Homicide suspect among four arrested in Merrill drug raid

MERRILL – Four people, including a man wanted on a homicide warrant, were arrested after police searched a home in the 800 block of Grand Ave. in Merrill on Wednesday, Aug. 19, according to a media release from the Merrill Police Department.

Officers, assisted by the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, had received information that a man with an active arrest warrant was inside the residence, police said. Before serving the warrant, the Sheriff’s Office Special Response Team gave verbal commands from outside the home.

Nicholas J. Teal, who was wanted on a warrant for first-degree reckless homicide and is also a suspect in a separate investigation, came out of the house and was taken into custody, along with a woman who had active warrants of her own, according to the release. A second woman, Jacqueline Terry, was arrested inside the home on multiple outstanding warrants.

While searching the house, officers found drugs and a large amount of drug paraphernalia, police said. The homeowner, Edward P. Duellman, was arrested on multiple charges, including maintaining a drug trafficking place.

Several other people connected to the search were referred to the Lincoln County District Attorney’s Office on possible charges that include possession of methamphetamine, cocaine, fentanyl, THC and drug paraphernalia; possession of an illegally obtained prescription; felony bail jumping; and resisting an officer, according to the release.

Police noted this wasn’t the first drug-related search warrant served at the Grand Ave. address. Lincoln County Circuit Court Judge Bayne-Allison has since ordered the home to remain vacant until further order of the court. The property has since been cordoned off with police tape and no trespassing notices.