A Maxton man is being held on a $1.1 million secured bond in Robeson County after a narcotics investigation that began with a search warrant on Stanton Road ended with his surrender to investigators on Friday afternoon, November 13, according to the Robeson County Sheriff's Office, as reported by WPDE, The Robesonian and WMBF.
The man is Tommy Dale Barnes, 40, of Maxton. The sheriff's office says he surrendered to investigators on Friday, November 13, one day after Border Belt Drug Task Force investigators and Robeson County Sheriff's Office SWAT operators executed a search warrant at a residence on Stanton Road. The Robesonian located the home southeast of Maxton; no house number has been published in this reporting, and none is added here.
What investigators say they seized
At the Stanton Road residence, investigators reported seizing cocaine, Suboxone strips, prescription pills, marijuana, a firearm and drug paraphernalia, according to the sheriff's office account carried by all three outlets. WPDE reported that the sheriff's office did not specify the quantities of the drugs seized, and the other accounts likewise give no weights or counts. That gap matters: the trafficking charge below rests on allegations the State will have to prove in court, and the public record released so far does not include the amounts on which such a charge is usually based.
The charges, in full
Barnes is charged, as WPDE, The Robesonian and WMBF reported the sheriff's office list, with trafficking in opium or heroin; possession with intent to manufacture, sell and deliver cocaine; possession with intent to manufacture, sell and deliver a Schedule II controlled substance; possession with intent to manufacture, sell and deliver a Schedule III controlled substance; felony possession of cocaine; maintaining a vehicle or dwelling for controlled substances; possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; possession with intent to sell and deliver marijuana; and two counts of possession of drug paraphernalia.
Every count above is an accusation, not a conviction. The Robeson County Sheriff's Office release, as quoted by The Robesonian, states that every person is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law, and that the release is not an expression of opinion regarding guilt.
The $1.1 million bond
Barnes is being held at the Robeson County Detention Center under a $1,100,000 secured bond, all three outlets reported. The sheriff's office release quoted by The Robesonian notes that the sheriff's office does not issue or determine bond amounts: a judicial official, such as a judge or magistrate, does, under North Carolina General Statute 15A-532, and many factors are considered when a bond amount is set. Sheriff Burnis Wilkins, in the longer quotation carried by The Robesonian, said a bond exceeding one million dollars should make the seriousness of the charges evident.
What the sheriff said
Sheriff Burnis Wilkins criticised Barnes for allegedly making light of the investigation on social media when he surrendered — that description is the sheriff's allegation, carried by WPDE, and no such post was printed in the reporting. Wilkins also said, in remarks carried by the outlets, that people who take part in illegal drug activity should understand the office will keep investigating those cases and bring people before the courts. The sheriff's office describes Barnes as a man with prior drug convictions; that is the office's characterisation, reported as such, and it is not a finding by this newsroom on the new counts.
Background: the Border Belt task force model
The Border Belt Drug Task Force is the multi-agency narcotics unit for the border-county region along the North Carolina–South Carolina line, and Robeson County — whose county seat is Lumberton and which sits on Interstate 95, one of the East Coast's main north–south trucking and travel corridors — is a regular focus of drug investigations built around search warrants at homes rather than traffic stops. This case followed that pattern: a Thursday search, a Friday surrender, and a bond set by a judicial official, not by the investigators.
What happens next
No court date for Barnes was reported in the November 13 accounts, and none of the three outlets reported whether he has a lawyer or has made any public statement. The next public step is a first court appearance in Robeson County, where the charges can be read formally and the bond can be revisited. Anyone with information about this investigation or other drug activity in Robeson County can call the sheriff's office Drug Enforcement Division at 910-671-3191 or email drugs@robesoncountysonc.gov, the outlets reported. If anyone is in immediate danger, call 911.