The Plymouth police drug unit, with the help of Kingston and state police, raided homes this week in Boston, Plymouth, and Kingston, seizing more than 400 grams of cocaine and $16,000 in cash.
Three people were arrested and charged with cocaine- related offenses, according to court records. Two of them have multiple previous drug arrests. One is scheduled to go to trial on a separate drug case in August.
The raids capped a monthslong investigation into alleged cocaine dealing by Charles Johnson, 44, who has a long history of alleged drug offenses. He was twice indicted for drug trafficking — in 2016 and 2017, court records show. In one case, prosecutors dropped the charges. In the other, the judge dismissed the case after granting a defense motion to suppress evidence, records show.
Though Johnson’s address on court records is in Boston, police believed he was staying at one of the Plymouth homes that was under investigation.
On the morning of July 23, police, armed with search warrants, visited four homes — two in Plymouth, one in Boston, and another in Kingston, police reports said. They also had warrants to search two cars — a Lexus and a Toyota Camry.
While watching an apartment on Mayflower Street in Plymouth — where Johnson allegedly stayed with a woman named Sarah Palmer — police spotted him leaving the house and driving off in the Camry.
They stopped Johnson and searched the car, turning up “a large amount of cash” and a phone. The police reports don’t say how much — but a Facebook post by the Kingston police said they confiscated $16,000.
Plymouth Police enlisted the help of K-9 officer Oakley, a yellow lab certified to detect illegal drugs, who searched the car and led police to four pills, identified as Adderall, police said.
Because Johnson did not have a valid prescription for the pills, police arrested him on the spot.
The officers then entered the Mayflower Street apartment, where they found four other people — and a lot of cocaine, police said.
In a bedroom shared by Johnson and Palmer, they discovered 14 glassine bags in a larger, yellow drawstring bag. The bags contained a “chunky white substance,” which police believed was cocaine, their report said.
The substance was later tested at Plymouth police headquarters and found to weigh 444.1 grams — more than twice the 200 grams required for a charge of trafficking.
Palmer told police she and Johnson shared the bedroom, but the bag and its contents belonged to Johnson, not her, the police report says.
Palmer and Johnson were charged with cocaine trafficking and possession of cocaine with intent to distribute. Johnson was also charged with possession of pills — the Adderall.
Meanwhile, police visited another Plymouth apartment, on Colonial Terrace. After they knocked on the door and no one answered, they used a “weighted entry tool” to enter the apartment, the police reports say.
They found Alicia Veneau, 38, standing in the living room.
A search of the apartment turned up alleged drugs and paraphernalia, including crack pipes, a bag with white residue and a spoon with white residue.
The substance was tested later at the police station, but the results were inconclusive, the police report said. The evidence was sent to the state police drug lab for further testing.
Veneau is scheduled to go on trial next month on separate crack cocaine charges after being arrested in November.
On the new case this week, she was charged with possession of cocaine, subsequent offense, and faces up to five years in prison on these charges.
Johnson and Palmer are charged with cocaine trafficking and face up to 20 years in prison.
Each of the three defendants pleaded not guilty at their July 24 arraignments in Plymouth District Court.
They are due back in court August 12.
Lawyers for Veneau, Johnson and Palmer did not immediately return calls seeking comment.
Plymouth and Kingston police trumpeted the arrests on their Facebook pages.
“The illicit drug trade knows no jurisdictional boundaries,” wrote the Kingston police. “Close working relationships with other agencies [are] paramount to ensuring public safety.
“These investigations, by their nature, are usually quiet and unseen,” the post continued. “Just know, we are out there aggressively pursuing and arresting drug dealers in an attempt to reduce the impact these felons have on the vulnerable youth in our community.”
Plymouth Police said the effort demonstrated the department’s “unwavering commitment to preventing the spread of illicit drugs in our community.”
Andrea Estes can be reached at andrea@plymouthindependent.org.