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ALBEMARLE -- Police say they have arrested two people in connection with the an alleged drug operation doing business across the street from a day-care center.
The arrests followed a search Friday by Albemarle police and the Stanly County Sheriff’s Office of The Back Room, in the 800 block of North 2nd Street in Albemarle.
Police say they have received a number of complaints from residents, law enforcement agencies outside the county, and medical professionals about the sale of illegal bath salts at The Back Room.
Investigators say their seized 177 grams of MDPV bath salts, with a street value of about $12,000; more than 4,000 grams of synthetic marijuana, worth about $60,000 on the streets; 211 grams of Silvia, with a street value of $5,000; and a variety of drug paraphernalia.
Police say the store owner, Jesse Levi Menefee, was charged with:
-- Felony sale of MDPV
-- Felony delivering MDPV
-- Felony possession with intent to sell and deliver MDPV
-- Felony delivering synthetic cannabinoid
-- Felony possession with intent to sell and deliver synthetic cannabinoid
-- Felony sale and delivery of MDPV within 300 feet of a child development center
-- Felony sale and delivery of synthetic cannabinoid within 300 feet of a child development center.
-- Felony trafficking MDPV
-- Felony trafficking synthetic cannabinoid
-- Felony possession with intent to sell and deliver salvia divinorum
-- Three counts of felony maintaining a store, vehicle and dwelling to keep and sell controlled substances
-- Misdemeanor manufacture and/or delivery of drug paraphernalia.
He is being held under $553,000 bond and has a Sept. 17 court appearance.
Police say a store employee, Alice Deaton, was charged with felony possession of cocaine, possession of marijuana, and possession of drug paraphernalia. She was released under $1,000 bond and also has a scheduled court date of Sept. 17.
