You can never have too many friends.

That statement is especially true when it comes to law enforcement and battling the ever-present existence of illegal drug activity.

Kemper County Sheriff Samuel Tisdale knows the importance of relying on help outside his agency. On Friday and Saturday, his deputies, bolstered by 100 state and local officers, conducted a drug roundup that lasted seven hours and resulted in the arrests of 37 suspects. The officers were drawn from various agencies including the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics (MBN), the Mississippi Highway Patrol, the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, the Mississippi Alcohol Beverage Control, and officers from the DeKalb and Scooba Police Departments.

“This was a very successful operation,” said Tisdale. “We often work alongside other agencies like the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics so we can boost our manpower and utilize their statewide jurisdiction.”

Captain Stanley Wash with the MBN said this roundup, called “Operation Crack Down,” is the result of a seven-month undercover investigation in Kemper County.

“This was an operation against those people who we suspected dealt and trafficked illegal drugs in Kemper County,” Wash said. “This operation was conducted with a great deal of effort and cooperation by the deputies and sheriff of Kemper County, as well as about a half dozen other agencies.”

“These were some of our biggest dealers,” Tisdale said. “And roundups like this one only goes to show how well we work with other agencies such as the MBN.”

Tisdale added that some of the suspects that were missed during the initial roundup gave themselves up to authorities over the weekend. The search for a few other suspects is ongoing.

The roundup began in the early evening of Friday and continued into the early morning hours Saturday, according to Tisdale. By the time the operation ended, scores of suspected dealers and traffickers were off the roads and streets of Kemper County along with an undetermined amount of illegal drugs, cash and guns.

But even with the success of this latest operation, Wash pointed how unfortunate it is that it had to be conducted to begin with.

“Operations like this, not only here in Kemper County but all across the state, shows the illicit drug trade and the crime associated with it is not limited to large metropolitan areas,” Wash said. “Illegal drugs are everywhere.”

And as long as there is illegal drug activity, law enforcement agencies, with the help of their friends, will be close by.



Arrested were:

• Antonio Cherry, 22, sale of cocaine.

• Rodney Pettus, 20, sale of cocaine, sale of marijuana.

• Derrick Carter, 29, conspiracy to sale of cocaine.

• Jermaine Davis, 27, three counts sale of cocaine, sale of marijuana.

• Louis Griffin, 25, two counts sale of cocaine.

• Jeff Odom, 42, sale of cocaine.

• Reginald Moore, 31, two counts sale of controlled substance.

• James Rush, 20, three counts sale of cocaine.

• Everette Ray, 23, four counts sale of cocaine.

• Jonathen Currie, 22, two counts sale of cocaine, possession with intent to distribute.

• Michael Cameron, 28, sale of cocaine.

• Bobby Richardson, 38, sale of marijuana.

• Daniel Davis, 43, sale of cocaine.

• Dennis Cole, 20, sale of cocaine.

• Terrance Westerfield, 22, sale of cocaine, sale of marijuana.

• Brenda Grace, 41, two counts sale of cocaine, conspiracy to sale of cocaine.

• Wiley Boyd, 74, three counts conspiracy to sale of cocaine.

• Tommy Grace, 47, sale of cocaine.

• Matt Faucette, 19, sale of marijuana, sale of controlled substance.

• Johnny Turner, 29, sale of cocaine.

• Tywan Grace, 27, sale of cocaine.

• Prenice Bolden, 30, sale of cocaine.

• Gary Bourrage, 28, two counts of sale of cocaine, two counts conspiracy to sale cocaine.

• Ken Coleman, 37, conspiracy to sale crack cocaine.

• Rikey Coleman, 46, conspiracy to sale crack cocaine.

• Ken Payton, 24, three counts sale of cocaine.

• Exzavier Hickman, 31, two counts sale of cocaine.

• Vell Chamberlanin, 25, sale of cocaine.

• Jamie Coleman, 27, sale of cocaine.

• Omarion Backstrom, 21, two counts sale of cocaine.

• Keith W. Grace, 24, sale of cocaine.

• Johnny Grace, 30, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute.

• Liquori Lewis, 28, possession of marijuana.

• Sherrill Bourrage, 28, four counts sale of cocaine.

• Arreck Whitsey, 37, sale of cocaine.

• Lavendres McDonald, 26, three counts sale of cocaine, sale of marijuana.

• Wayne Hull, 37, possession of cocaine with intent to distribute.