Liquor house bust
By Ethan Smith
Published in News on June 27, 2017 10:16 PM
Two men are facing charges after an investigation into a liquor house at 510 Dail St. Saturday, according to a press release.
Marvin Lamont Grantham, 53, of 408 Johnson Branch Road, is charged with felony possession of cocaine, felony possession of MDMA and felony possession of marijuana.
Bobby Ray Williams, 78, of 510 Dail St., was charged with violation of North Carolina alcoholic beverage laws.
The release said officers with the Goldsboro/Wayne Regional Enforcement and Crime Targeting (REACT) Team were investigating a suspected liquor house operation at 510 Dail St. Saturday.
Joe Sadler, Wayne County's ABC Law Enforcement Chief, said authorities went to the house at about 11:30 p.m. Saturday.
"We're trying to close these non-permitted establishments down one at a time," Sadler said.
Sadler said Williams had 15 liters of liquor and several cases of beer in his possession.
He added that Grantham was found at the scene and arrested but did not know the specific circumstances that led to his arrest for drug possession.
"(Williams) had his residence set up very similar to the residence on Wayne Avenue, where he had a dance floor area with a DJ, a DJ setup, the bar, just like a permitted establishment," Sadler said.
Authorities raided another liquor house at 235 Wayne Ave. in May, less than 24 hours after someone was shot and killed there Memorial Day weekend.
William Darryl Braswell, 36, of Dudley, was shot at the liquor house on Wayne Avenue around 3:37 a.m. May 27 and then died after being taken to the hospital.
No arrests have been made in the killing of Braswell.
After that incident, and subsequent raid on the liquor house, authorities vowed to make a concerted effort to shut down illegal liquor operations.
Sadler said authorities were led to investigate the house at 510 Dail St. after complaints from neighbors.
"We're trying to eradicate these non-permitted establishments, and most of the complaints in these locations are coming from the neighbors," Sadler said. "These non-permitted establishments breed violence a lot of times, and usually when we go into them we not only find alcohol, but guns, drugs or a combination of the two. A lot of times people that are wanted -- there's outstanding warrants on these individuals that frequent these places -- are there."
Grantham was put into the Wayne County Jail under a $2,500 secured bond.
"This is just one of the houses that was on our hit list -- the list that we've got that we're going to be visiting -- and there will be more to come in the very near future, I promise you," Sadler said.