Arrest warrant leads to heroin bust in Benton County
BENTON COUNTY, Tenn. — An arrest warrant for a man wanted on several felony charges leads to a search warrant and hours of searching for drugs and stolen property resulting in a heroin bust, something Benton County hasn’t seen in a while.
From left: Robinson, Pierpoint and Hollingsworth
Benton County deputies were at a home off of Highway 641 in the county for hours Tuesday afternoon while authorities were searching for Johnnie Hollingsworth, who had multiple warrants out of Carroll County including felonies, according to Sheriff Kenny Christopher.
“We believed him to be living here at his father’s home off of 641, so we came out here to see if he was at the residence, spoke with the father, and he advised us he wasn’t, and if we wanted to come in and look we could,” Sheriff Christopher said.
Once inside the residence, the sheriff said they found marijuana and other paraphernalia, which led the sheriff to obtain a warrant to search the rest of the property.
Dale Robinson and Barbara Pierpoint were arrested after the search.
The sheriff said that while they were initially inside looking for Hollingsworth, he ended up pulling into the driveway with his girlfriend. Inside that car they found around $800 cash and other drugs, including heroin.
Robinson is charged with possession of schedule II and VI, introduction to penal facility schedule II, tampering with evidence and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Hollingsworth is charged with possession with intent to resale meth, schedule II and heroin.
Pierpoint is charged with possession of drug paraphernalia.
“The meth is bad enough, the heroin a little more expensive, but it’s all in supply and demand,” Sheriff Christopher said. “But it is making a comeback I’m sorry to say. It’s not just us — it’s all of the surrounding counties as well.”
The sheriff said they have seen small amounts of heroin throughout the county for the last four months but that this was the purest and largest amount they have seen so far.
“We’re staying on top of it. It’s a continuous battle and it’s not ever going to end, but we’ve just got to stay on top of it,” he said.
No word yet on what was found during the search and what charges will be filed.
