A man tried to flush several bags of cocaine down the toilet when sheriff's deputies came knocking at his Langston Chapel Road home, but the evidence wouldn't go down, authorities said.

The Bulloch County sheriff's Crime Suppression Team executed a search warrant and arrested two men April 11, but the Sheriff's Office did not release information about the arrests until Tuesday.

According to a CST report, Travis James Bowers, 22, was allegedly selling "large amounts" of cocaine from a Langston Chapel Road address. CST members, working from information supplied by the Statesboro police Impact Team, conducted a weeks-long investigation that resulted in Bowers' arrest, as well as that of a roommate.

When deputies entered the home, they found Bowers trying to flush several baggies of cocaine, but he didn't succeed, and all evidence was recovered, according to the CST statement released by Bulloch County sheriff's Chief Deputy Bill Black.

Deputies seized a "trafficking amount" of cocaine, packaged for resale, a firearm and a large amount of cash, he said.

Bowers' roommate, Kevin Pratt III, 19, was charged with possession of less than an ounce of marijuana and possession/use of a drug-related object.

Bowers, however, was charged with those offenses, as well as trafficking in cocaine, two counts of sale of cocaine, possession of a firearm during commission of a crime, and use of communications facilities during commission of a crime involving a controlled substance.

Both men were taken to the Bulloch County Jail, where Pratt was released the next day on a $4,000 bond. However, Bowers remains in the jail without bond, awaiting further court appearances, according to jail records.

The case remains under investigation. Anyone with further information is asked to contact Capt. Jason Kearney with the Bulloch County sheriff's Crime Suppression Team at (912) 764-1786.

Herald reporter Holli Deal Saxon may be reached at (912) 489-9414.