A Texarkana man accused of having at least $70,000 in drugs at his Texas-side home pleaded not guilty to various crimes at a hearing Wednesday in Bowie County.
Ikee Wyrick, 25, is charged with money laundering and unlawful possession of a firearm from an arrest in early January. During the hearing before 102nd District Judge Bobby Lockhart, he also pleaded not guilty to an earlier deadly conduct charge.
Wyrick was arrested Jan. 10 after the execution of a search warrant at his home in the 1700 block of West Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard resulted in the seizure of 19.5 pounds of marijuana, 31 grams of cocaine, 1,238 Xanax pills and three tablets of MDMA (commonly known as ecstasy).
Texarkana, Texas, Police Department's Special Investigations Unit estimates the value of the drugs to be at least $70,000, according to earlier reports.
Officers also seized a loaded pistol and an undisclosed amount of cash found hidden throughout the house.
Wyrick allegedly purchased a Smart car and a Mercedes SUV with cash from illicit drug trafficking, according to probable cause affidavits used to create the following account. Bank receipts recovered during the investigation reportedly show that Wyrick was using others to help him deposit cash into legitimate bank accounts.
Because of a prior felony conviction, Wyrick was charged with unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon.
Wyrick was also indicted last month on a charge of deadly conduct in the alleged shooting of two bystanders Aug. 27. According to a probable cause affidavit, Wyrick allegedly used his Smart car to cut off another driver, Dominic Pierce, near midnight at the intersection of West 13th and Bowie streets. Pierce reported that after being cut off, Wyrick got out of his car and opened the passenger door of his car.
"Mr. Pierce stated that he deployed OC spray at Wyrick when he opened the door and punched him," the affidavit states. "The victim stated that Wyrick pulled out a handgun and fired two shots."
Shortly after officers received a call concerning the shooting, two people reported they were shot while walking in the area and were taken to a local hospital for treatment of non-life threatening wounds.
Lockhart's docket also listed four other drug charges for Wyrick. Those cases cannot be presented to a grand jury for possible indictment until reports from the state crime lab concerning the substances have been received by the Bowie County District Attorney's Office.
Wyrick is being held in the Bowie County jail with a total bail of $340,000. He is represented by Texarkana lawyer Darren Anderson.