Newly filed court documents have illuminated more details on a Jan. 31 drug raid in Magnolia that resulted in the arrest of local couple and the seizure of illegal narcotics.
According to a police statement, five children under the age of 10 were present at the Amhurst Street home when the raid took place. The house also contained drugs and numerous paraphernalia-related items, according to a Thursday filing.
“On Jan. 31, 2019, at 6 p.m., officers of the Magnolia Police Department conducted a search warrant on 2601 Amhurst Street,” said a probable cause affidavit filed March 21 in the Columbia County circuit Clerk’s office. “Upon entering the residence, there were five young children and other adult individuals, including Quinton Alexander and Wendy Colvin.”
The incident resulted in the arrest of the 28-year-old Alexander and 27-year-old Colvin. The search, according to police statements, found “large quantities” of methamphetamine, ecstasy, and marijuana, as well as cash, phones, bags, scales and numerous items that could be used for prep and packaging of narcotics.
“The children that were inside the residence are identified as age two, age eight, age 10, age one and age six,” the affidavit said.
The children and the two suspects were reportedly cleared from the home then it was searched. The master bedroom at the southeast corner — found to be Colvin and Alexander’s, according to the report — was discovered with a laundry list of drugs and items to weigh and sell narcotics. Evidence in the master bedroom, according to the affidavit, included marijuana, a bag containing meth, a bag of marijuana, and a bag of pills, suspected ecstasy and methamphetamine, two black duffle bags on the bed, a digital scale on the nightstand, a Ziplock bag box in the dresser, suspected meth in a dresser drawer, miscellaneous paperwork, cash, and the title to a gray Cadillac.
In the Master bathroom and bedroom closet, the scene was reportedly similar. Those spaces were said to have contained more digital scales, cash, a ledger containing names, trash bags with suspected marijuana residue, a small black gun safe, a five-gallon bucket containing baggies, and baggies of suspected meth and marijuana.
In total, $9,533 in cash was seized among the spaces in the master suite, according to the police filing. Six cell phones were also taken as evidence, the report said, with four discovered in the living room-dining room area table and two in the bedroom and bathroom, along with a vacuum sealer and several Ziplock bag boxes.
From the listed evidence, no firearms were found at the address.
“The home was searched completely, and included vehicles and outbuildings with no other evidence located,” the affidavit said.
On Feb. 11, a civil suit was filed in Columbia County seeking the forfeiture of the seized money. A confiscation report claimed the funds were used for and furnished through illicit drug transactions and that it was “traceable to such exchange.”
On Thursday, formal criminal charges were brought against Alexander and Colvin. Alexander, a multiple-time prior felon, is classified as a habitual offender, meaning he could be subject to harsher minimum penalties and stricter parole eligibility if convicted.
He is charged with possession of a controlled substance with purpose to deliver (meth or cocaine) 10-200 grams; possession with purpose to deliver a schedule VI controlled substance 14 grams to 4 ounces; possession with purpose deliver Schedule I, II (not meth or cocaine) under 2 grams; endangering the welfare of a minor-first degree; maintaining a drug premises; and possession of drug paraphernalia (meth or cocaine).
Colvin is charged with the same counts, minus the endangering the welfare of a minor count, and is not a habitual offender.
Both defendants are currently out on bond, according to Columbia County jail records. Their first appearance proceedings were held Feb. 1.