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Home » News » Crime

August 22. 2012 1:21AM

Salem man indicted on felony drug charge


SPEIGHT JR. 
BRENTWOOD — A Salem man accused of having 5½ pounds of marijuana shipped to his home was indicted on a felony drug charge stemming from his arrest in March.

Raymond Speight Jr., 23, is facing a single count of possession of a controlled drug with intent to distribute.

Police arrested Speight Jr. and his 50-year-old father, also Raymond, on March 29 after a months-long investigation by Salem police and federal investigators.

No charges were brought against Raymond Speight Sr. in superior court.

During a search of Speight’s home on Alfred Drive, police seized the marijuana, steroids and more than $16,056 in cash, according to police.

Federal prosecutors recently won a request by a judge to seize the $16,056 in cash under drug forfeiture laws.

A defense lawyer representing Speight did not contest the seizure of the cash, according to prosecutors.

Police estimate the street value of the marijuana seized from the home at $30,000.

Investigators say that Speight Jr. was collecting packages addressed to a fictitious Methuen, Mass., company called “For The Boys Clothing Company,” according to a police affidavit.

Speight Jr. was under surveillance when he traveled to a UPS store in Methuen, Mass., to retrieve what police believe was among more than a dozen packages that delivered him drugs, police said.

U.S. Postal Inspector Michael McCarran told Salem police that between February and March at least 18 packages weighing between two and five pounds had been mailed from a post office in Arizona to Speight’s post office box, police said.

When two packages arrived at the UPS store on Thursday, McCarran intercepted them and brought them to the Salem Police Department.

A police K-9, Trigger, indicated that the two packages contained drugs after it was placed among an array of five parcels, Salem police Detective Michael Bernard said in a sworn affidavit.

The test took place inside the police department’s sally port.

McCarran then returned the packages back to the UPS store for Speight Jr. to pick up after they tested positive for drugs.

A team of Salem police, U.S. Postal Inspectors and Drug Enforcement Administration officials raided the home after putting Speight Jr. under surveillance.

Speight Jr. is facing a single count of possession with intent to distribute, a charge punishable by up to 10 to 20 years in state prison and a $300,000 fine.

He is being held at the Rockingham County jail on $50,000 cash bail. Speight Jr. will be arraigned later this month in superior court.

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James A. Kimble may be reached at JKimble@newstote.com.

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