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Nine arrested in early morning raidBy Rose Hooper |
Cherokee Police Chief Jonah Wolfe gave details last Thursday (Nov. 4) of an early morning raid that netted nine drug arrests on the Cherokee Indian Reservation. Dubbed "Operation Tear Drop," the sting was a joint effort of Cherokee Police and other law enforcement agenciesHerald photo by Rose Hooper |
In the cold pre-dawn hours Nov. 4 while most folks slept comfortably snug in their warm beds, nine Cherokee residents were awakened by a SWAT team and arrested on drug charges.
"We took everyone by surprise," said SWAT team leader Detective Rick Queen of the Cherokee Police Department. All nine were arrested on the Cherokee Indian Reservation as part of an 18-month-long investigation called Operation Tear Drop. The early morning arrests were a joint effort of the Cherokee Police Department, sheriff's departments from Swain, Jackson and Graham counties, the State Bureau of Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. "We are here to show that county lines, or reservation lines, mean nothing when it comes to drug dealing. As law enforcement, we'll cross any lines and take whatever steps we have to," said Swain County Sheriff Bob Ogle. |
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Cherokee Police Chief Jonah Wolfe said drugs involved in the undercover investigation included crack, cocaine and marijuana. "When I became chief of police on the reservation, I made a silent promise to myself and my people that I would use every legal means necessary to stop the drug program on this reservation and the surrounding areas," Wolfe said, noting a large drug problem on the reservation
The nine arrested were not part of the same organization, Wolfe said of the men who were taken to Asheville Nov. 4 for arraignment on 24 federal drug charges of possession with intent to distribute. "These individuals are considered to be major drug dealers on the reservation," Wolfe said.
Wolfe called the operation Tear Drop "to recognize the many tears shed by the Cherokee people because of the drug and alcohol problem that has plagued the Cherokee Indian Nation and the surrounding areas." Detective Queen, one of three team leaders, reported that "nobody resisted arrest and we had no injuries. When you spring on them in the early morning hours like we did, the suspects offer less resistance." The day began at 4 a.m. for Queen and the other team leaders, Joey Owle and Manual Watty, also members of Cherokee's police force. "We came to the station, were briefed and assigned our duties, got the arrest warrants and were on the road by 5:30 a.m.," Queen said. Shortly after 7 a.m. each team had rounded up their suspects who were brought to the Cherokee Police Department, fingerprinted, photographed and then transported by van to Asheville. Arrested and charged were: Clifford Lance Locklear, 39, possession with intent to distribute marijuana and cocaine; Weldon B. Locklear, aiding and abetting the possession with intent to distribute marijuana and unlawfully introducing intoxicating liquor into Indian country; Freeman Littlejohn, 40, aiding and abetting the possession with intent to distribute cocaine; Glen Joseph McCoy, 38, possession with intent to distribute marijuana; John Henry Watty, 43, possession with intent to distribute marijuana; Thomas Ronson Rickman, 25, possession with the intent to distribute marijuana; Jason Adam Watty, 22. possession with intent to distribute marijuana; Larry Calvin Ward, 39, possession with intent to distribute marijuana and methamphetamine; Henry Calvin Long, 35, aiding and abetting possession with the intent to distribute marijuana and methamphetamine. |
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