Four arrested in Albany drug busts

ALBANY — Albany-Dougherty Drug Unit Commander Maj. Prurince Dice conducted a news conference on Monday to inform the public about recent arrests made by ADDU agents. Demetrius Johnson, Christian Carter Jr., Christian Carter III and Shakyra Horton were arrested on various drug charges.

“Mr. Johnson is an individual who we’ve been conducting investigations on for the past few months,” Dice said. “He’s not a new individual in this game; he’s well-experienced, and his experience and his luck ran out.”

Johnson was arrested at a traffic stop for driving with a suspended license. The agents found 22 grams of crack cocaine, about 15.1 grams of methamphetamine, 4.5 grams of powder cocaine, a gram of heroin, marijuana and oxycodone pills in Johnson’s vehicle and obtained a warrant to search his apartment.

“(The ensuing investigation) led to Mr. Johnson having over $19,000 worth of illegal drugs, which were seized by Albany-Dougherty Drug Unit agents,” Dice said. The drug unit commander said the search led to an additional 138.2 grams of crack cocaine, digital scales and other drug paraphernalia being confiscated.

“(Johnson) is considered one of the mid- to upper-level dealers here in Albany,” Dice said. “There’s no doubt in my mind that he’s connected to several other people in this community. We are continuing our efforts to go after anybody who’s associated with Mr. Johnson.”

Johnson was arrested on May 4 on the 300 block of West Mercer Avenue. He was charged with trafficking cocaine, possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, possession of Schedule II narcotics with intent to distribute, possession of heroin with intent to distribute, possession of drug-related objects, drugs not in their original container and driving with a suspended license.

The Carters and Horton were arrested via search warrant on the 200 block of Patrol Drive.

“What led to that (arrest) was we received some information from the United States Postal Service which indicated that they received a package that contained suspected marijuana,” Dice said.

Once the drug unit obtained a probable cause warrant and determined that the package contained 10 pounds of marijuana, agents set up an operation to learn who was supposed to receive the package. Eventually, the agents conducted a search warrant at the residence the package was supposed to be delivered to.

Inside the residence, agents found a loaded American tactical AR-15 rifle, 96 rounds for the rifle and a .380 revolver.

All three were arrested on May 9. Christian Carter Jr. was charged with trafficking marijuana. Christian Carter III was charged with trafficking marijuana and possession of marijuana, less than an ounce, and reckless conduct. Horton was also charged with possession of marijuana, less than an ounce, and reckless conduct.

“We suspect that there are more people here that are involved in this type of operation or organization-style drug trafficking, and we’re continuing our efforts to investigate and see if we can locate those individuals as well,” Dice said. “We want to send a message. Obviously, we want to clean up the community. Our community doesn’t want drugs. This is an issue for us.

“It’s not welcome in Albany. That’s why this task force was put together, to deal with those issues. That’s our mission. As long as we exist, we’re going to continue to go after drug traffickers.”