The Newberry County Sheriff’s Office reported the following incidents:
• Emma Kay Sease, 18, of 2309 College St. in Newberry, was charged Jan. 28 with possession of a weapon after her purse and bookbag were searched by Raid Corp at Newberry High School. Sease said a boxcutter found in her purse was used for her job, and she forgot it was in her purse. During the same search at Newberry High School, a machete was found in a car that belonged to a 15-year-old male.
• Jeffrey Kelvin Cannon, 26, of 315 Albert St., Batesburg, was charged Jan. 30 with driving under the influence and open container after officers clocked Cannon’s car going 84 mph in a 55 mph zone on SC 121. Once officers stopped the vehicle, Cannon got out of the vehicle but was ordered back into the vehicle and placed into investigative detention. Officers could smell alcohol coming from Cannon. A broken bottle of beer and an empty can of beer were found in the front floorboard on the passenger side. Cannon admitted to having two or three beers. Officers attempted to conduct a sobriety test, but Cannon would not pay attention. Officers took Cannon to the Detention Center where they tried to conduct a breath test, but Cannon refused.
• Desmond Shumond Durant, 27, of 468 Lowville, Whitmire, was charged Jan. 30 with simple possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia after he was stopped at a checkpoint near Wilson Road. Officers smelled marijuana in his vehicle and found a small bag containing marijuana, a tobacco grinder containing the remains of marijuana and a partially smoked marijuana cigarette during a search.
• Cody James Vick, 21, of 2710 Fair Ave. #216, Newberry, was charged Jan. 31 with possession of drug paraphernalia during a public safety checkpoint at Old Whitmire Road and Folk Road. Officers smelled marijuana coming from Vick’s vehicle. Officers asked him if he had anything in the vehicle and Vick said he had a grinder for marijuana and a makeshift bong made out of a soda bottle. Officers confiscated the paraphernalia. Vick was issued a ticket and advised of his court date.
• Keith Dariun Carter, 18, of 311 Blue Heron Court in Columbia, and Trevale Hays, 18, of 16 Lee Ridge Court in Columbia, were charged Jan. 31 with possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia after they were stopped for making an illegal turn as they approached a checkpoint near Folk Road in Newberry. Once officers got the car stopped, they could smell marijuana. Carter told the officers they had come from a party where they smoked marijuana. A search of the vehicle uncovered a loaded handgun and a revolver with an obliterated serial number in the glove box, and a .22-caliber revolver behind the rear seat that was also loaded and had an obliterated serial number. The handgun had been reported stolen in Richland County. A juvenile in the car showed officers a cup that contained the guts of a tobacco cigar and two portions of partially burned cigars containing marijuana. The juvenile was released to a parent. Officers also were told Carter’s driver’s license was suspended and he was charged with driving under suspension.
• Charles Logan Higgins, 19, of 370 Federal Lane, Prosperity, was charged Feb. 2 with simple possession of marijuana after a Raid Corp drug dog conducting a drug and weapons search at Mid-Carolina High School alerted on Higgins’ car. Marijuana, 83 empty packs of Cigarillos, a clear water bottle containing a small amount of red substance, three lighters, two shotgun shells and a bottle of Clear Eyes redness relief were found. The dog also alerted on a vehicle belonging to a 15-year-old male. The assistant principal found marijuana and 50 used shotgun shells. The juvenile was charged with simple possession of marijuana.