A traffic stop by the Moore County Sheriff’s Office on N.C. Highway 24-27 near Carthage resulted in a drug trafficking arrest on February 21, 2025.
In a press release, the MCSO says detectives searched the stopped vehicle and discovered 206.2 grams of cocaine, 39 dosage units of Xanax, drug paraphernalia, and $2,000 in U.S. currency.
According to the MCSO, 56-year-old Marco Barnett Cheek of Aberdeen was taken into custody and charged with multiple drug-related offenses, including trafficking in cocaine by possession and transport, possession with intent to sell and deliver cocaine, felony possession of cocaine, possession with intent to sell and deliver a Schedule IV controlled substance, maintaining a vehicle for controlled substances, simple possession of a Schedule IV controlled substance, and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Cheek is being held at the Moore County Detention Center under a $75,000 secured bond and is scheduled for a court appearance on March 12, 2025.
All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
A Moore County native who has spent more than 20 years telling stories across North Carolina and beyond. He’s worked with CNN, WRAL, and CBS 17, and now serves as a Video Journalist for ABC11. Patrick has a passion for breaking news and has earned multiple awards for his coverage. He’s also a certified NWS SKYWARN Storm Spotter and was among the first news videographers in the state to become an FAA-certified drone pilot.
