Staff Writer

An officer responding to a vandalism call Saturday arrested four men on drug charges.

Charged with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute were Michael Antonio Norman, 19, of 107 Dunn Ave.; Marlo Deion Duckett, 19, of 162 Druid St., Spartanburg; William Earl Hall, 18, of 208 Lawson Ave., Union; and Terry Ray Talley, 19, of 107 Lybrand St. Talley also was charged with possession of crack cocaine. Duckett also was charged with giving false information to officers.

A report said Officer Mike Gregory was called to 201 Hicks St. after a person reported some men were tearing up the house.

Gregory arrived and saw four men on the property. When he stopped his patrol car, they began walking away. Gregory detained them until the property owner could arrive. Other city and county officers arrived to back up Gregory.

Gregory and Cpl. Scott Ruby with the sheriff's office began inspecting the house and found a Ziplock bag with 23 smaller bags of what is believed to be marijuana inside. Talley, Hall, Duckett and Norman all said the marijuana didn't belong to them. They were taken to jail.

After the men were removed from Gregory's patrol car he found a small pink tube hidden in the rear seat where Talley had been sitting.

Woman arrested

A Union woman is accused of using a co-worker's debit card to purchase items.

Lakeisha Nicole Rice, 29, of 1044 Main St., Buffalo, was charged Friday by the Union Public Safety Department with financial transaction card theft. She was released from the Union County Jail on $10,000 surety bond.

An arrest warrant signed by Investigator Mickey Parker said Ms. Rice is accused of taking a debit card belonging to a fellow employee at Wallace Thomson Hospital and making $511.50 in charges on it.

The victim came to public safety department headquarters on Dec. 12 and told Officer Leon Lancaster that she placed her purse in a break room during shift change on Nov. 20. She later saw Ms. Rice go into the break room after Ms. Rice already had left work. The victim said she did not notice anything missing from her purse at the time.

Later, the victim got a slip from her bank that she was overdrawn. She checked and found her card has been used at Toys R Us in Spartanburg and Li'L Cricket in Union. The victim went to Toys R Us in Spartanburg and viewed a security tape with a Spartanburg County deputy. She recognized Ms. Rice as the person using her card.

The victim said Ms. Rice apparently placed the card back in her purse after using it, because she used it herself on Nov. 23.

Man arrested

A Columbia man is accused of fighting with officers trying to arrest him on a warrant for criminal sexual conduct with a minor.

Ronny Lee Brown, 28, of 32 Bethune Court was charged Friday by the public safety department with resisting arrest. A report said he tried to flee from Investigator Brian Bailey, Investigator Mickey Parker, Investigator Charles Henderson, Investigator Robbie McGee, Cpl. Scott Coffer and Officer Mike Gregory when they tried to take him into custody at American Inn. The officers received cuts, bruises and muscle injuries.

Brown also is accused of sexually molesting a 7-year-old girl on Oct. 17 in Columbia.

A report said officers received word that Brown, who was wanted for criminal sexual conduct, would be coming to the American Inn. Officers entered his room with weapons drawn. Brown tried to grab Bailey's gun, but was unsuccessful. A struggle ensued and spread into the parking lot of the motel. A baton had to be used to get Brown to comply with commands to put his hands behind his back.

Burglary arrest

Robert Lee Arnettte, 57, of 1306 Moss St., North Myrtle Beach was charged Friday by the public safety department with second-degree burglary. A warrant, signed by Officer Leon Lancaster, said Arnette entered a house on 203 Longtwelve St., on Thursday, and while no one was home, consumed food in the house.

A report said the victim came home and found a soda bottle and a can of wieners on a cabinet. She asked her daughter if she had eaten before they left the house. She said she had not. The victim tried to enter another room of the house and found the door locked. She heard a noise inside. She picked up a knife and kicked the door. She asked who was there and the person inside, Arnette, unlocked the door. He then ran out of the house.

Resisting arrest

Richard Snow, 29, of 1619 Lenz Ave., Pittsburgh, Pa., was charged Saturday by the public safety department with resisting arrest, driving under the influence, possession of marijuana, having an open container of alcohol and driving without a license.

A report said Cpl. Scott Farr was operating stationary radar on Rice Avenue when he observed Snow driving 54 mph in a 40 mph zone.

Farr initiated a traffic stop on the Nissan Altima, with lights and siren activated. Snow pulled into a parking lot, jumped out and ran. After a short pursuit by city officers and county officers Lt. David Kitchens and Sgt. Russell Vinson, Snow was apprehended. He was observed to be under the influence of alcohol. A cold beer was found in the vehicle.

Farr found that Snow's driver's license was suspended in Pennsylvania. A breath analysis test registered .11. A driver registering .08 is considered legally impaired.

En route to headquarters, Snow told Farr a jacket he had shed while running had his mother's keys in the pocket and a small amount of marijuana.

Wire stolen

On 117 Third St., a victim told Cpl. Scott Ruby Friday that someone took a barrel of stripped copper wire and a half barrel of unstripped wire. The approximate value is $600.

The victim said the wire had been salvaged from a house fire in Newberry.