Meth investigation leads to six arrests
LONDON A suspected methamphetamine operation in northeastern Laurel County was broken up Thursday, September 6, following a lengthy investigation by law enforcement officials.
Detectives from Operation UNITE along with the Laurel County Sheriff's Office and London Police Department served a search warrant at a Taylor School Road residence in the McWhorter community after an undercover operation that extends to late 2006.
UNITE arrested 33-year-old Doyle Ray Carter, his mother, 55-year-old Patricia S. Gregory, and 28-year-old Davan Rena Melton of Old Salem Road, London, on charges of manufacturing methamphamine.
A fourth person at the home during the search was not arrested.
While police were on the scene, several people arrived at the house either bringing components needed to manufacture meth or wishing to purchase the drug, said Joel Cunigan, manager of UNITE's Drug Task Force. Three of those individuals were also arrested.
Travis Hundley, age 33, of Highway 638, London, one count each first-degree possession of a controlled substance (meth) and possession of marijuana under 8 ounces.
Tony Harrison, age not available, of Highway 490, East Bernstadt, first-degree solicitation to traffic in a controlled substance.
Heather Jackson, age 28, of Wildwood Apartment Drive, London, second-degree possession of a controlled substance (Hydrocodone).
All subjects were lodged in the Laurel County Detention Center.
During a search of the home police discovered a variety of items and chemicals used to manufacture methamphetamine, including crushed and whole pseudoephedrine, a small quantity of finished methamphetamine, and coffee filters with residue from the manufacturing process.
"Fortunately there were no active reactions at the time," Cunigan said. "This was not an active meth lab at the time of our search."
Cunigan praised the cooperation of the county sheriff's office and city police department. "They were a vital part of our investigation," he said.
Also helpful in developing the case was information obtained from the MethCheck program, which uses an electronic database to monitor sales of pseudoephedrine in an attempt to curtail local methamphetamine production.
A pilot program launched in Laurel County in November 2005, between the Kentucky Office of Drug Control Policy and Operation UNITE, confirmed the success of MethCheck. Within a 12-month period, 16 meth labs were busted, 28 people charged with meth-related offenses and 54 were under investigation as of mid-July.
"Our detectives immediately realized the potential of this real-time electronic reporting program. The process to manually check pharmaceutical logs took days. Identifying purchasing trends by individuals could take weeks or even months. MethCheck allows us to do these investigations in a matter of minutes,² stated Karen Engle, president/CEO of Operation UNITE. "The results over the past year and a half have exceeded initial
expectations.²
MethCheck was created and provided by Appriss Inc., a Louisville-based provider of government technology services. The companyıs flagship product, VINE, Victim Information and Notification Everyday, was launched in Kentucky and currently serves in 41 states.
"Laurel County is part of a pioneering effort, where some of the first meth labs in the nation have been busted based on data from MethCheck," said Mike Davis, president of Appriss. ³Weıre excited about partnering with law enforcement officials and pharmacies in Kentucky to make a significant contribution to the health and safety of local residents."
The cost of MethCheck to equip all 1,290 Kentucky pharmacies with the high-speed Internet system is approximately $360,000. MethCheck is expected to be operating statewide by the end of the year.
For more information about Operation UNITE visit their website at
www.operationunite.org <http://www.operationunite.org> .
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