Maury, Williamson drug raid leads to arrest of accused drug dealer, confirmed gang member

Maury County Sheriff's Department, along with Williamson County Sheriff's Department, announced at a Wednesday press conference the arrest of an accused drug dealer and gang member charged on multiple counts of possession.

James Rucker, 40, was charged with possession of 300 pounds of cocaine, 56 grams of methamphetamine, possession of ecstasy for resale, possession of marijuana for resale, possession of drug paraphernalia, evading arrest and parole violation.

Due to the parole violation charge, Rucker is ineligible for bond, Rowland said.

He was arrested after officers issued a search warrant of his Rally Hill home.

Rucker, a suspected drug dealer and confirmed Blood gang member, was apprehended March 13, according to authorities.

Rucker's arrest wasn't met without some resistance, leading officers on a 500-yard pursuit by foot.

"To make matters even worse, there were two small children under the age of three years old who were present that day, along with a violent dog that was successfully taken control of," Maury County Sheriff Bucky Rowland said at the Wednesday press conference. "Mr. Rucker fled out the back door, and it was about a 500-yard foot pursuit as he is throwing backpacks of money and large amounts of illegal drugs. I believe he had about an ounce of cocaine on his person as he was getting rid of it."

Rowland said that Rucker destroyed some evidence during the pursuit, such as cell phones.

"He's an equal-opportunity supplier and drug dealer," Rowland said. "If there was an illicit drug you were looking for, Mr. Rucker could arrange that, up until last Wednesday. He also has future grand jury indictments that will be coming down, which will probably be the icing on the cake with this, with the amount of narcotics he was tracking through our counties and communities that consisted of methamphetamine, heroin and fentanyl."

Rowland said the search warrant recovered $47,622 in cash, 359 grams of cocaine, 56 grams of methamphetamine, 105 grams of marijuana, 17 grams of ecstasy, two firearms, a Mercedez Benz and a Maserati.

Along with the current parole violation stemming from former weapons charges, Rucker has a history of eight prior drug convictions dating back to 2001 when he was 18.

"This is a multi-jurisdictional effort with Sheriff Rowland and the Maury County Sheriffs office, as well as the [Tennessee Bureau of Investigation," Williamson County Sheriff Jeff Hughes said. "This was some great work done by our investigative units and our deputies. I think this started as a traffic stop that kind of grew to what has led to this arrest today. I want to be a sheriff that works collaboratively with our law enforcement partners across the state, and this is a perfect example of that."

Tennessee Bureau of Investigation assisted in the investigation.

Jay Powell is a general reporter for The Daily Herald. Get up-to-date news in your inbox by subscribing to The Daily Herald newsletter at www.ColumbiaDailyHerald.com.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Herald: Maury, Williamson drug raid leads to arrest of accused gang member