Newport police arrest two people in crack cocaine investigation

The Newport Police Department has arrested two men after a months-long investigation into street crack cocaine trafficking. Tyquan Mitchell, 24, and Gerald McNeill, 62, both of Newport, were taken into custody on October 24, 2024, after police executed search warrants at two different locations.

The investigation, conducted by the department’s Vice/Drug Unit, was initiated in response to neighborhood complaints about drug activity at a residence at 76 Broadway. Investigators determined that Mitchell and McNeill were involved in the illegal drug trade and obtained court-authorized search warrants for the Broadway apartment and another in Bayside Village at 143 Third Street.

Members of the Criminal Investigation Division and Patrol Division conducted the raids and discovered crack cocaine, U.S. dollars and drug paraphernalia at the Broadway location. At the Bayside Village apartment, investigators found additional crack cocaine, as well as an illegal firearm and a high-capacity magazine.

Mitchell faces multiple charges, including possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, possession of a firearm during the commission of a violent crime and possession of a high-powered delivery device. He was arraigned in Second Division District Court and is being held on $40,000 bail.

McNeill is charged with drug abuse and possession of crack cocaine. He was released on $1,000 restitution following his arraignment in Second Department District Court.

Lt. Joseph C. Carroll, public information officer for the Newport Police Department, said, “This was the third illegal firearm seized by the Vice Unit in the last two weeks.” The Newport Police Department is committed to reducing gun violence and to remove illegal firearms from the community.”

According to the arrest report, Mitchell, whose full age is listed as 33, lives at 90 Girard Ave, Unit 171, in Newport. The charges against him include additional counts related to using a firearm in the commission of a violent crime as a second offense and manufacturing, delivering or possessing Schedule I/II controlled substances with intent to commit as a third or subsequent offense to produce.

McNeill, a 62-year-old resident of 76 Broadway, Unit 204, faces an additional charge of maintaining a common nuisance involving controlled substances.

As the case progresses, both Mitchell and McNeill will be brought to trial. Both men should be presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.