Drug Raid Leads To 6 Charged In Columbia: Police

COLUMBIA, MD — Six people have been charged in connection with drug dealing in Columbia, police said. The alleged drug dealers were involved in distributing heroin, crack cocaine and prescription pills from an apartment on Little Patuxent Parkway, according to authorities.

“We are aggressively going after people who are selling opioids, like heroin and prescription pills, on our
streets,” Howard County Police Chief Gary L. Gardner said in a statement.

While awaiting trial on drug distribution charges in Howard County, police allege a 31-year-old Baltimore man was using an apartment in Columbia to sell drugs.

When authorities served a search warrant at the apartment in the 11300 block of Little Patuxent Parkway, they said they found the man in question — Brandon Dews, 31 — and five others inside; all were arrested and charged after a variety of drugs that had been packaged for sale and paraphernalia were seized, officials said.

The following were charged in connection with the apartment on Little Patuxent Parkway, police report:

• Brandon Dews, 3, of Baltimore, held without bail
• Catherine Beebe, 55, of Columbia, released on $10,000 bond
• Carlos Black, 33, of Columbia, released on $3,500 bond
• Sierra Kosh, 25, of Glenwood, released on $5,000 bond
• Grafton Lucas, 26, of Columbia, released on $7,500 bond
• Everett Morris, 51, of Columbia, released on his own recognizance

"These recent arrests are a positive step in our effort to address this epidemic," Gardner said. "We will continue to collaborate with other agencies to approach this from all sides, including prevention, education, treatment and recovery.”

Dews, of the 1200 block of Eager Street, had been indicted in May on multiple counts of drug distribution and possession, police said. Afterward, he was released on $75,000 bond pending trial.

On Wednesday, Dews pleaded guilty to those charges, which involved drug distribution in December 2016 and January and February 2017. He is awaiting sentencing in that case.

He also faces new charges of possession with intent to distribute, possession of paraphernalia, possession of drugs other than marijuana and removing a prescription label from Nov. 2, court records show. He was taken into custody Nov. 3 and is being held without bail at the Howard County Detention Center. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Dec. 1 in Howard County Circuit Court.

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