Deputies arrest 5 on drug charges

An observant husband and wife Freestone county deputy sheriff team made five arrests on drug charges within 20 minutes as they were on their way home in the Dew area.

Making the arrests were Robert and Diana Willis who noticed what they thought was a drug transaction taking place at Dew Truck Stop as they exited I- 45 at Dew.

The deputies drove up to a vehicle that they had seen at the truck stop and that was driven a short distance then stopped, Sheriff Ralph Billings.

Willis and Willis identified themselves and asked permission to search the vehicle, a pickup, and found a small amount of suspected narcotics residue, two pills and a digital scale, the sheriff says.

The deputies arrested Robert Dale Brown, 70, Linwood Dean Durham, 43, and Andrea Norris on charges of possession of a controlled substance.

While they were interviewing the three, though, a cellular telephone in the pickup rang and Mrs. Willis answered it and was asked "Do you have anything?" Billings says.

The deputy inquired as to what was needed and the voice on the other end of the line, the sheriff recounts, asked for a "bill."

A few minutes later a woman, identified as Melissa Suzanne Jones, 40, arrived by vehicle and got out with a $100 bill, the sheriff says.

Permission to search the Jones vehicle was granted, the deputies discovered a small quantity of suspected marijuana and arrested the 40-year-old on a charge of possession of marijuana.

Wrapping up the inpromptu investigation, the deputies drove to the truck stop cafe, confronted Troy Lewis Zommer, 40, whom they reportedly saw visiting with occupants of the pickup truck, and received permission to search his living quarters nearby, Billings says, where they found a small quantity of suspected narcotics and paraphernalia.

The entire incident started at 6:13 p.m. and was over by 6:40 p.m., the sheriff reports.