A Carter County man charged earlier this week with selling methamphetamine to a confidential informant now faces additional charges after police served a search warrant on his home.
Officers of the Carter County Sheriff’s Office arrested Dallas James Hartley Jr., 53, 116 Hidden Oaks Drive, Johnson City, on Wednesday on a warrant charging him with simple possession of Schedule IV drugs, possession of a legend drug without a prescription, and possession of drug paraphernalia. Hartley was still incarcerated at the Carter County Detention Center from his previous arrest in the early morning hours on Wednesday when officers served him with the warrant for the new charges.
Following Hartley’s arrest by officers with the Elizabethton Police Department Wedensday morning, officers with the CCSO and EPD conducted a joint investigation and executed a search warrant at Hartley’s home on Hidden Oaks Drive.
“The search warrant was executed pursuant to an ongoing narcotics investigation relating to suspected drug sales occurring that location,” CCSO Deputy Chief Investigator Michael Little said.
When officers searched the home, Little said they found Clonazepam, a Schedule IV narcotic, another prescription medication that is a non-scheduled narcotic, syringes, digital scales, and glass pipes commonly used to smoke illegal drugs such as methamphetamine and crack cocaine.
Hartley appeared in General Sessions Court on Friday morning and was arraigned on his most recent charges. Judge Keith Bowers Jr. appointed the Public Defender’s Office to represent Hartley and reset the case for July 12 when Hartley was scheduled to return to court on other charges.
The initial charges against Hartley stem from a drug investigation conducted by the EPD’s VICE unit into suspected drug activity.
According to court documents, on June 10 undercover officers with the Elizabethton Police department conducted a controlled narcotics purchase with a confidential informant. The confidential informant picked up Dallas Hartley Jr. from his residence at 116 Hidden Oaks Drive and drove to a home at 162 Daniel Lane, where Hartley exited the vehicle and purchased two baggies containing a clear crystal substance which field tested positive for methamphetamine, an undercover EPD officer said.
Police charged Hartley with the sale of Schedule II drugs and violation of the Drug Free School Zone law in connection with that incident.
Both sets of charges against Hartley came just over a week after he pled guilty in Criminal Court to four counts of the sale of Schedule II narcotics (methamphetamine) on June 7 and received a sentence of 6 months in jail, which he is scheduled to begin serving in November, along with 4 years and 6 months of probation through the Tennessee.