Drug task force finds three firearms, copious drugs, cash in New Castle bust

Lawrence County's Crisis Intervention Response Team (CIRT) busted a drug operation while serving a warrant at a New Castle apartment on May 21.

The Lawrence County District Attorney's Office made a Facebook post announcing and detailing the drug bust earlier today.

The search warrant came from the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HITDA) Drug Task Force Detectives.

CIRT arrived on the scene to serve the warrant, and in the process arrested Heather Mahich, Jorge Garcia-Suarez and Jaylen Tolbert.

While entering, officers saw a handgun and a bag of what is believed to be cocaine being thrown from the next-door apartment window, resulting in officers securing and detaining Axwell Rios and Daisy Velasquez from the neighboring apartment.

After securing both apartments, officers seized the items listed below.

• Two bags of suspected marijuana (464.9 grams in total)
• Small bag containing suspected fentanyl (2.1 grams)
• Bag containing suspected cocaine (28.7 grams)
• Stolen .25 caliber micro compact pistol
• .357 Magnum revolver
• 16-gauge bolt-action shotgun with a seared and indecipherable serial number
• $3,932 in cash
• Two digital weight scales

Both Mahich and Garcia-Suarez had outstanding warrants for their arrests before, but will be pending new charges following the drug bust.

Tolbert, Rios, and Velasquez are all receiving charges of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance.

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