ESCO Arrests Dozens On Meth Charges

http://www.wkrg.com/story/22028874/esco-arrests-dozens-on-meth-charges?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=8793745

PENSACOLA, Florida –
Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan is serious about cracking down on methamphetamine.

Since Thursday 56 people have been arrested for either selling, manufacturing or delivering meth. It’s a big bust for Northwest Florida.

“We intend to vigorously prosecute these cases many of them have resulted in charges that will require a mandatory minimum of 7 years in prison,” said Bill Eddins, State Attorney.

The illegal drug has become a problem county-wide, but thanks to Operation Blister Pack 2, meth is slowly being pulled from homes. More arrests could be on the way.

“We are taking a very definitive stand in Escambia County that this is not who we are, this is not who we are, so as a community we stand forward and say we’re going to start eliminating certain crime and criminal elements within our community,” said Sheriff David Morgan.

One by one suspects were handcuffed and hauled off to jail over the last couple of days. The Escambia County Sheriffs Department is hoping the arrest video will serve as a message to those abusing the drug.

“I will tell you that we don’t have a part unfortunately in Escambia County that’s not touched by drugs and drug usage, from the poorest neighborhoods to the most affluent so it is county-wide,” said Sheriff Morgan.

Meth Lab at America’s Best Value Inn

December 11, 2013

The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office found discovered a meth lab in a Pensacola hotel yesterday, a news release from the Sheriff’s Office said.

At about 4 p.m. Tuesday, deputies responded to America’s Best Value Inn at 7200 Plantation Road, the release said. The deputies discovered one of the rooms in the hotel was being used to produce methamphetamines.

The Sheriff’s Office has not yet announced if any arrests have been made in connection to the case.

The investigation is ongoing, and more information will be released as it becomes available.

Bradley Henderson

Leon County
Bradley Henderson
Arrest Information
Full Name: Bradley P Henderson
Date:03/14/2008
Arresting Agency: LEON COUNTY SHERIFF TALLAHASSEE
Personal Information
Arrest Age:27
Current Age: 32
Gender: Male
Birthdate: 03/12/1981
Height: 6’00”
Weight: 200 lbs
Hair Color: BRO
Eye Color: BRO

Charges
#1 FTA/CRIMINAL USE OF PERSONAL ID INFORMATION
STATUTE: 817.61

#2 FTA/GRAND THEFT

Eight Sentenced On ‘Operation Blister Pack 2′ Drug Charges

October 24, 2013

Eight North Escambia residents have sentenced on methamphetamine and amphetamine related charges stemming from “Operation Blister Pack 2″.

Three defendants — Nikki Lynn Night, Henry Allen Miller and Brandy Suzanne Tucker — were sentenced to state prison, while the other defendants were sentenced to probation, community control and/or time in the county jail.

Over a dozen North Escambia residents are awaiting trial or sentencing dates later this year in connection with the undercover operation that targeted persons involved with drug groups dubbed “The Village Group”, centered around “The Village” area of Forrest Street and Lakeview Avenue in Cantonment; and “The Ayers Group” for a group centered around Ayers Street in Molino.

About 75 people were arrested on state charges in Operation Blister Pack 2, while a dozen were arrested on federal charges.  For details on federal defendants sentenced to date, click here for an earlier NorthEscambia.com story.
Many of those arrested were “smurfs” — those that go out and purchase quantities of pseudoephedrine and other ingredients need to manufacture  methamphetamine, an Escambia County Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Unit investigator said.

Nikki Lynn Kight, 45, Lakeview Avenue, Cantonment — convicted of criminal attempted conspiracy, possession of a listed chemical. Sentenced to 24 months state prison with credit for time served.

Henry Allen Miller, 38, Muscogee Road, Cantonment– found guilty on charges of trafficking in amphetamine or methamphetamine, possession of a listed chemical. Sentenced to 27 months in state prison with credit for 134 days.

Brandy Suzanne Tucker, 39, Lakeview Avenue, Cantonment — found guilty. Sentenced to three year minimum mandatory state prison on  charges conspiracy to traffic in amphetamine or methamphetamine, possession of a listed chemical.

Jonathon Michael Argerenon, Jr, 34, Forrest Street, Cantonment — found guilty. Sentenced to 11 months 15 days with credit for 174 days on charges of criminal attempted conspiracy, possession of a listed chemical.

Anthony Trevor Buttitta, 32, Frand Ard Road, Cantonment — adjudication withheld on charges of criminal attempted conspiracy, possession of a listed chemical.  Sentenced to three years probation after 30 days in the county jail with credit for 16 days served, plus 100 hours community service.

Clinton Keith Edmonson, 22, Molino Road, Molino — adjudication withheld on charges of criminal attempted conspiracy, possession of a listed chemical.  Sentenced to to years probation and 50 hours community service.

Danielle Suzanne Lowery, 18, Lakeview Avenue, Cantonment — adjudication withheld on charges of criminal attempted conspiracy, possession of a listed chemical. Sentenced to six months community control followed by 18 months probation.

Lindsey Marie Murphy, 32, Muscogee Road, Cantonment — found guilty. Sentenced to 11 months 15 days with credit 104 days on charges of criminal attempted conspiracy, possession of a listed chemical.

Addresses and ages listed above were provided by the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at the time of each defendant’s arrest.

Two Get Prison Time On Meth Related Charges

August 24, 2013

Two Escambia County residents have been sentenced to prison on meth related charges.
Vincent Christian Foster and Lindsey Rene Temple were sentenced on charges of trafficking in methamphetamine, possession with the intent to sell, manufacture or deliver methamphetamine, unlawful possession of listed chemical and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Judge Scott Duncan sentenced Foster to  25 years in state prison and Temple to 10 years.  They will each have  to serve seven years as a mandatory minimum for trafficking and were each ordered to pay a $100,000 fine. The pair was convicted earlier this year by an Escambia County jury.

The charges stem from an ongoing investigation which included surveillance of an Escambia County home. On May 24, 2012, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Unit arrived at Foster’s home with a warrant for his arrest.
Upon entering the home, there was an overwhelming odor of anhydrous ammonia which is an indication of  the production of methamphetamine.  The narcotics unit obtained a search warrant and located an active methamphetamine cooking lab.  Trafficking amounts of methamphetamine oil and pseudoephedrine were located throughout the house.

Meth Lab Found in Truck

07/26/2013 Meth Lab Found in Truck

Shanna Johnson

Thomas Lord

What began as a shoplifting incident ended with two people being arrested on multiple charges after a methamphetamine lab was found in the back of their truck.

Thomas Lord, 48, and Shanna Johnson, 32, both of Biloxi, MS were arrested Thursday. Each was charged with one count trafficking in methamphetamine, three counts possession of a listed chemical, and one count each of manufacturing methamphetamine, possession of drug equipment, and shoplifting.

Sgt. Marvin Miller, who supervises the department’s Vice & Narcotics Unit, said the trafficking in methamphetamine charge carries a minimum mandatory prison sentence of 25 years plus a $500,000 fine.

The incident occurred around 11:55 a.m. at Wal-Mart, 2650 Creighton Road.

Lt. Chuck Mallett was finishing an extra-duty job at the store and was following the suspects by vehicle after they took some spark plugs and a drill from the store without paying for them. Officer Patrick Burns responded to the area and the suspects’ truck was stopped north of Creighton Road.

While searching the truck for the stolen drill and spark plugs, the ingredients and equipment for making methamphetamine were discovered in the truck bed. Approximately 13 ounces of a liquid containing methamphetamine were found in the truck, Miller said.

In addition to the ingredients and equipment, methamphetamine was actively reacting in the truck in two bottles, which had the potential to have exploded if left unattended because of the pressure build-up inside the bottles, Miller said.

Dozens Arrested On Drug Charges, Many From Cantonment, Molino

April 20, 2013

Law enforcement agencies arrested nearly five dozen people over the last two days on methamphetamine and pseudoephedrine related charges. 

Many of the arrests targeted persons involved with drug groups dubbed “The Village Group”, centered around “The Village” area of Forrest Street and Lakeview Avenue in Cantonment; and “The Ayers Group” for a group centered around Ayers Street in Molino.

Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan said Friday afternoon that 56 of 76 people targeted by Operation Blister Pack 2 had been arrested. In addition, the sheriff said 19 meth labs had been destroyed this year, along with 47 last year. Morgan said the investigation is still ongoing in the operation, with the possibility of more arrests.

“We intend to vigorously prosecute these cases,” State Attorney Bill Eddins said at an afternoon press conference. “Many of them have resulted in charges that will require a mandatory minimum seven years in prison. And some have also committed sufficient acts that we have charged them with crimes that will result in a mandatory minimum 15 years in prison.”

“Methamphetamine…is a very bad drug that effects not only these defendants, but their families as well,” Eddins said.

“It is surprising to us that anyone uses this drug because, again, the physical effects are so debilitating,” Morgan said, after discussing “meth mouth”, premature aging and other dramatic dangers of meth.
The arrests, targeting meth operations based in Cantonment and Molino, are expected to have a significant impact on methamphetamine in North Escambia and the rest of Escambia County.

“This is a pretty major group; this should make a large impact on that area,” Investigator Ken Tolbirt said.  Many of those arrested, Tolbirt said, are “smurfs” that go out and purchase quantities of pseudoephedrine and other ingredients need to manufacture  methamphetamine.

“They trade it to that person. If they give them a box, then they give them a percentage of what was cooked from the pseudoephedrine,” he said.

“They are just worker bees,” Morgan said. “Pharmacies track the amount of that compound that is sold.”

A dozen suspects were also arrested on federal charges as part of Operation Blister Pack 2.

The following arrests were reported on state charges by Friday afternoon:

Heather Nichole Harris, 32, Forrest Street, Cantonment
Dawn Cheree Brooks, 33, Forehand Lane, Cantonment
Katherine Leigh Glass, 32, Forehand Lane, Cantonment
Anthony Trevor Buttitta, 32, Frand Ard Road, Cantonment
Todd Michael Packard, 33, Old Chemstrand Road, Cantonment
William Bradley Edmonson, 25, Booth Avenue, Cantonment
Lindsey Marie Murphy, 32, Muscogee Road, Cantonment
Henry Allen Miller, 38, Muscogee Road, Cantonment
Jonathon Michael Argerenon, Jr, 34, Forrest Street, Cantonment
Brandy Suzanne Tucker, 39, Lakeview Avenue, Cantonment
Nicholas Lawrence Ray, 22, Tate School Road, Cantonment
Jonathan Paul Kite, 39, Belmont Avenue, Cantonment
Nikki Lynn Kight, 45, Lakeview Avenue, Cantonment
Danielle Suzanne Lowery, 18, Lakeview Avenue, Cantonment
Jennifer Dianne Kelly, 33, Ayer Street, Molino
Clinton Keith Edmonson, 22, Molino Road, Molino
Shawna Reche Carnley, 23, Chestnut Road, Molino
Kelly Ann Eddins, 26, Jefferson Avenue, Century
Jeffery Gene Brown, 32, South Pine Barren Road, McDavid
Lane Robert Edmonson, 17, address unavailable
Tanya Suzette Carver, 46, Cranbrook Avenue, Pensacola
Mark Avery Ard, 33, London Avenue, Pensacola
Margaret Lorene Ard, 51, London Avenue, Pensacola
James Ellis Roley, 27, London Avenue, Pensacola
Katrina Maria Griffin, 25, Amberway Drive, Pensacola
John Dale Highfield, 24, Aquamarine Avenue, Pensacola
Clinton Michael Gant, 26, Aquamarine Avenue, Pensacola
Heather Noel Reed, 31, Lillian Highway, Pensacola
Lori Esther Cabuyao, 34, Stafford Lane, Pensacola
Sonya Lee Weekley, 46, North “R” Street, Pensacola
Monica Louise Rutherford, 32, Tower Ridge Road, Pensacola
Thomas Richard Nowling, 26 Mobile Highway, Pensacola
George Steven Andrews II, 43, Chisolm Road, Pensacola
Sebron Anthony Aikens Jr, 28, North “K” Street, Pensacola
Clinton Dwayne Nowlin, 25, Chemstrand Road, Pensacola
Sylvia Marie Rutherford, 35, Tower Ridge Road, Pensacola
Sheila Diane Quinlan, 48, Suwanne Road, Pensacola
Wilbur Arvid Petersen, 57, Bowman Avenue, Pensacola
Lisa Michelle Petersen, 48, North “S” Street, Pensacola
Samantha Rose Petersen, 26, Bowman Avenue, Pensacola
Robert Harold Fulater 32, Bowman Avenue, Pensacola
Cindy Kay Morgan, 31, Bush Street, Pensacola
Donald Michael Morgan, 35, Bush Street, Pensacola
Susan Ann VanDyke, 45, Tower Ridge, Pensacola
Joseph Matthew Davis, 35, Action Street, Pensacola
Tony Curtis Simmons Sr, 48, Twinbrook Avenue, Pensacola
Pictured top:  A suspect is taken into custody on a meth related warrant by the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office and an undercover ATF agent. Pictured top inset: State Attorney Bill Eddins (left) and Sheriff David Morgan discuss the operation. Pictured bottom inset: Investigator Ken Tolbirt explains the Molino and Cantonment drug groups. Pictured below: Of those arrested Thursday and Friday on state charges stemming from Operation Blister Pack II, 19 individuals provided North Escambia addresses when booked into the Escambia County Jail.

Crystal Meth Addicts Keep Setting Themselves on Fire

By Henry Langston

Crystal meth , the cheap, life-wrecking, libido-inflaming drug beloved of actorTom Sizemore , Fergie , and many other unfortunate people has now found a way to make itself even more readily available, dangerous, and undignified.Unless, y’know, having third-degree burns covering 90 percent of your body and a bunch of teeth missing is a look that you’re into.

Over the last few years, the “shake and bake” method has overtaken the lengthy, complicated production technique that required an out of the way location, sophisticated glassware and patience (something meth tweakers tend to be in short supply of). The newfangled way retains the majority of crystal meth’s traditional ingredients (pseudoephedrine, lithium, Coleman fuel, hydrochloric acid, etc), but instead of using glassware and an open flame, they’re mixed by shaking them all together in a regular plastic bottle with water.

The shaking process takes 15 minutes to produce meth, it’s so easy that you can do it in Walmart without anyone really noticing and the batch is stronger—sounds perfect, right? Well yes, if it wasn’t for the one major downside: a massive risk that the whole thing will blow up in your face.

The problem shakers and bakers are having is that the reaction is much less stable when you’re rattling it around in a bottle of Faygo than when you’re in lab conditions. The lithium can react with the water—or the air, if the bottle cap is released too early—and can explode, consuming the meth cook in a ball of flame.Victims of these explosions are flooding into burns units all over the US, forcing some to close as the mostly insurance-free addicts strip hospitals of their resources.

I wanted to learn a bit more about the shake and bake method (for purely journalistic reasons 😉 of course), so I got in touch with Tommy Farmer, a detective at the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and director of the state meth and pharmaceuticals task force.

VICE: Hey Tommy. How do these shake bottles explode, what goes wrong?
Tommy: A combination of things really, but basically it’s a false sense of security on the part of the meth cook. We tell them it’s a matter of when not if, because the speed of the reaction and the combination of the chemicals makes it very explosive. The ingredients consist of ammonia nitrate, sodium hydroxide, pseudoephedrine and ether, and with water, that’s a very reactive combination.

So a bit of chemistry knowledge may keep you safe?
Well yes and no, the problem with it is you’re using improvised devices and when you do that, these things happen. When you create an endothermic reaction in a plastic bottle, you can’t prepare for all the equations and outcomes.Even the experiments we’ve done in our lab where we’re trying to learn about this technique and its risks have been failures, and we’ve had some dangerous reactions. The difference between us and them is that we were wearing fire protective suits, but meth cooks don’t have $1200 for one of those and so end up in one of the local burn units, which are currently one-third full across the US.

Are shake explosions becoming a real problem for these burns units?
Oh absolutely, it’s a huge cost and a huge concern. There’s also a massive risk to others if shake fires break out in apartment complexes, motels, or cars driving down the interstate. If the fire itself doesn’t kill them, then they’ll end up in one of the burn units. In my local burns unit, the Vanderbilt center, a third of the patients were meth-related and we quickly found out this was not just an anomaly for Tennessee, but was similar for the whole US. Most of these meth users don’t have any form of health insurance and that ends up putting a huge strain on the burns units. The average cost for a meth burn patient can be up to a million dollars.

Jesus. When was the first time you came across the shake method?
Well we were aware that it hit the States on the West Coast around 2003, and didn’t hit the South untill about 2007. The use increases exponentially each year. I would say that shake labs now account for 80 percent of our lab seizures.Technically, one shake bottle is a lab and people think that skews the stats, but we never only just find one, in one seizure we found 98 shake bottles. On average, we find three or four per seizure.

Why do you think the shake method exists? Is it purely because of its ease, or is it linked to the recession?
I think it goes back to the complexity of the meth problem. If meth users don’t have to be beholden to manufacturers and dealers, they don’t have to worry about having a good contact to the finished product. They feel they can run under the radar, they want a purer form and by making it themselves they feel they have an element of quality control.

With the shake method increasing the use and availability of meth, would you say meth has now become the most dangerous drug in America?
If you add in the manufacturing, absolutely. It’s the worst drug that I’ve seen come down the pipeline in my law enforcement career because of the complexity of it. It’s so draining chasing the labs themselves, it’s the cumulative impact, it impacts so many areas of the community, it can be devastating. If you look at the drug itself and the addictiveness, one could argue that it’s as addictive as crack or heroin. With those drugs you’re only dealing with the finished product, but meth you have the labs, and that makes it so much harder.

How does law enforcement fight that?
We can’t use conventional means of investigating, so we have to train the law enforcement to also be hazardous waste experts, people who can go into a lab and stabilize, segregate, and dismantle the chemicals and equipment. We need to make sure our law enforcement officers received the proper protective equipment which we provide via strategically placed response trucks. We’ve also set up a statewide intelligence system that tracks the pseudoephedrine as well as giving law enforcement the ability to report the clandestine labs and map their locations.

Have you come across many horror stories in your time fighting meth?
[Laughs] On a monthly basis, yes: The calls from the family moving into a meth home that we were not aware and the children becoming ill with respiratory problems. From stuff like that to directly seeing children who’ve accidentally picked up a glass full of meth ingredients, drunk it, and then had their oesophagus literally eaten out by the sulphuric acid. It’s every month you see stuff like this, it’s ridiculous.

Throatless kids, burning houses, burns units shutting down… the shake method has a lot to answer for.

Follow Henry on Twitter: @Henry_Langston

More drug stuff:

A Beginners’ Guide to Drugs for Girls

How to Sell Drugs

The Day We Took Charge of an Army of Homeless Guys High on 2C-B

Man Busted For Meth Lab Week After Fire Destroys His Home

December 10, 2010

About a week after a possible meth lab accident caused a Cottage Hill man’s mobile home to burn to the ground, he was arrested on multiple drug charges when deputies discovered an alleged meth lab in his motel room.

Deputies went to the Extended Stay Lodge on Pensacola Boulevard  to question Raymond Eugene Love, 29, about a “previous possible methamphetamine manufacturing accident that resulted in a fire in his residence”, according to an Escambia County Sheriff’s Office report. Inside the motel room, deputies found the alleged meth lab items, a bag of methamphetamine, a bag of marijuana and a “glass smoking device”.

Love was charged with trafficking methamphetamine, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of marijuana under 20 grams and with tampering with a fire alarm in connection with the motel room incident. He remained in the Escambia County Jail early Friday morning on $36,500 bond.

Love’s mobile home on Eastman Lane near McKenzie Road burned to the ground the night of November 30. The Florida State Fire Marshal’s Office said Thursday that the official cause of that blaze is still under investigation and no charges have been filed in connection with the fire.