Tanner man faces numerous drug charges after early-morning raid w/VIDEOS

Published 2:32 pm Tuesday, March 5, 2019

A Tanner man is facing numerous drug charges after a search warrant was executed early Tuesday morning, an official said.

Limestone County Sheriff’s Office deputy and spokesman Stephen Young said narcotics investigators, the Special Response Team and a K9 unit from Limestone Correctional Facility searched a residence on George Washington Street in Tanner at 4:30 a.m. Young said the search warrant was the result of an ongoing investigation of the premises.

Prior to the raid, officers determined the premises was surrounded by a high privacy fence with locked gates. Cameras were also around the premises, which were hooked up to several monitors inside the residence.

“An armored vehicle transported team members to the residence, but the gate was open and did not need to be breached,” Young said. “TV monitors displaying multiple security camera angles were observed in the living room, kitchen, and bedroom of the house.”

Once inside the residence, investigators found two ounces of cocaine hidden in what appeared to be a can of corn. The can was actually a hidden compartment with a bottom screw-on lid.

About an ounce of methamphetamine and assorted pills, including oxycodone, alprazolam, klonopin and xanax, were found in another hidden compartment designed to look like a full bottle of water.

Young said the K9 helped locate the drugs. A small plastic box containing nearly $14,000 in cash was also seized, as were two pistols.

Investigators then arrested the homeowner, 57-year-old Paul Ray Hines on charges of drug trafficking (cocaine), distribution of a controlled substance (methamphetamine), possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. Bond had not been set on the drug trafficking charge as of Tuesday afternoon, but bond on the remaining charges was set at $15,000.