The Newport Police Department has arrested two men following a months-long investigation into street-level crack cocaine dealing. 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 separate locations.
The investigation, conducted by the department’s Vice/Narcotics Unit, was launched in response to neighborhood complaints about narcotics activity at an apartment on 76 Broadway. Detectives 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 carried out the raids, uncovering crack cocaine, U.S. currency, and drug paraphernalia at the Broadway location. At the Bayside Village apartment, detectives found more crack cocaine along with 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 while committing a crime of violence, and possession of a high-capacity feeding device. He was arraigned at Second Division District Court and is being held on $40,000 surety bail.
McNeill is charged with maintaining a narcotics nuisance and possession of crack cocaine. Following his arraignment at Second Division District Court, he was released on $1,000 personal recognizance.
Lieutenant Joseph C. Carroll, Public Information Officer for the Newport Police Department, stated, “This was the third illegal firearm recovered by the Vice unit in the past two weeks. The Newport Police Department is committed to stemming gun violence and removing illegal firearms from the community.”
According to the arrest log, Mitchell, whose full age is listed as 33, resides at 90 Girard Ave, Unit 171, in Newport. The charges against him include additional counts related to the use of a firearm when committing a crime of violence as a second offense and manufacturing, delivering, or possessing with intent to manufacture or deliver Schedule I/II controlled substances as a third or subsequent offense.
McNeill, a 62-year-old resident of 76 Broadway, Unit 204, faces an additional charge of maintaining a common nuisance related to controlled substances.
As the case moves forward, both Mitchell and McNeill will face legal proceedings. Both men should be presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
