On October 14, 2010, officers with the Marion County Sheriff’s Department, the Sequatchie County Sheriff’s Department, the Grundy County Sheriff’s Department, the Bledsoe County Sheriff’s Department, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, the 12th Judicial District Drug Task Force, the Dunlap Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Tennessee Meth Task Force arrested 18 individuals on State Court indictments. These individuals were involved in a multi-county Methamphetamine manufacturing conspiracy.  The State Court indictments are a spin-off of a Federal investigation which landed 44 people in Federal Custody earlier this year.

The individuals that have been arrested today were allegedly gathering precursor chemicals that were needed to manufacture methamphetamine.  Those chemicals include pseudoephedrine, iodine, and red phosphorous.  These individuals, which law enforcement refer to as “smurfs”, would then take those chemicals and trade them for methamphetamine or cash money.

Law Enforcement officers are still looking for 9 more people that have been indicted as part of this conspiracy.  Those arrested that were booked in Marion County include:

Additionally, the following individuals were arrested and then booked at the Sequatchie County Jail:

• Karen Dempsey
• Tiffany Herd
• Tim Angle
• Elizabeth Higgins
• Natalie Prater Boston

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.

On April 8, 2010 Avery Green of South Pittsburg, TN was sentenced to serve 240 months in Federal Prison by United States Chief District Judge Curtis Collier. Mr. Green will also have to spend an additional 8 years on supervised Federal Probation once he is released from prison.

Mr. Green had been arrested on a Federal Indictment on June 06, 2009 and was charged with distributing crack cocaine on at least six occasions between April of 2008 and April of 2009. Mr. Green distributed close to 50 grams of crack cocaine during the undercover drug purchases. All of these transactions took place within 1,000 feet of the South Pittsburg High School property.

The case was prosecuted through the Sheriff’s Department’s partnership with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Project Safe Neighborhoods Task Force. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation East Tennessee Drug Unit also assisted in the investigation.

Sheriff Bo Burnett stated the partnership with the Project Safe Neighborhoods Task Force is designed to prosecute the “worst of the worst” drug distributors and violent offenders. In this case Mr. Green had previously been convicted three times for distributing crack cocaine and had been arrested numerous times and charged with aggravated assault.

Three Marion County residents are behind bars after federal ATF agents raided the Outlaws Motorcycle Clubhouse in Chattanooga early last Thursday morning. These arrests were made as a result of a long-term undercover investigation led by the ATF with the assistance of the Marion County Sheriff’s Department, the Tenth Judicial District Drug Task Force, TBI, the Chattanooga Police Department, the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office, the Bradley County Sheriff’s Office.

James Parker, Gary Raines, and Hershell Raines of Marion County were among 13 others arrested on drug, firearm and child pornography charges based on federal grand jury indictments. Hearings are set to begin early this week, while trial dates for Gary and Hershell Raines have already been set for April 27th. They are charged with four counts of conspiracy to distribution cocaine and substantive cocaine distribution charges. If convicted, both would face up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and up to a $1,000,000 fine for each count.

For the full story, including details on the other Chattanooga residents involved in the raid, visit the article written over at the Chattanoogan.

CHATTANOOGA, Tennessee – A federal grand jury in Chattanooga returned a 38-count indictment on December 8, 2009, against HARRY ALLEN PRITCHETT, also known as “Osama” (49), JAMES GREEN, also known as “Bucky” (51), BOBBY ROLLINS, also known as “Bob” (48), EDDIE ROLLINS, also known as “Stump” (47), DAVID DEMPSEY, also known as “Lynn” (48 ), GREGORY LAYNE (42), TIMOTHY DAVIS, also known as “Fuzz Face” (37), LESLIE APGER (30), ANTHONY CALDWELL (37), JAMIE OSBORNE, also known as “Bryson” (32), BERRY NOLAN (41), RALPH LAYNE (20), HUNTER ANDREGG (30), CLARENCE GREEN, also known as “Stick” (43), LACY JAMES (24), ELLA KING (30), HALEY MCGOWAN (27), STEPHEN BAIRD (43), JEANNY RUNIONS (40), JESSIE JOHNSON (46), JESSE JOHNSON (23), GLENN SKILES, also known as “Rick” (53), DONNA SHROPSHIRE (35), CRYSTAL DAVIS (26), WENDY PATTERSON (37), and DONNIE ROGERS (32), of Bledsoe, Grundy, Hamilton, Marion, and Sequatchie 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 various local counties in Tennessee. Investigators began arresting the defendants this morning and they will appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge William B. Mitchell Carter this afternoon and tomorrow morning.

The indictment alleges that the conspiracy began in January 2007 and continued through December 2009. Documents filed with the courts indicate that two residences in Whitwell, Tennessee, and others in Dunlap, Tracy City, and Soddy-Daisy, Tennessee, were maintained for the manufacture, distribution, and use of methamphetamine.

If convicted, these defendants each face a statutory mandatory minimum of ten to twenty years (depending on prior criminal history) up to life imprisonment on the conspiracy counts alone, as well as a $4,000,000 fine, and a minimum of five years of supervised release. Several defendants have extensive prior criminal histories and will face enhanced sentences.

This indictment is the result of an investigation led by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and assisted by the Marion, Sequatchie, Bledsoe, and Grundy County Sheriff’s Departments, and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Winne will represent the United States.

Members of the public are reminded that an indictment constitutes only charges and that every person is presumed innocent until their guilt has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt.