On May 20, 2010 Officers arrested 14 more people in connection with a Federal Methamphetamine Conspiracy case. Those arrested were Guadaloope Gaitan also known as Loopy, Dana Morrison also known as Cooter, Jeffery Layne also known as Beasel, Keith Foshee also known as Worm, Donny Campbell also known as Chicken Noodle, Michael Edenfield also known as Me-Mike, Kevin Thompson, Mike Coffelt also known as Paranoia, William Landolt also known as Willie, Jason Miller also known as Killer Miller, Jeffery Smith, Aaron Sullivan, Darryl Pursley, and Charles Jeffery Bowman of Marion, Grundy, Sequatchie, and Warren Counties, for conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine and to acquire and possess pseudoephedrine, a precursor chemical used to manufacture methamphetamine, as well as numerous substantive counts stemming from the manufacture and distribution of methamphetamine, the illegal possession of firearms, and maintaining “drug houses,” located in Marion and Grundy Counties. Those arrested will appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge William B. Mitchell Carter for their initial appearance.

The indictment alleges that the conspiracy began in January 2007 and continued through May 2010. Documents filed in U.S. District Court indicate that the defendants listed above conspired with other defendants that were taken into Federal Custody in January 2010.

During one of the arrests a methamphetamine lab and multiple firearms were discovered at Mike Coffelt’s residence which is located on 55^th Avenue in Gruetli Laager, TN.  All of the other defendants were taken into custody without incident.

The investigation is has been a joint effort which had been led by the Marion County Sheriff’s Department, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Task Force.  Assisting in the investigation and arrests were the 12^th Judicial District Drug Task Force, Dunlap Police Department, Sequatchie County Sheriff’s Department, and Grundy County Sheriff’s Department.

Since January of 2010 a total of 52 defendants have been taken into Federal Custody as part of the 41 month long multi county investigation.  Sheriff Bo Burnett stated that this investigation shows how the cooperation between the surrounding agencies has paid off.  For years criminals have got away with committing crimes simply by crossing county or state lines to be involved in criminal activity.  Crime knows no boundaries and with this investigation it is evident that one county’s problems are also the neighboring county’s problems.  The Marion County Sheriff’s Department will continue to work with its local, state, and federal partners in an effort rid our communities of methamphetamine production and distribution.

This entry was posted on Friday, May 21st, 2010 at 3:17 am and is filed under Local Arrests. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.