Deputies nab Beulaville man on drug charges

A Beulaville man faces drug-related charges after being arrested last Thursday by Duplin County sheriff’s deputies serving a warrant.
Sheriff Blake Wallace made the announcement during a press conference Monday at the Duplin County Sheriff’s Office.
In jail in lieu of $285,000 bond is Lonnie Clark Duff, 32, of 774 Corn Mill Road, Beulaville.

Also arrested at the scene was Christina Noel Babbert, 25, of Quinn Store Road, Beulaville, who was with Duff at the time of his arrest.
Duff was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of a controlled substance without prescription, trafficking in methamphetamine, maintaining a vehicle for the trafficking of methamphetamine and possession of marijuana.
Babbert was charged with trafficking in methamphetamine and assaulting and striking a deputy while the deputy was transporting her from the magistrate’s office to Duplin County Jail.
She was released from jail after posting $40,000 bond.
When deputies went to Duff’s residence, they found Duff and Babbert in his Dodge pickup truck. Prescription pills were found in his pocket, according to Wallace. Deputies say he gave permission to search his truck where they found methamphetamine. According to the sheriff, the methamphetamine was found inside a MacDonald’s pie package.
They searched his residence after obtaining a search warrant and found a glass smoking device and scale as well as marijuana, deputies say.
Previous to his arrest, Duff had been the subject of an ongoing sheriff’s investigation, Wallace said.
Duff has served time in prison from 2004 to 2007 and was out on probation. Deputies were serving the warrant because Duff’s probation officer alleged he had violated conditions of his probation.
“Just because you’ve served time and been released doesn’t mean you’re off our radar,” Wallace said.
Duff’s case has been turned over to federal court officials in Wilmington.

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 15th, 2011 at 5:59 pm and is filed under FEATURES, Wallace Enterprise, Warsaw-Faison News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.