Two search warrants lead to four arrests in drug trafficking investigations

LAUREL, Delaware – On Friday, Laurel police executed two search warrants at the Hollybrook Farms apartment complex, resulting in four felony arrests.

This was the culmination of two separate, lengthy drug trafficking investigations, police said, during which they seized a loaded firearm and hundreds of doses of heroin.

The first search warrant for building 800 of the apartment complex uncovered heroin packaged for sale. As a result, 36-year-old Ty Weston and 34-year-old Brittany Lake were arrested and charged with: Possession with Intent to Sell Heroin (Felony), Second Degree Conspiracy (Felony), Possession of Controlled Substances (Misdemeanor), Possession of Drug Paraphernalia x4 (Misdemeanor).

Weston and Lake were arraigned in Justice of the Peace Court 2. Weston was taken into custody by the Probation Department because he was already serving a suspended sentence for a previous drug trafficking conviction.

The second search warrant for building 1400 revealed that heroin was packaged and a loaded firearm was found there while several minor residents were present. This led to the arrest of two suspects.

A suspect managed to escape from a police vehicle and flee on foot while handcuffed. Units searched the area, but police said resources were limited at the time due to simultaneous searches of both residences, so police were initially unable to locate the suspect.

Later, units from the Laurel Police Department and Delaware State Police were dispatched to the River Road area in Blades after reports of a man knocking on doors and asking residents for bolt cutters.

When police arrived on scene, they determined that the unknown man was the same suspect who fled the search warrant. The suspect fled again, leading to a foot chase in the woods, where the suspect was eventually apprehended after the use of a taser.

The suspect, 31-year-old Devon Mumford, was given a precautionary medical evaluation at a local hospital before being returned to the Laurel Police Department.

Mumford was charged with seven felonies, including: possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, possession of a firearm while in possession of a controlled substance, and possession of heroin in quantity 2 with the intent to distribute.

He was also charged with five misdemeanors, including theft under $1,500, resisting prosecution and four counts of endangering the welfare of a child.

Mumford was arraigned in Justice of the Peace Court 2 and released to the Department of Corrections on $147,000 cash bail. He was already serving a suspended sentence for a previous firearm possession charge and was arrested by the Department of Probation and Parole.

The other arrest made on the second warrant involved Alvina Bennefield-Phillips, who was identified by police as a tenant of the targeted residence.

She was charged with possession of drugs (aggravated crime) and tried by the Justice of the Peace 2 before being released on bail.