CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A man arrested on federal drug charges outside the Albemarle Road Recreation Center in Charlotte also worked there in a county job, according to court documents.
George Davis was one of four people charged after a DEA investigation into cocaine trafficking in August.
Prosecutors charged George Davis and Kevin Alexander McDonald with drug conspiracy. Antonio Carmona and Keisha Hutchinson are also facing charges in the case.
Davis was employed at the recreation center and sometimes met outside to exchange drugs or money, according to recently filed court documents.
County spokesperson Rick Christenbury confirmed to Eyewitness News Tuesday that Davis was an employee. He said Davis worked in a limited, part-time role and is no longer employed.
Christenbury also said Davis did not work directly with children.
The investigation into the suspects started in mid-July, documents showed.
A DEA special agent said the agency got a tip from a confidential source that Davis and McDonald would meet at the Albemarle Road Recreation Center to sell cocaine in August. Agents said they watched the men sitting on the bench around 1:30 p.m.
Another man showed up 15 minutes later. Agents said McDonald walked with the man to a car, retrieved a trash bag from the back seat and handed it to the man. Shortly afterward, agents arrested all three.
Staff at the recreation center were unaware of the arrests, according to a county spokesperson.
Shashonda Phillips, a teacher at Charlotte Camp Elite, told Eyewitness News in August that her camp and another camp would have been inside at the time.
"For something like this to happen in the middle of a busy business day, that shows no care for anyone," Phillips said.
Phillips said there likely would have been more than 50 children inside the recreation center. However, she said others who are not enrolled in a camp often hang around outside.
"Kudos to law enforcement for handling it very (smoothly,)" Phillips said. "I'm just glad no one had any weapons or anything like that."
Investigators discover stash house
Agents said the investigation into Davis and McDonald led to the identification of Carmona as a supplier of multi-kilogram quantities of cocaine.
Agents believed that he lived at a home on Robanna Court in west Mecklenburg County and raided the home a day after the arrest of Davis and McDonald. Neighbors who asked not to be identified said they saw a stream of unmarked cars coming down the street with their lights off. Men and women with guns got out and began looking through the home.
Investigators found powdered cocaine, a digital scale, a heat sealer, packaging material and a large amount of U.S. currency, according to an affidavit filed with the complaint.
Agents believe that it was a stash house because it was barely decorated and had only one mattress on the floor of one of the four bedrooms.
Cox Media Group
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/LH3JSJEF3VBLRJLJQESEAG34AM.png)
