Martin County Issued Two Indictments

By Lilly Adkins

BSN Associate Editor

INEZ —The Martin County Grand Jury issued two true bills on Feb. 15.

•Gabriel J. Cooper, 30, of Warfield, is charged with first-degree possession of a controlled substance; second-degree fleeing or evading police on foot; resisting arrest and possession/use of drug paraphernalia.

On or before Jan. 5, Cooper was allegedly in possession of methamphetamine; he disobeyed a command to stop by the Martin County Sheriff’s department who were acting in their official capacity and had reasonable suspicion that Cooper had committed a crime; he intentionally prevented, or attempted to prevent, a peace officer acting under the color of his official authority from effecting an arrest by using or threatening to use force or violence against the peace officer and he was in possession of a pipe used to ingest controlled substances.

•Earnest W. New, 50, of Lovely, is charged with first-degree possession of a controlled substance and possession/use of drug paraphernalia.

On or before Nov. 28, 2023, New was allegedly in possession of methamphetamine and digital scales, with white residue thereupon, used to weigh controlled substances.

(Editor’s note: An indictment is not an indication of guilt but a determination by a grand jury that criminal charges warrant further judicial review.)