NEWPORT, Ky. (WKRC) – A coordinated law enforcement operation resulted in the arrest of two Cincinnati residents during a high-risk search warrant execution early Thursday morning in Newport.
The Northern Kentucky Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) unit, in collaboration with the Northern Kentucky Drug Strike Force and the Cincinnati Police Department’s Crime Gun Intelligence Center, carried out the operation on E. 2nd Street at around 5:15 a.m.
Joshua Samuel Smith, 32, was apprehended by authorities after being wanted on two E-Warrants from Kentucky for traffic offenses and a felony warrant from Ohio’s Cheviot Police Department for a shooting incident in 2024.
Smith is now facing additional charges in Kentucky, including felony possession of a firearm, first-degree trafficking of a controlled substance, and trafficking in less than 8 ounces of marijuana.
Justin Lee Egner Jr., 20, was also arrested and charged with tampering with physical evidence and trafficking marijuana for possession of less than eight ounces, both of which are first-time offenses.
Both Smith and Egner are being held at the Campbell County Detention Center.
