By By MARY-ALLISON LANCASTER
Managing editor
After an ongoing investigation at a residence located in Brewton, agents arrested five individuals Tuesday morning on drug charges, and one individual in a separate incident on Monday.
Agents said Wednesday that they recovered crack cocaine, marijuana and prescription pills at a house on 84 Ollis Street. Two of the individuals arrested have the site of the investigation listed as their address.
Eddie Denson, 49, and Catrina Watson, 27, of 84 Ollis Street, who were living together, were both charged with unlawful distribution of a controlled substance, unlawful possession of a controlled substance and unlawful possession of marijuana, second degree.
Officials said that the remaining three individuals were believed to be buying drugs at the time of the arrest.
James Metzgar, 19, of 1000 Dailey Street in East Brewton, was charged with unlawful possession of marijuana, second degree; Nathaniel Hymel Sterling, 25, also of 1000 Dailey Street was charged with unlawful possession of marijuana, second degree.
Leah Browder, 27, of 11536 Highway 29 was charged with reckless endangerment.
An agent with the Drug Task Force said that when officials pulled into the driveway of the residence, Browder took off in her vehicle and headed down the street at a high rate of speed. When officials tried to stop her, she made a U-turn. Officers eventually stopped her at the end of the cul-de-sac on Ollis Street.
The arrests came after a month-long investigation. Denson has had 16 prior arrests, but not all of them were drug-related. Agents said that Denson was out on bond for possession of crack cocaine but now his bond has been revoked.
Monday afternoon, agents seized approximately $1,000 in crack cocaine, marijuana, prescription pills and two handguns at a residence on 914 Sowell Road. The arrest came after a month-long investigation of narcotic activity, a news release said.
Terrence Bernell Smith, 34, of 814 South Road was charged with unlawful possession of a controlled substance, unlawful possession of marijuana, second degree and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia.
Smith has had no prior convictions or arrests.
The 21st Judicial Circuit Drug Task Force is comprised of the following law enforcement agencies: Escambia County Sheriff's Department, Atmore Police Department, East Brewton Police Department, Brewton Police Department, Flomaton Police Department and the Escambia County District Attorney's Office and the Escambia County Commission.
The Task Force receives 75 percent of its funding from a grant funded by the Bureau of Justice Affairs Division of the United States Department of Justice and which is administered by the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs. The remainder of the funding is provided by the Escambia County Sheriff's Department, Atmore Police Department, Brewton Police Department and the Escambia County District Attorney's Office.