MORGANTOWN — Almost $6,000, 10 guns, psychedelic mushrooms, meth and more than a kilo of marijuana were seized after a domestic dispute call turned out to be much more.
Deputies Jesse Coe, Jacob Coe and Anthony Alger responded to the domestic call involving a gun at 12 Goodwin Hill Road, in Cheat Lake, about 3 p.m. on March 30.
Edwin Blake Seal Jr. gave deputies permission to search his home to make sure no one else was there. While in the basement, one of the deputies’ smelled marijuana coming from a safe, Sheriff Perry Palmer said. Seal did not allow deputies to search the safe, so they got a search warrant.
“They did an outstanding job,” Palmer said of his deputies.
Seal, 34, is charged with three counts of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute and one count of transportation of a controlled substance.
Palmer said the deputies’ training kicked in when they noticed something wrong and their investigation led to the arrest of a drug dealer who was previously unknown to the department, making it that much better.
Inside the safe, which needed to be removed from the wall and opened with tools because Seal refused to give the combination to deputies, was 1.2 kilos of marijuana in both plant and wax form, 59.5 grams of mushrooms, and eight grams of crystal methamphetamine. Palmer said the street value of the drugs are about $10,000, $1,000 and $800 respectively.
According to a criminal complaint for Seal, the marijuana was packaged in half gram and one gram packages which had “In compliance with California H.S. 113625, PROP 215, SB4220” printed on the front.
Two shotguns, three rifles, five pistols and $5,803 in cash were also seized. Several smoking devices, two sets of digital scales, unidentified powders and multiple bags for packaging for sales were also found in the house, according to the criminal complaint.
Seal left the house while it was being searched and was arrested on April 5, Palmer said. Seal was arraigned in Monongalia County Magistrate Court on April 6 and bond was set at $15,000.
