Baldwin Drug Sweep

By Debbie Williams Reporter

An undercover drug sweep in Baldwin County landed 18 people in jail on drug charges. Baldwin Drug Sweep

Published: Fri, December 14, 2007 - 5:42 pm

Debbie Williams

An undercover drug sweep in Baldwin County landed 18 people in jail on drug charges.
Raids on homes in Daphne, Foley, Bay Minette and Loxley are the continuation of an operation that began in February.
Crack cocaine, marijuana and guns were taken in the raids. Sheriff Hoss Mack describes the arrests as significant. He says any time you can take a drug dealer off the street, it's a good day.
Daphne police say four of those alleged drug dealers came from one neighborhood.
Gerald Barron, Jr., Jason King, Eddie Jackson and Maurice Barron are out of the neighborhood for now and neighbors say, it's about time.
For more than 20 years Ethel Neal has called a neighborhood in the southern part of Daphne, home.
"Moved over here in August 1984," and she has watched it change. "The drugs have taken over our country."
Quiet street have turned into a market place with frequent visits from police says Neal's grandson, William Perry. "It's been going on for quite a while I seen task force with hoods and bullet proof vest police coming through our yard raid."
Police returned to the neighborhood as part of an undercover drug operation that eventually netted 18 suspected drug dealers county wide, six of them in Daphne.
Neighbors have complained about the drug activity and asked for help. Yesterday they got it with four of the six arrests in the sweep coming from Third Avenue.
"They're ain't nothing going on here we're perfectly fine. The sorry a## cops can go do their job somewhere else and leave us the f### alone."
Monica Glass lives in one of the houses that was raided. "This is a hangout house we do nothing wrong. I live there that is my house--'Undercover officers bought drugs there---Okay...and?"
"The drugs moved in they thought they moved in quietly without us noticing they were mistaken and they got caught," says Captain Danny Bell with Daphne Police.
This latest raid is welcome but neighbors are still worried according to Perry, "It's not going to do any good cause all they going to do when everything calm down some more guys are going to come from Mobile and from around here and do the same."
Ethel Neal is afraid the neighborhood she once knew is gone forever. "I'm doubting it serious. I'm doubting it serious."
Sheriff Hoss Mack says so far around 30 street level dealers have been arrested in this undercover drug investigation. More arrests are expected.