Drug Bust

On the fourth of June, 2018 the Laurens County Sheriff’s Office charged James Edwin Ollis, 42, of 2450 Graden Road, Ware Shoals with Trafficking Marijuana and Cultivating Marijuana after initiating a narcotics investigation about the activity. Laurens County Narcotic Investigators, along with the State Law Enforcement Division Aviation Unit conducted a marijuana eradication operation which led to Deputies locating numerous Marijuana Plants growing on property belonging to Mr. Ollis on Buddy Knight Road as well as Graden Road. The Aviation Unit spotted the marijuana plants from the air, leading to the Laurens County Narcotic Unit executing search warrants at two locations on Graden Road in Ware Shoals. A large scale indoor marijuana grow was located in a Building behind the residence of James Ollis. Deputies later discovered and seized over 40 firearms, cash, and drug paraphernalia from another location on Graden Rd which belongs to Mr. Ollis.

During this narcotic operation, Deputies seized over 40 firearms, approximately 200 marijuana plants, over $1000.00 cash, a bobcat excavator, multiple vehicles, and numerous other items. “I’m proud of our Narcotic Unit for their dedication and hard work. I know when people see this there will be negative comments from certain groups which argue for the legalization of marijuana. The bottom line is this; Marijuana is illegal in our state and as long as I’m Sheriff we will continue to pursue anyone who pushes illegal drugs in our community. These drugs don’t just end up in the hands of adults. Unfortunately, many times we see that it ends up going to our children and teens. The people pushing any type of illegal substance are driven by greed; they don’t care who it hurts or who ends up using their product. Some argue that marijuana is harmless, however, all too often we see that an illegal operation of this magnitude is associated with other types of illegal activities.” - Sheriff Don Reynolds