MAGNOLIA, DELAWARE (4/27/2016) Three people were arrested on drug charges and 253 bags of heroin were seized during an investigation into drug sales, Delaware State Police reported this morning.
The arrests came during a search of a home in the first block of W. Walnut St. in Magnolia.
William E. Niebert III, 29, who is on probation stemming from a 2015 drug conviction, was taken into custody in his upstairs bedroom, police said.
A plastic bag containing 253 bags of heroin weighing 3.795 grams was found below his open window, police said, and he was in possession of $1,000 in suspected drug proceeds.
As troopers and probation officers searched the home, they arrested Haley Nickerson, 20, of Frederica, for having three pills in a bottle labeled tramadol hydrochloride that had not been prescribed to her, police said.
Another man, Austin J. Balke, 29, who appeared to be living in a shed on the property, was arrested when, police said, they found a bag of heroin in his possession.
Niebert was charged with possession of a controlled substance (heroin) in a Tier 3 quantity, tampering with physical evidence and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was being held at Sussex Correctional Institution in lieu of $26,100 secured bond.
Nickerson was charged with possession of a controlled substance without a prescription. She was released on $500 unsecured bond.
Balke was charged with possession of a controlled substance (heroin) and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was released on $600 unsecured bond.