RIDGELAND DRUG-RELATED SEIZURE INCLUDES $22,000

RIDGELAND -- Ridgeland police arrested two men and seized $22,000 on
Tuesday morning in the town's fourth drug-related seizure on I-95 this
year. Curvin Bernard Williams, 30, and Omar Demetrius Cunningham, 21, both
of Charlotte, were charged with possession of drug paraphernalia. Police
found a scale in the car. Williams and Cunningham were heading south on the
interstate when they were pulled over at 9:56 a.m. for following too close
to another vehicle.

The department's police dog reportedly picked up on drug residue from the
trunk of the 1996 Dodge Intrepid, said Chief Richard Woods. No drugs were
found, but eight bundles of cash were discovered in a plastic grocery bag
in a hollowed-out speaker box mounted in the trunk and covered with duffel
bags, Woods said.

Williams and Cunningham had a bond hearing Tuesday afternoon and were being
held at the Jasper County Detention Center.

Woods, who took over the position Aug. 12, has identified the drug trade
passing through and coming into Ridgeland as a focus. Under his new system,
he said an officer will patrol Ridgeland's eight-mile stretch of highway 12
hours a day while keeping an officer in town at all times.

"Prior to my arrival, (officers) would be responsible for working the
interstate and responding to calls in town," he said. "But now, when he
comes to work, he knows his focus is working the interstate for 12 hours."

Woods says this will allow his department to make more drug busts and seize
more money for the town, which can be used to purchase more equipment.

Since January, Ridgeland police have made four stops that resulted in drug
and cash seizures, which now includes $43,000, 15 pounds of marijuana and a
kilogram of cocaine, according to Woods.

On Saturday, Jasper County deputies arrested Tyshon J. Brown, 21, of 1
Ajuga St., Beaufort, on charges of possession of marijuana with intent to
distribute, possession of marijuana near a school, having an open alcohol
container and traffic violations, according to police. Brown, who was
pulled over in Ridgeland, was allegedly caught with 25 individually wrapped
bags of marijuana. Police said he has a prior drug record.

Contact Glenn Mafai at 986-5531 or gmaffei@beaufortgazette.com