27 Face Drug Charges
An 11-month undercover police investigation of narcotics traffic in Washtenaw County was climaxed Wednesday night as area officers began picking up 27 persons charged with dealing in heroin, cocaine, LSD and marijuana. Prosecuting Attorney William F. Delhey said evidence against the suspects was gathered during a secret probe by plainclothes officers from the Washtenaw Area Narcotics Team. The prosecutor said the team, composed as policemen from the Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti city police departments, the Michigan State Police and the Livingston and Wayne County Sheriff's Departments, began its undercover probe of narcotics dealings in the local area in February of 1974 and made the first "buy" of illicit drugs last May. "Since that time these officers continued to make surreptitious contacts with drug sellers and continued to record evidence from these contacts," Delhey said. "It was a long, careful operation." The prosecutor said the undercover officers worked with Assistant County Prosecutor Lynwood Noah in evaluating evidence obtained and it was decided this week to make the 27 arrests, which stem from 45 separate incidents. By late this morning 18 of the 27 persons charged had been picked up by police officers. Delhey said 38 of the incidents involve the peddling of heroin, four have cocaine involved, two are for marijuana and one is for LSD. All 27 suspects are being charged with delivery of a drug which is listed under the state's "controlled substance" law. The prosecutor said the smallest "buy" made by the undercover officers was for $20 and the largest for, $800, which was for a half-ounce of heroin. He said 11 of the charges stem from incidents in Ann Arbor but most of the cases arise from "buys" made in Ypsilanti and Ypsilanti Township. Still others had Wayne County beginnings, he said. Some of the cases involve several purchases of drugs from the same person. One of the suspects is charged with five separate instances of selling drugs to an undercover agent, Delhey said. Delhey said the names of the persons being sought would be withheld until arrests are made. The prosecutor said three of the 27 defendants are women and the ages of the suspects range from the 20's to middle-age. One of the suspects who is charged with selling heroin has served prison time for the same offense, Delhey said. He said the series of arrests is the largest such operation since WANT was organized more than four years ago. Thirteen persons were picked up on narcotics charge by WANT officers in the unit's first mass action on April 1, 1971. The persons for whom warrants have been issued are not part of a single "gang" but are a "loose-knit" organization with some of them operating independently, the prosecutor said. He said the source of the drugs involved is still to be determined. Delhey released this morning the names of 15 of the 18 persons picked up on the warrants. Thirteen are charged with delivery of heroin or cocaine. The list included: Edward Amison, 28, of 855 Nash Ave., Ypsilanti Township, three counts of heroin delivery, one of cocaine; Greg Weatherspoon, 22, of 404 Ainsworth St., Ypsilanti, two counts of heroin delivery; Washington H. Ryals of 1506 Wiard Rd., Ypsilanti, cocaine and heroin delivery; Craig Rhoden, 29, of 819 Eugene St., Ypsilanti Township, three heroin counts; Arthur Willis, 29, of 167 S. Grove St., Ypsilanti, one count of heroin delivery; Lee A. "Bunny" Taylor of 3019 Round Tree Blvd., Ypsilanti, two counts of heroin; Horace Napier Jr. 24, of 12601 Whittaker Rd., Augusta Township and Charles Taylor, 40, of 536 First St., Ypsilanti, both on heroin delivery; Albert Taylor Jr. 24, three counts of heroin delivery in Ann Arbpr; Ronald Utsey, 32, of 271 Sunset Rd., Ann Arbor, Bruce Lewis of 225 S. Grove St., Ypsilanti, James Johnson, 32, and Larry Covington, both of Ann Arbor, all for delivery of heroin. The two persons charged with delivery of marijuana were identified by Delhey as Mark Kambault and Ken Harrison. Those arrested will be arraigned in Fifteenth District Court in Ann Arbor and in the two branches of the Fourteenth District Court in the County Service Center on Washtenaw Ave. in Pittsfield Township and at 206 N. Huron St. in Ypsilanti, Delhey said.
Article
Subjects
William B. Treml
Ypsilanti Police Department
Washtenaw County Sheriff's Department
Washtenaw Area Narcotics Team (WANT)
Michigan State Police
Drugs
Drug Use
Drug Raids
Drug Dealers
Crime & Criminals
Courts - Washtenaw County
Ann Arbor Police Department
Ann Arbor News
Old News
William F. Delhey
Washington H. Ryals
Ronald Utsey
Mark Kambault
Lee A. Bunny Taylor
Larry Covington
Ken Harrison
James Johnson
Horace Napier Jr.
Greg Weatherspoon
Edward Amison
Craig Rhoden
Charles Taylor
Bruce Lewis
Arthur Willis
Albert Taylor Jr.