JOHNSON FIGHTS THE DRUG WAR, 5 PEOPLE AT A TIME

WRIGHTSVILLE - It's a beautiful day in Wrightsville, but for five people
it's about to become a bad one.

A small group of deputies and police officers are gathered at the sheriff's
department to launch the latest round of Operation Street Magic. For the
next hour or so, they will be the front infantry of the nation's drug war
in this county of 8,000 people.

It's 1 p.m. Wednesday, and on this same day and time for the past three
weeks they have launched a roundup of five people from a list of 40. Their
targets are accused of selling drugs to undercover informants during the
year-long investigation.

By now, it's no secret what's about to happen.

"Most of them know by now Wednesday is pickup day," said Wrightsville
Police Chief Steve Gresham.

Gresham and Johnson County Sheriff Rusty Oxford have been doing drug
roundups for years, but this one is different, and not just because it's
the largest ever. Normally they would pick up all the suspects at once, but
the jail is so overcrowded they arrest five, give those a week to bond out,
then pick up five more.

They know they don't have the goods on every drug dealer in town, but they
do have them all nervous.

One woman walked up to Gresham and wanted to know if her son was on the
list. He wasn't.

That has been a common question since the arrests began. A female high
school student, Gresham said, walked into the sheriff's office in tears.

"She said 'I can't take it no more. I can't concentrate at school,' "
Gresham said. "She had to know if she was on the list. If it creates all
this anxiety, and they aren't on the list, they know they need to change.
Her heart was heavy."

And she wasn't on the list either.

The officers know the arrests will not stop drug trafficking in Johnson County.

But law enforcement officers believe they're having an impact in a county
not much different than other poor, rural communities fighting the drug war.

"I don't think we are unique," Gresham said.

Deputy Robert Ryan said one suspect he arrested on a charge of distribution
of cocaine got tears in his eyes when Ryan told him the charge carried up
to 20 years in prison.

"They probably won't get the max, but it's something to put a little seed
of doubt in their mind," he said.

Oxford said he expects most of all of the suspects will see at least some
time behind bars. First-timers might get six months in a detention center
or boot camp. Repeat offenders can expect prison time, he said.

Oxford and Gresham said the cases are airtight. All of the sales are caught
on videotape, and they expect all will end up pleading guilty.

Some Question Impact Of Roundups

Residents in some areas of Wrightsville known for drug trafficking
expressed doubts that the arrests do any good.

Lauretts Walker grew up on South Valley Street - one of the city's worst -
and bought a home there. She has two children and is skeptical about the
impact of the roundups.

"I don't think it does any good because they don't get the big people," she
said.

But Oxford and Gresham said the notion of a "Mr. Big" is a myth. Drugs come
into Johnson County in small quantities through a variety of sources, they
believe.

"Most of them have family in Atlanta or connections there, and that's where
they go get it," said Oxford.

When it's time to make the arrests, Ryan arrives with five warrants in his
hand. On the way to their first target, Gresham and Oxford are in one car
and Ryan and Officer Joe Holloway are in another.

On the way, Gresham and Oxford stop a couple of times to speak with people
they see on the streets. Keeping a good rapport with residents makes it
easier when they have to arrest their sons or daughters, and so far the
arrests are going smoothly.

At the first house, they are looking for Casey Graddy, who is wanted for
selling marijuana. They don't bust down doors or make a big show. Graddy's
grandmother is in the yard and they ask for him. In a few seconds, he shows
at the back door and Ryan handcuffs him. His grandmother wipes away tears
as Ryan puts him in the patrol car.

That's pretty much the way all the arrests have gone. No one gets angry at
the officers. Often they are helpful.

At the next house, out in the county, they are looking for Ricky Devero,
wanted on two counts of distribution of cocaine. His car, a run-down Olds
Cutlass, is in the yard, but no one comes to the door. A man working in the
yard says he is Devero's uncle but hasn't seen him.

The officers suspect he's in the house, but don't bust in. By the time they
get back to the sheriff's department, Devero has gotten word and is waiting
to turn himself in. That's the way many of the arrests go. No one has run yet.

"Most of them just want to get it over with," Oxford said.

The suspects, Oxford and Gresham say, are accused of different levels of
crimes. Some are suspected full-time dealers. Some have legitimate jobs and
allegedly sell a little on the side. If any are making big bucks, it's hard
to tell. Many of them live with their parents, grandparents or other family
members.

According to Oxford, marijuana is probably the biggest drug in
Wrightsville. Crack cocaine is right up there, and methamphetamines are
coming on strong. They also arrested one man for selling Oxycontin, a
powerful prescription painkiller that is increasingly popular on the black
market.

While searching for a suspect on Hillside Street, Gresham points out a
bundle of tennis shoes tied together and hanging from a power line over the
street. That, he said, is a common signal that drugs can be bought there.

"It means the store's open," Gresham said.

Most drug dealers know they are eventually going to get caught, but more
always seem to come along to replace the ones sent to prison. So what keeps
them doing it?

"Ultimately, it's going to be greed," Oxford said. "Some of the younger
guys may do it as a status symbol."

Gresham believes Operation Street Magic is achieving the ultimate goal of
drug enforcement, which is to make it harder for drug users to feed their
addiction. Asked what's it like for a user in Wrightsville to buy drugs
now, Gresham replied, "It's going to be like going through an airport
security check. They are going to search you, check your license, make you
take off your shoes."

Resident Finds Relief By Moving

Gussie Wadley, 74, lived on South Valley Street for 23 years. She recently
moved into a house about a block down from South Valley, and said that
short move has made a big difference.

"These folks is good neighbors," she said. "It was just so much noise (on
South Valley.)"

She said her son was a drug addict and eventually went to prison on a
murder charge. He turned his life around when he got out, she said, but he
was killed in an accident. Now she tries to talk to young people about
staying away from drugs, but it often doesn't do any good. She was also
skeptical the arrests would make a difference.

"They need to give them longer sentences," she said. "They get six months,
that's nothing to them."

But Gresham said the roundup is getting a positive reaction from many
residents. Most are cooperative, and more people are calling in with tips
about other dealers.

Though the investigation is targeting 40 people, Gresham and Oxford said
that number is expected to grow. They said the work is ongoing, and they
aren't about to let drug dealers relax.

Mayor Willis Wombles went on the roundup the Wednesday before last, and he
is convinced it is worth the effort.

"I think Chief Gresham and the sheriff's office are sending a message to
drug dealers that they are not wanted in Johnson County," he said. "I
talked with people around Wrightsville and they told me about drug
activity. They all agreed we can clean the streets up."

This past Wednesday was the fourth wave of Operation Street Magic. They
have at least four more to go.

And they want turn someone else's day into a bad one.