HAMLET — Three people are facing drug charges after investigators reportedly found crack and weed at a home.
The Richmond County Sheriff’s Office Community Impact Team and Rockingham Police Department Vice/Narcotics Unit had been conducting a joint investigation into the distribution of illegal narcotics from a home on Howell Road, west of Hamlet, according to a press release issued Monday.
Those units, along with the RCSO Special Response Team, reportedly executed a search warrant on the home Saturday, June 17.
During the search, investigators reportedly found and seized 13.2 grams of crack cocaine, three grams of marijuana, a single dosage unit of opium, and “assorted drug paraphernalia;” as well as a .22-caliber rifle and a 12-gauge shotgun.
Investigators arrested 58-year-old Jessie Clifford Goins Jr. of the home, 39-year-old Codena Dewayne Huffin of Hamlet and 55-year-old Sharon Grant Hyatt of Rockingham.
Goins is charged with: possession with intent to manufacture, sell or deliver cocaine; felony possession of cocaine; maintaining a vehicle, dwelling or place for a controlled substance; simple possession of a Schedule III controlled substance; simple possession of a Schedule VI controlled substance; possession of drug paraphernalia; and possession of a firearm by a felon.
He was booked into the Richmond County Jail on a $30,000 secured bond.
Huffin is charged with felony possession of cocaine; maintaining a vehicle, dwelling or place for a controlled substance; and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was booked on a $2,500 secured bond.
Jail records appear to show that both Goins and Huffin had made bail as of Monday afternoon.
Hyatt is charged with felony possession of cocaine and released on a written promise to appear in court.
All three are scheduled to appear in court June 29.
Online court records show Goins has another court date on Aug. 1 for traffic citations.
Records with the N.C. Department of Adult Correction show Goins was first convicted in 1983 of damage to property. The following year, he was convicted of larceny after breaking and entering and felony breaking and entering, and was incarcerated for around six months on the latter charge. He served another 14 and a half months starting in November of 1988 when his probation was revoked.
In 1994, Goins was convicted on three misdemeanors: driving while impaired; maintaining any place for a controlled substance; and violating drug laws.
In 2005, Goins was convicted again of driving while impaired and spent two weeks behind bars in 2007 when his probation was revoked.
Just weeks after his release, Goins was convicted on a felony charge of cheating property or services and his probation was revoked the following year, resulting in a six-month incarceration.
Goins’ most recent conviction was in 2013 for violating a protective order.
State records show Huffin was first convicted in 2002 of carrying a concealed weapon, second-degree trespassing and possession of a firearm by a minor in Richmond County, and in 2006 of driving with a revoked license in Moore County.
Huffin was later convicted in Duplin County of misdemeanor larceny in 2011, then possessing stolen goods and felony breaking in entering in 2013. His probation on the latter felony charges was revoked in 2017 and he was incarcerated for three months.
Huffin’s most recent conviction was in 2020 for driving while impaired in Duplin County.
Hyatt has prior convictions for larceny, breaking and entering, possession of drug paraphernalia, and resisting a public officer, and has served around 15 months behind bars.
All defendants facing criminal charges are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
