanyl, almost 400 grams of marijuana, three grams of crack cocaine and a handgun, reports show. Police charged two people who left the house as SWAT officers had the home under surveillance, Kennedy said.
Ramon Latavius Baxter, 27, was charged with possession of marijuana and THC -- the chemical ingredient in marijuana -- along with outstanding warrants charging Baxter with possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute, and possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute near a park or school, according to police incident reports and a statement from the York County drug unit.
Xerron J. Hutchinson, 19, was charged with possession of fentanyl, marijuana, and crack cocaine with intent to distribute, three counts of intent to distribute near a park or school, illegal carrying of a gun, and possession of a weapon by a person convicted of a crime of violence, police records show.
Rock Hill SWAT search
At around the same time York County SWAT was in York, Rock Hill Police Department SWAT and drug agents searched a home on Williams Street in Rock Hill and served outstanding warrants related to drug activity, records show. Police seized fentanyl and meth and one handgun from the house, Kennedy said.
Larry Shaun Wylie, 48, was charged with distribution of fentanyl, possession of fentanyl and distribution near a school, records show.
Shelbi Leagh Keith, 27, was charged with possession of fentanyl and meth with intent to distribute, distribution of meth, and three counts of distribution of drugs near a school, jail, records show.
Nikki Leigh Doster, 36, was charged with possession of fentanyl and meth.
William Anthony Barnes, 61, was charged with possession of meth with intent to distribute, distribution of meth near a school, and possession of a weapon by a person with a previous conviction, records show.
Thousands of fentanyl, meth and heroin pills
Two suspects not connected to the search warrants were charged by drug officers during the SWAT actions, Kennedy said.
York County drug agents charged Ronnie Levi Armstrong, 31, of Fort Mill, after the seizure of more than 5,000 fentanyl pills and other drug offenses involving alleged distribution of pills containing heroin and meth, according to arrest warrants obtained by The Herald.
Armstrong faced 16 drug charges Tuesday that include counts of trafficking meth and heroin, and possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute. He also is charged with several counts of distribution of drugs near a park or school.
Drug agents and SWAT arrested Octavius Tremain Currence, 27, on East Liberty Street in York Tuesday. Kennedy said. Currence was charged in three outstanding warrants of distribution of fentanyl, and two counts of distribution of fentanyl near a park or school, according to Kennedy and police incident reports.
DEA fentanyl public safety warning
The York and Rock Hill arrests on Tuesday happened around the same time Chester County deputies and federal ATF agents arrested a Chester man after seizing around 1,000 fentanyl pills from an Ashford Street home in Chester.
All the arrests came a day after federal drug enforcement officials issued a public safety warning about increased overdose deaths from illegal fentanyl and meth pills.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid pain reliever that is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, last year more than 93,000 people died of drug overdoses in the United States. That’s the largest number of drug-related deaths ever recorded in a year, according to the DEA.
Fentanyl, the synthetic opioid most commonly found in counterfeit pills, is the primary driver of this alarming increase in overdose deaths, DEA officials said in Monday’s public safety alert.
“International and domestic criminal drug networks are mass-producing fake pills, falsely marketing them as legitimate prescription pills, and killing unsuspecting Americans,” the DEA said in the public safety advisory. “These counterfeit pills are easy to purchase, widely available, and often contain deadly doses of fentanyl. Pills purchased outside of a licensed pharmacy are illegal, dangerous and potentially lethal.”
This story was originally published September 29, 2021 at 12:56 PM.
