An Urbana man facing a felony drug possession charge was arrested over the weekend on new charges.
Zachary S. Kelso, 20, was charged with receiving stolen property, having weapons while under disability, obstructing justice, and minor misdemeanor charges of possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia following a drug raid conducted by the Urbana Police Division.
Urbana Police Chief Matt Lingrell stated that on Saturday evening second and third shift officers served a drug search warrant at Kelso’s residence, 413 Railroad St. The raid was the result of a covert drug investigation conducted upon that location by police.
As the raid began, Kelso attempted to prevent police from entering by shutting and locking the front door before eventually opening it for them as they began a forced entry to the door.
During the search, police recovered marijuana, various prescription medications, numerous drug paraphernalia items as well as $748.25.
Additionally, Kelso was found to be in possession of a stolen .22 caliber AR-15 semi-automatic rifle that had two loaded magazines beside it. This weapon had been reported stolen to the Dayton Police Department.
A Champaign County grand jury indicted Kelso last month for a fifth degree felony aggravated possession of drugs charge in addition to misdemeanor and minor misdemeanor charges of possession of drugs, possession of marijuana, illegal use or possession of drug paraphernalia and illegal use or possession of marijuana drug paraphernalia stemming from an April 22 incident.
Kelso pleaded not guilty to the charges June 17 and was on a personal recognizance bond. A hearing on Kelso’s motion for intervention in lieu of conviction is scheduled for Aug. 3.
Three other people who were present at Kelso’s residence and taken into custody included:
•Tabitha K. George, 18, of 743 Eris Road, Urbana, was charged with possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.
•Bernard C. Black, 22, of 314 W. Church St., Urbana, was charged with possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.
•Aaron C. Reeves, 20, of 317 Hill St., Urbana, was charged with possession of marijuana.
George, Black and Reeves were issued criminal summons to appear in court and were released after being processed on their charges. All three individuals have arraignment hearings scheduled for Friday in the Champaign County Municipal Court.
The Railroad Street raid came one day after Urbana police conducted a search warrant at a North Main Street residence. On July 24 at 11:40 p.m., police went to the residence of Richenda Newland, 32, and Derrick Switzer, 31, of 522 N. Main St., Room #7.
Police had gone to the residence earlier in the evening to arrest Newland on outstanding warrants from the Champaign County Municipal Court, Clark County Municipal Court and from the Moraine Police Department.
As officers approached the location, they observed Newland inside the facility attempting to run and hide from officers. She was located hiding and taken into custody during which officers observed felony drug offenses. Police contained the location while a search warrant was obtained to allow them to conduct a thorough search of the residence.
While police stood by at the location, awaiting for an officer to obtain and return with a signed search warrant, Switzer returned to the residence and was taken into custody on an outstanding bench warrant.
Both individuals were taken to jail on their warrants and the drug investigation will continue with charges pending the outcome of analysis from the crime lab. From the search of the location, officers recovered marijuana, pills and crack cocaine as well as various drug paraphernalia items.
Lingrell stated police appreciate the community’s willingness to get involved and help them in their efforts to stop illegal drug crimes within the city and added that prescription medications are one of the top abused drugs within the city.
Lingrell asked anyone with information into drug, or any other crimes to contact police at 937-652-4350 or at their crime/drug tip line of 937-652-4357.
