“Carter was well armed and a convicted felon. He’s a perfect example of gun control for law-abiding citizens having no effect on criminals. My hope is that our Culpeper courts will send a clear message to felons and drug dealers with guns.”

~Sheriff Scott Jenkins

It took the sharp eyes of a motorist’s son to see something was terribly wrong on Mount Zion Church Road the night of March 31st. A body was in the ditch–perhaps a woman. It was nearly midnight. The motorist called the Culpeper Sheriff’s Office to investigate what looked to be a dire situation. Upon arrival Deputies Spicer and Carter did not find a body in the ditch, but they did find a badly beaten woman in a nearby house on Black Oak Drive, two scared children and in the process made the largest Culpeper County drug bust in recent memory — to include $100,362.64 in cash.

“This is the largest individual seizure of U.S. currency in the history of our Sheriff’s Office. I’m glad the mother and children are ok,” Sheriff Scott Jenkins said.

Darnell Carter, 33, now faces 15 charges and is being held without bond as a result of the March 31-April 1 incident. He is charged with possession and manufacture of a controlled substance, assault on a law enforcement officer, distribution of marijuana, three counts of possession of a gun with drugs, three counts of possession of a gun by a non-violent felon, two counts of abuse and neglect of a child with reckless disregard for the life of the child, abduction by force, strangulation of another, and assault on a family member.

When Deputy Carter could not find the body he called the motorist for a description of the woman seen in the ditch. With that description Deputies Carter, Spicer and Kerns went to the 17000 block of Black Oak Drive and talked to the bleeding and bruised Christina Torrez. She told the deputies she had been held in the home against her will, that she had been beaten and choked. She also said her children ages seven and nine were in the home.

At the front door of the house Deputy Kerns was met by two aggressive dogs and then by Darnell Carter.

During a welfare check the deputies found what appeared to be a white powdery substance on an electronic scale. After securing the children and arresting Carter for domestic assault Deputies searched Carter as part of the arrest process. During the search Spicer found a rolled bill with a white powdery substance on it as well as a large roll of cash. With those facts in hand the deputies obtained a search warrant for the house.

With the help of Sergeant Kerns and his drug K-9 Karma, Culpeper deputies found a half pound of crack, one half ounce of marijuana, cash, three firearms, and two ballistics vests.

Also found in the home were items valued at approximately $14,140.00. The items seized in that valuation were shoes, a television, computer equipment, a backpack filled with loaded rifle and pistol magazines, and hundreds of rounds of ammunition.

During the arrest, suspect Carter fought and kicked Deputy Carter (no relation) who sustained non-life threatening injuries during the scuffle.

Deputies called Child Protective Services and the children were removed from the scene with the consent of the mother.

Deputies worked all night into Monday morning to process the scene and items seized.