Two arrested in crack house bust

By BETH FOLEY
The Palestine Herald

PALESTINE Sat, May 17 2008

— Local law enforcement agencies combined forces Thursday afternoon to raid a suspected drug location, arresting two people on drug manufacturing and possession charges.
Anderson County Sheriff Greg L. Taylor said Thursday that investigating sergeants from both the sheriff’s office and Palestine Police Department, the ACSO tactical team, two representatives from the Anderson County District Attorney’s office and Texas Department of Public Safety officers participated in serving a narcotics search warrant at approximately 3:58 p.m. Thursday at a residence at 216 Maple St.
Officers seized 9.2 grams of powder cocaine, 1 gram of crack cocaine, more than 2 ounces of marijuana, 13 grams of hydrocodone and more than 5 grams of Zanax at the location, Taylor said.
Officers arrested Amanda Magee, 26, and Charles Clewis, 48, Taylor said. Magee was charged with manufacturing and delivery of a controlled substance (cocaine) between 4 and 200 grams and with possession of a controlled substance (pills) less than 28 grams, he said, while Clewis was charged with possession of a controlled substance (cocaine) and possession of marijuana under 2 ounces.
The operation went smoothly and without incident, the sheriff said, and added that the agencies involved intend to continue their efforts to take illegal drugs off the streets.
“We’re going to continue to do these,” Taylor said. “The drug dealers need to beware. Our drug task force, though small, is working hard. My sergeant and the police department sergeant are doing tremendous work.”
Thursday’s warrant search and arrests were the second such collaborative effort this week. On Tuesday, a similar collection of local law enforcement agencies arrested five people on drug charges at a pair of locations in the 200 block of Texas Street.
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Beth Foley may be contacted via e-mail at bfoley@palestineherald.com