Saturday, January 9, 2010

Authorities make meth arrests

The Alcorn Narcotics Unit has arrested two people on charges related to possession of precursor chemicals.
Investigator Darrell Hopkins said narcotics unit officers stopped a blue Chevrolet truck on Tuesday after it was observed stopping at three different local pharmacies and the occupants allegedly taking turns buying items used to manufacture methamphetamine.
Alcorn County Sheriff’s Department K-9 Officer Scott Brown made the traffic stop on U.S. Highway 72 West. Following a brief investigation the driver of the vehicle, Gregory Cates, 35, of 111 Cates Road,
Mantachie and the passenger, Chasity Kay Mars, 35, of 11 County Road 1221, Baldwyn, were both arrested and charged with possession of two or more precursors with intent to manufacture a controlled substance.
Justice Court Judge Steve Little set bond for both suspects at $10,000. A hold was also placed on Cates by the Mississippi Department of Corrections because he was on probation for a prior conviction for manufacturing methamphetamine.

Monday, January 4, 2010

Bama man faces drug charges

An Alabama man faces a drug charge in Alcorn County.
Dewayne Dennis McCarley, 32, of 146 Blue Grass Road, Hackelburg, Ala., was arrested on Wednesday and charged with possession of 15 grams or more of pseudoephedrine with intent to manufacture a controlled substance. Bond was set at $5,000.
Officers with the Alcorn Narcotics Unit received information that a male was purchasing pills at pharmacies to make methamphetamine. Officers found the subject and observed him purchasing pills at different pharmacies, according to Narcotics Investigator Darrell Hopkins.
Officers followed the suspect as he traveled east in a truck on U.S. Highway 72. The camper shell blew off the vehicle into the road, and officers interviewed the driver and found that he had purchased pseudoephedrine.

Monday, December 7, 2009

Alcorn Narcotics finds working meth lab in county

Officers with the Alcorn County Narcotics Unit recently found a working methamphetamine lab in Alcorn County while making a stop at a residence due to a warrant in another county.
According to a report made by Narcotics Investigator Darrell Hopkins, of the Alcorn County Narcotics Unit, officers with the Alcorn County Narcotics Unit were making a stop at 136 County Road 714, because of information they had received that the resident of the trailer, identified as David Ladrone Willis, 48, had a warrant for failing to appear in Tishomingo County.
The report said that when officers approached the residence, Willis began to walk out and meet the officers, but then turned and fled back into the home and the officers followed. Inside the residence, Willis reportedly grabbed a two liter bottle and ran to the back of the trailer and opened the door and threw the bottle out—almost hitting officers at the back of the residence.
Willis was detained, said Hopkins, along with two other subject in the home who have been identified as Patti Jean Kirby, 51, of Apartment 8 - Bryant Street, Adamsville, Tenn.; and James Earl Derrick, of 55 County Road 755, Walnut. All the subjects were taken out of the residence. Officers reportedly cleared the home for safety, after they found a working methamphetamine lab in the living room and kitchen. Hopkins said the house was full of smoke and safety for everyone was the main priority. After clearing the home, officers reportedly called the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics and opened all the trailer’s doors.
After Willis signed a consent to search, more items were found in the house that are used to smoke meth and marijuana. Alcorn County Deputies Health Thomas and Tony Davis came to the scene and assisted and helped transport the three subjects to jail. Corinth Police Officer Spence Spencer also assisted in the search.
“We would like to thank Chief David Lancaster and his department for the tremendous help which they give to the Alcorn Narcotics Unit because there are many times with our deputies are tied up on calls and the Corinth Police has always responded when we needed them,” said Hopkins.
Willis, Kirby and Derrick were all charged with felony possession of a controlled substance and possession of two or more precursors with intent to manufacture a controlled substance. Their bond was set by Justice Court Judge Steve Little as $15,000 each.
In another, unrelated meth bust, Alcorn County Narcotics officers–with the help of the Prentiss County Narcotics Unit— arrested Jackie Dale Arnold, 51, and Matthew Glen Arnold, 25, both of 1 County Road 1123, Booneville, and charged them both with conspiracy to manufacture a controlled substance, according to a report from Narcotics Investigator Darrell Hopkins of the Alcorn County Narcotics Unit. Events leading to the arrests began Thursday with the Alcorn County Narcotics Unit stopped a black Jeep traveling North on U.S. Highway 45. The vehicle reportedly had a tag that had been previously given to the unit as a vehicle buying items to manufacture methamphetamine.
The Jeep was driven by Jackie Arnold, with Matthew Arnold being a passenger, the report said. Arnold was stopped for speeding, Hopkins said, and officers explained the reason for the stop and officers also explained that they had received information that Jackie and Matthew Arnold were buying items to make meth. Officers asked for, and received, permission to search the Jeep. The report said there were several items found that linked both the passenger and the driver with purchasing items for meth manufacture as well as items actually used in the making of meth.
Officers contacted Prentiss County Narcotics officers and discovered that Jackie Arnold had been charged within the last week with possession of two or more precursors with intent to manufacture a controlled substance in Prentiss County. Both were taken to the Alcorn County Sheriff’s Department and charged. Justice Court Judge Steve Little set both for each man at $10,000.

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Two charged with disposing of corpse

Two suspects have been charged with disposing of a corpse as authorities shift their focus north of the state line in the case of a Ramer, Tenn. woman whose body was found floating in the Tuscumbia River. Aaron Hastings of Corinth and Amanda Ervin Wilbanks of Ramer were charged by Alcorn County authorities with the disposal of the body of 50-year-old Donna Hill of Ramer, Tenn.
Hill's body was discovered by a deer hunter floating in the Tuscumbia River approximately three miles north of the Tuscumbia Wildlife Management Area boat ramp off of County Road 750 on Sunday, Oct. 25. Alcorn County Sheriff's Department Investigator Jerry Rogers said he expects the disposal of a corpse charge to be the only charges faced by the pair in Alcorn County in relation to the case. He said evidence points to Hill having been killed elsewhere before being dumped in the river in Alcorn County.
"There's nothing to lead us to believe that the murder took place in Alcorn County," said Rogers.
He said the remainder of the probe into Hill's death is being handled by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. TBI Agent in Charge in Jackson, Tenn. John Mehr was out of his office Monday afternoon and could not be reached for comment.
Hastings was arrested by Corinth police shortly after the discovery of Hill's body on an unrelated burglary charge and is being held in the Corinth City Jail.
Wilbanks was arrested by the McNairy County Sheriff's Department and charged with theft over $10,000. She is accused of being in possession of Hill's rental car which was reported as missing after her body was discovered. Anyone with information on the case is asked to call the Alcorn County Sheriff's Department at 662-286-5521, the McNairy County Sheriff's Department at 731-645-1000 or the TBI at 1-800-TBI FIND.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Three arrested on meth charges

Close surveillance netted the arrests of three subjects in a stolen vehicle on meth charges Monday by the Alcorn Narcotics Unit.
According to a report from the Alcorn County Sheriff’s Office, officers arrested Donald Wayne Davidson Jr., 18, of 1083 North Prather Street in Michie, Tenn.; Tommy Lyne Woods, 32, of Federal Drive in Shiloh, Tenn.; and Tammy Lynette Rayney, 19, of 1140 Bark Drive, in Shiloh, Tenn., Monday and charged them with conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine.
Events leading the arrest reportedly began when officers with the Alcorn Narcotics Unit observed the three subjects, Davidson, Woods and Rayney, traveling to several different Corinth stores to purchase the same item — an item known to be used in the process of making methamphetamine.
The driver, who was identified in the report as Davidson, made several stops and turned at several businesses around U.S. Highway 72 and Harper Road, as an apparent attempt to throw off anyone who could be following.
Narcotics Investigator Darrell Hopkins said Davidson made abrupt stops, turns and lane changes as an attempt to lose anyone who could be following them.
Several officers reportedly followed the suspects from a distance and, after watching the subjects purchase the items and drive north on Shiloh Road, officers asked K/9 Officer Scott Brown and Deputy Steve Odle to stop the car.
After the car was stopped and approached by law enforcement, Davidson reportedly informed officers that he did not have a driver’s license. Law enforcement gained consent to search the vehicle. The search turned up boxes of pseudoephedrine from different stores.
After speaking to the occupants, it was determined the purpose of the trip to Corinth was to buy items for other individuals in Tennessee to cook methamphetamine, according to Hopkins.
All three were arrested and charged, it was later discovered that Woods was an escaped inmate from Hinds County, who was on probation on a possession of cocaine charge.
Bond was set at $10,000 each by Justice Court Judge Steve Little.

Saturday, July 4, 2009

Tenn. couple arrested on drug charges

Suspicious purchases were among the factors that assisted the Alcorn County Sheriff’s Office in the arrest of a Tennessee man and woman on drug charges Thursday evening.
Deputies with the Alcorn County Narcotics Unit arrested Christopher Perry Hawkins, 40, and Angela Ann Marcum, 42, both of 3285 Muddy Ridge Road, in Pocahontas, Tenn. Both suspects were charged with conspiracy to manufacture a controlled substance. Hawkins was additionally charged with felony possession of a controlled substance, according to a report from the Alcorn County Sheriff’s Office.
Events leading to the arrests began around 5:30 p.m. Thursday evening when the Alcorn County Narcotics Unit reportedly received information that the two aforementioned subjects where purchasing items known to be used in the manufacture of methamphetamine from a local business. Law enforcement arrived and observed the two suspects as they went into another store and purchased more items before they left. Officers followed the suspects as they traveled west on U.S. Highway 72, in a 1991 Volvo. The driver, who has been identified Hawkins, according to the report, was driving erratically — moving from one lane to the other and not signaling — and turned into a store, causing traffic to slam on brakes to keep from hitting the car.
The suspects were stopped by law enforcement and found that Hawkins had reportedly been drinking and also had a revoked license. After officers asked Hawkins to step out, Deputy Danny Holloway found a blue canister with two bags of meth inside. The items to be used for meth production were reportedly taken from the car, where they had been hidden in the glove box.
Both subjects were arrested and charged by Alcorn Narcotics Investigator Darrell Hopkins and taken to the Alcorn County Jail. Bond was set by Justice Court Judge Jimmy McGee. Hawkins’s bond was set at $30,000, reportedly due to the fact that he had a lengthy criminal history dealing with deadly weapons, drug possession and other felonies. Marcum’s Bond was set at $5,000.

Monday, June 29, 2009

Authorities nab Corinth man on felony drug charge

A cooperative effort on the part of the Farmington Police Department and the Alcorn County Narcotics Unit led to the arrest of a Corinth man on felony drug charges Friday night.
Law enforcement officials arrested Marcus Antonio McGaha, 20, of 202 Wick Street, in Corinth, and charged him with felony possesion of a controlled substance with intent to sell after McGaha, along with three other individuals, were stopped on Farmington Road and County Road 217 by Farmington Police Officer Keith Little, according to a report from the Alcorn County Sheriff’s Office. The stop was intiated around 8:30-9:00 p.m. Friday night because of a traffic violation.
After the traffic stop was made, McGaha reportedly dropped a clear bag containing cocaine on the ground by the passenger door when he exited the vehicle. At that time, Deputy Danny Holloway and Officer Little ordered the four individuals to get down on the ground, and they were all handcuffed.
Alcorn County Narcotics Investigator Darrell Hopkins and the other officers spoke to all of the car’s occupants before releasing them and arresting McGaha.
McGaha was transported and charged. Bond has not been set and a hold has been placed on the subject by the Mississippi Department of Corrections due to him being on probation.
Alcorn County Sheriff Charles Rinhart said he appreciates the working relationship between the Farmington Police Department and Alcorn County Sheriff’s Office and he wanted to thank Farmington Police Chief Tony Holmes and his officers.