Two arrested in narcotics bust

One male and one female defendant were arrested April 10 in the 100 block of Sunrise Street following a narcotics search warrant.

The arrested were identified as 20-year-old Kendall Henry and 23-year-old Tonetta Askew, according to a press release from the Commerce Police Department. Officers at the residence seized 17.6 grams of cocaine, 7.73 ounces of marijuana, one prescription pill and tools commonly used in drug trafficking.

Both suspects were transferred to the Hunt County Jail where they have been arraigned on all charges.

CPD Community Resource Officer Alex Suarez said although Commerce is a small town, it is not uncommon to find hard drugs being sold.

"Sometimes you will see crack cocaine or marijuana," he said.

According to Suarez, CPD relies heavily on information from the public to locate drug dealers. He said the narcotics officer for CPD works closely with the district attorney for Hunt County in an effort to stop drug trafficking.

"Some people are afraid to call in," he said. "Don't be afraid, you can call anonymously, and we need the public's help."

Mayor of Commerce Quay Throgmorton agreed with Suarez.

"I encourage anyone, if they see illegal activity, to report it to a crime stopper," he said. "I think we can keep it on anonymous level."

Throgmorton said the recent rise in drug-related arrests deals with a federal investigation in Hunt County that concluded in December 2009.

"There were people we did not arrest then because we did not want to interfere with the DEA's (Drug Enforcement Agency) investigation," he said. "Now that the investigation is done, we are going after them."

There has been progress in this area as well Throgmorton said.

"It's still coming in, but it's not as big a problem as it was a few months ago," he said.

Another issue, which has become more prevalent according to Suarez, is the illegal use of prescription drugs.

"There are a lot of college students using prescription drugs illegally," he said.

Suarez elaborated on the misconception that it is not a crime to use prescription drugs. He said people caught with drugs of this sort, who don't have a prescription, are doing the same thing as using any other illegal narcotic.

"We see a lot of students have been using Xanax, Prozac, or other muscle relaxers to take the edge off," he said.

Xanax is a drug commonly used to fight panic disorder, and Prozac is a well-known anti-depression pill.

One thing Suarez said he has not seen in Commerce is "pharm parties." According to Suarez, "pharm parties" are organized events where those in attendance will dump prescription drugs into a bowl and proceed to take a handful of these drugs. He said these parties are widely seen in larger cities.

Throgmorton said every community deals with drug problems, but Commerce is trying to stop the flow.

"We all want to try to eliminate these issues in Commerce," he said.