Staff Writer

The commander of the Narcotics Task Force Tuesday said cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana continue to rule supreme as the illegal drugs of choice in this area.

"We have a lot of crack cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana," Dan Greathouse said when asked which drugs are most prevalent locally. "We do see a little ecstasy and LSD."

Greathouse said the area's drug trade is enough to keep task force members busy, but said he and his agents do what they can to keep the problem at bay.

"Naturally, we could be operating 24 hours," Greathouse said. "We get good cooperation from the district attorney and the judges and we do what we can to catch them and see they are prosecuted."

Just Monday, task force agents stormed into the 102 Church Road home of Christopher Jarrell Mathis, 42 and seized about three grams of methamphetamine, sales and other drug paraphernalia. Mathis was charged with possession of methamphetamine.

The same day, agents charged Tony B. Cleveland, 649 Walton Street with possession of crack cocaine with the intent to distribute. Agents say they found the drugs in Cleveland's right front pocket during a drug investigation in Lincoln Park.

Most of those charged have their cases heard in Superior Court, but Greathouse said the more serious offenders - or those with at least two prior felonies - wind up in U.S. District Court.

Just last month, several people were indicted in the Middle District of Georgia, Macon Division, on drug charges.

Ronald King, 226 Wesley Avenue; Tawana Stewart, 106 Vine Lane; and Marcus Caldwell, 268 Triune Ave., were indicted and arrested for possession of cocaine after an investigation which stretched from Jan. 1, 2002 until Jan. 30, 2004.

Eric Lamar Drake, 105 Third St., was indicted on two counts of possession of cocaine with the intent to distribute. Drake was apparently caught with the drugs last October.

Pierce Deon Copeland, Woodbury, was indicted on four counts of possession of cocaine with the intent to distribute after agents seized more than 50 grams of the drug. He was also charged with using a telephone to unlawfully attempt to distribute cocaine.

Casey Alexander, 250 Marcey Dr., was indicted on charges of possession of cocaine with the intent to distribute.

The Narcotics Task Force is comprised of officers from the Upson County Sheriff's Department, the Thomaston Police Department, the Barnesville Police Department, the Monroe County Sheriff's Department and the Zebulon Police Department.