Beckley Police make $25,000 cocaine bust

Beckley Police Department, with assistance from the Raleigh County Sheriff’s Department, made an arrest Thursday night that nabbed over a quarter of a kilo of cocaine with an estimated street value of more than $25,000, according to Lt. Gant Montgomery. He explained that BPD and RCSD conducted a drug investigation and made multiple undercover drug buys from a local individual. These controlled buys led police to obtaining a search warrant for a home on Woodlawn Avenue, where 29-year-old Justin Sharieff Rolls, of Selden, N.Y., was visiting. When police arrived, Rolls was in the residence with a suitcase at his feet, Montgomery explained. This led police to obtain additional search warrants for Roll’s vehicle and suitcase, from which police recovered 9 ounces of cocaine. Montgomery said there are 28 grams in an ounce. Cocaine is worth $100 per gram, bringing the street value to $25,200. Rolls was charged with two counts of delivery of cocaine, two counts of conspiracy to commit a felony and one count of possession with intent to deliver, Montgomery said. He was arraigned before Magistrate Steve Massie and was remanded to Southern Regional Jail as a pre-trial felon on a $500,000 bond. Rolls also has a history of drug violations in North Carolina, Montgomery added. The investigation continues as Roll’s connections to the area remain unknown at the time, he said. “This was a substantial drug bust that recovered large amounts of cocaine — which was about to be distributed on the streets in Beckley — so we feel good about this. This bust wouldn’t have been possible without the cooperation of the sheriff’s department,” Montgomery said.