Murphy man arrested for trafficking drugs

Marcus William Collier

The following press release has been issued by Cherokee County Sheriff's Office.  All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

​Murphy, NC— Sheriff Derrick Palmer announced the February 1st, 2016 arrest of 33-year-old Marcus William Collier, of Murphy, North Carolina following an investigation into the illegal possession of controlled substances in Cherokee County, North Carolina.

The Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, working in conjunction with members of the State Bureau of Investigation, Swain County Sheriff’s Office and the National Park Service, conducted a joint investigation into allegations that Collier had been trafficking controlled substances into Cherokee County, North Carolina.

On February 1st, 2016, information was received by investigators that Collier may be in possession of a large quantity of controlled substances. When the law enforcement officers attempted to approach Collier to continue their investigation, he fled on foot and a chase ensued. Collier was apprehended a short time later near his residence.

Investigators continued their investigation and conducted a search of the Hill Top Road residence which Collier had been occupying and seized a large quantity of methamphetamine along with a large amount of harvested marijuana as well as US currency and other items.

Collier was arrested and brought to the Cherokee County Detention Center where he was charged with TRAFFIC IN METHAMPHETAMINE, POSSESS WITH INTENT TO SELL/DELIVER MARIJUANA, RESISTING PUBLIC OFFICER, MAINTAIN PLACE CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE, POSSESS DRUG PARAPHERNALIA, POSSESS MARIJUANA PARAPHERNALIA and remains in the Cherokee County Detention Center on a $251,000.00 secure bond awaiting a February 10th, 2016 District Court date.

Sheriff Palmer stated, “as you can see, we are teaming up with other agencies to combat the illegal drug dealing in Cherokee County. I thank each of the officers from the SBI, Swain County Sheriff’s Office and the National Park Service who assisted in this matter. Again, I encourage our community to join the team to help us send the message we will not tolerate illegal drugs in Cherokee County.”

Sheriff Palmer encourages anyone that has information on this crime or any other to report it. To report crime in Cherokee County, you can call the anonymous tip line at 828-837-1344 or email a tip at crime.tips@cherokeecounty-nc.gov or call 911 if you observe a crime in progress. 

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