BUSTED BIG TIME

ASHTABULA - - A .45-caliber pistol and stacks of cash were among items seized by local law enforcement in a drug bust Friday night.

Six people face a litany of felony drug charges after the bust, which began when the city police department's Special Operations Group (SOG), in cooperation with the Ashtabula County SWAT team and the Trumbull, Ashtabula and Geauga drug force (TAG), stormed a home at 4803 Strong Ave. Four men and a woman were arrested.

"These men are not your average street drug pushers ... they are in the hierarchy of drug deals," detective Capt. Rob Stell said. "The bust sent a shock wave through Ashtabula."
The officers confiscated 70 grams of powdered cocaine, 55 grams of crack cocaine, cell phones, a police scanner, a scale and $13,240 in cash from the residence, police said.

Among the arrested were Theron Osborne, 20, of Ashtabula; Tramaine Jackson, 29, of Orwell; Terrance "Bumper" Carson, 31, of Ashtabula, and Jawann Evans, 29, of Boardman. "SWAT caught them off guard and they just gave up," Stell said, noting the names of the other suspects were being withheld Monday until their arraignments.
Police Chief Ray Mattson called Friday's bust one of the biggest in the department's history.

"It was very successful," Mattson said. "I'm very happy." City Manager Anthony Cantagallo went to the police station Monday to take a look at the loot and congratulate the detectives. I think it's terrific," he said.

A second bust late Friday at a Woodman Estates apartment, located off Woodman Avenue, yielded a small amount of marijuana and crack cocaine, police said, noting two people were arrested.

Detective Sgt. Joe Cellitti said children were present at both raids, something he found disturbing. In addition to drug charges, the suspects will each face an additional charge of child endangering or dealing drugs in the vicinity of children, he said.

Friday's drug busts followed SOG's an undercover operation at South Park, where six men were arrested for soliciting a female for sex.