Full Notification

In the early morning hours of Friday December 6, 2019, officers with the Marion Police Department received information, from the McDowell County Sheriff’s Office, that a stolen vehicle was traveling into the City of Marion. Further information given to officers was that it appeared a second vehicle was following the reported stolen vehicle, which could have been involved in the theft.  Officer Melissa Suttles initiated a traffic stop on the stolen vehicle near Badcock on Hwy 70 East.  The vehicle and the driver were turned over to Officers with the McDowell County Sheriff’s Office for charges.

The secondary vehicle (a white Nissan passenger car), was stopped by Officer Randy Caudill and Sgt. R.J. Hink in the parking lot of Dollar General, located on East Court Street in Marion. The officers observed a jacket being thrown from the passenger side of the vehicle as the vehicle was coming to a stop. The vehicle was occupied by Blaze Barker, Caleb Warren (both of Clyde NC), and a female that was not charged in the matter.  After retrieving the jacket, a bag of narcotics (listed below), which was wrapped up in the jacket, fell to the ground. The occupants of the vehicle were detained, and Narcotics officer Eric Rodriguez was contacted.  Barker and Warren were charged with the following:
 
Blaze Barker (25 years of age, white male) was issued citations for the following crimes and released:

Driving While License Revoked
Expired Registration
Obstructed Registration Plate
 
Caleb Allen Warren (24 years of age, white male) was arrested and charged with the following crimes:

Trafficking Methamphetamine
Possession of Methamphetamine
Possession with Intent to Sell/Deliver Methamphetamine
Possession of Heroin
Warren was placed in the custody of the McDowell County Jail under a $15,000 secured bond.
 
The following narcotics were found to be inside the bag:
Methamphetamine 176 grams valued at $1200.00
Heroin 3.7 grams valued at $500.00