MURFREESBORO – Six Murfreesboro men were arrested here Friday in a drug raid conducted by a trio of local law enforcement agencies.

Frank Timberlake, Commander of the Roanoke Chowan Narcotics Task Force (RCNTF), reported that all six were nabbed while a search warrant was being served at approximately 1:30 p.m. at 101 Buena Vista Road, located in the Maple Fork Mobile Home Park near Murfreesboro. Authorities with the Hertford County Sheriff’s Office and the Murfreesboro Police Department were also involved with the raid.

Arrested were Marques Donnell Hicks, 25, of 145 Pinetops Circle, Tyrone Beale, 20, of 101 Buena Vista Rd., Matthew Anthony Casterlow, 27, of 325 Benthall Bridge Rd., Treville Shawn Walton, 30, of 118 East Lewistown Rd., Stace Beale, 26, of Lot 4, Maple Fork MHP, and 19-year-old Tony Shannon Jordan of 320 Wises Rd.

Hicks and T. Beale attempted to escape apprehension as they, according to Timberlake, fled out the back door of the residence while the local lawmen were serving a search warrant at the front of the home.

&uot;Mr. Hicks was quickly apprehended by Lt. Chris Summer of the Murfreesboro Police Department while Sheriff’s Deputy Jesse Fennell caught Tyrone Beale,&uot; said Timberlake.

The Task Force Commander went on to report that both Hicks and T. Beale were found to be in possession of crack cocaine and cash. Both were charged with trafficking in cocaine, possession with intent to sale and deliver cocaine and marijuana and maintaining a dwelling to as a place to keep and store controlled substances.

Hicks was jailed under a $100,000 bond while T. Beale was incarcerated under a $60,000 bond.

Meanwhile, the remaining four suspects were arrested, without incident, inside the residence. That foursome – Casterlow, Walton, S. Beale and Jordan – were each charged with possession with intent to sale and deliver cocaine and marijuana. Casterlow and Walton were each placed under a $20,000 bond while the remaining two were jailed under a $6,000 bond apiece.

A search of the residence revealed an undisclosed amount of marijuana packaged for sale as well as two and one-half ounces of crack cocaine. Numerous other items were seized, including scales and walkie-talkies used for the apparent reason of an early-warning system against a drug raid.

Timberlake said this particular residence was one that the RCNTF and the Hertford County Sheriff’s Office had received numerous complaints concerning apparent drug activity.

&uot;From what we were told, this was a ‘hang-out’ type of residence, one where several people were known to gather and sell illegal drugs 24 hours a day, seven days a week,&uot; stated Timberlake. &uot;From first glance, this does not appear to be a major drug bust, but it really is because of the high volume of traffic in and out of this house.&uot;

No matter how big or small of an operation, Timberlake stressed that the bottom line is the most important thing.

&uot;This was another successful narcotics raid, one where more of this poison was taken off the street,&uot; he said. &uot;All of the officers involved did a marvelous job in the surveillance and investigation of drug activity at this residence. Once again, it was a team effort.&uot;

Hertford County Sheriff Juan Vaughan praised the citizen involvement in helping to place six alleged drug dealers behind bars.

&uot;They (citizens) help us in so many ways,&uot; stated the Sheriff. &uot;Topping that list of help is their involvement in aiding us in our efforts to decrease the sale and usage of illegal narcotics here in Hertford County. We really appreciate all they do for us and urge them to continue to help us.&uot;

Timberlake echoed those comments by saying, &uot;The information provided by the citizens is very important because no one knows their community better than those living there. We will continue to give them our promise that if they provide the information, we’ll verify it and produce results.&uot;