BLOUNTVILLE, Tenn. – A man authorities accuse of being one of Sullivan County’s top drug dealers was busted early Friday when 40 officers from eight units split up and simultaneously raided both his home and his business. They seized almost $20,000 in drugs and cash, and more than $20,000 worth of cars, boats and high-end electronics.
Aaron M. Kinzer, 28, of Basham Hill Road in Bristol, Tenn., and his girlfriend, Sandra B. Duff, 27, of the same address, were arrested on a list of felony drug charges after police executed the two search warrants about 1:45 a.m. Friday. Each had a child in the home: Kinzer’s 1-year-old son and Duff’s 2-year-old daughter were taken by the state Department of Children’s Services and placed in relatives’ homes.
At Kinzer’s house, in the 200 block of Basham Road, police found five small baggies of marijuana, two Lortabs and a pipe with marijuana in it, ready to smoke.
Two and a half miles away, at First Class Auto, in the 300 block of Beechwood Drive in Bristol, Tenn., cops found six ounces of crack cocaine with an estimated street value of $15,000, digital scales, tiny blue baggies and 13 individually wrapped crack rocks worth about $100 each. Police said the garage and used-car business was mostly a front for a booming drug trade.
Sheriff Wayne Anderson said it was the biggest crack bust he’s ever seen.
“That is a lot of crack cocaine,” Anderson said. “He’s a high-tier drug dealer, a major dealer, especially in Bristol.”
Police seized three old Oldsmobiles, a ‘70s-model muscle car, a fire engine red Dodge Ram V8-Magnum pickup truck, a 17-foot fishing boat, $2,073 cash, televisions and a high-end washer and dryer.
“I’m tickled to death,” Anderson said. “There’s a lot of drugs in Sullivan County. And when you put drug people in jail, burglaries go down, thefts go down, and armed robberies especially go down. Now that’s the truth.”
Anderson added that 85 percent of crime in Sullivan County is drug or alcohol related.
Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office vice detective Ray Hayes said investigators had been tailing Kinzer for about a year, and had searched his home on one previous occasion but turned up only marijuana.
Hayes said Kinzer has a history of drug distribution, primarily in Georgia and North Carolina.
Friday’s raid led to another search warrant for a third address, in a trailer Kinzer owns in the 300 block of Brookside Drive in Bristol, Tenn. Police found marijuana in the trailer, and said Tuesday related charges are pending.
Anderson said further arrests of associates or additional charges also are a possibility.
Eight units from four agencies collaborated on the raid, including the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office’s Vice Unit, SWAT Team, K-9, and Street Crimes Unit; Bristol Tennessee Police Department’s SWAT Team, K-9 and Street Crimes Unit; the Second Judicial District Task Force; and the Kingsport Police Department’s Vice Unit.
Kinzer and Duff are each charged with possession of a schedule II drug for resale; possession of a schedule VI drug for resale; two counts of maintaining a dwelling where drugs are sold, used or stored; and two counts of possession of drug paraphernalia. Duff faces an additional charge of simple possession of a schedule II drug.
They are being held at the Sullivan County Jail without bond until their Nov. 4 hearing in General Sessions Court in Bristol.
cgalofaro@bristolnews.com | (276) 645-2531
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