On Thursday, December 8, the Jefferson Area Drug Enforcement (JADE) Task Force executed two search warrants on residences in Greene and Buckingham counties. The operation, conducted Thursday evening, netted more than 100 pounds of processed marijuana, roughly 300 grams of powder cocaine, and four handguns, and led to the arrest of Buckingham County resident Paul Williams.
Williams was tried and convicted in 2006 for possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, and was sentenced to a seven-year suspended sentence plus five years supervised probation, which concluded in June. Months after receiving a tip that Williams was back in the drug game, JADE raided two houses 40 miles apart that he used to stash drugs. According to JADE officials, Williams struggled briefly before submitting to handcuffs.
JADE Lieutenant Don Campbell told C-VILLE that the task force found between 50 and 60 pounds of marijuana at one stash house, and the rest at the other. Williams had one firearm in his Greene County stash house, and three more at his Buckingham County residence.
He faces multiple firearms charges, as well as one count of possession of more than five pounds of marijuana, and one count of possession of a Schedule I or II controlled substance with a previous conviction.The latter charge carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment; at a minimum, Williams would serve five years and be fined $500,000 if found guilty.
The search results are a high-water mark for JADE this year. In February, JADE arrested Carlos “Pee Wee” Martinez, previously sentenced to five years in prison for a 2007 Charlottesville shooting, for possession of 55 grams of cocaine.
In June, members of a methamphetamine distribution ring based in the Southwood Mobile Home Park pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute more than 500 grams of a controlled substance containing methamphetamine. And in July, two separate busts led to the seizure of 45 grams of crack and seven pounds of marijuana, respectively.
