Published: December 09, 2008 08:29 am      

Piedmont raids bring three arrests

Police seize heroin, marijuana from four apartments

PIEDMONT, W.Va. — Heroin and marijuana were seized when Piedmont Police and allied agencies raided four Jones Street apartments Friday night.

Brandon Holliday, 26, of Frostburg was charged with two counts of possession with intent to distribute heroin and possession with intent to distribute marijuana following the 9:30 p.m. raids of two apartments at 51 Jones and two at 24 Jones, according to Piedmont Police Chief Chris Paitsel.

Holliday was released after posting $4,850 bond set by Mineral County Magistrate David Harman.

Police also arrested Wesley H. Martin, 20, of Maysville and John L. Speller, 27, of Piedmont, both on charges of possession of marijuana. Both men were issued citations for the misdemeanor offenses.

Paitsel said the arrests were the result of a monthlong investigation that began when the Piedmont Housing Authority received complaints of the presence of the odor of marijuana in the two Jones Street apartment buildings.

Paitsel said the Mineral County Sheriff’s Office and the Keyser Police Department provided crucial help in the investigation that has not yet concluded.

“This investigation would not have happened without the help of the sheriff’s office and Keyser City Police. We just don’t have the resources in Piedmont to make these things happen without the help we received from those two agencies,” said Paitsel, who works full time in the Keyser Police Department in addition to his part-time position as police chief at Piedmont.

The search warrants were executed at about 9:30 p.m. Friday by Piedmont police, Keyser K-9 units and four deputies.

Evidence seized during the raids included four grams of packaged marijuana, one gram of packaged heroin and drug paraphernalia, police said.