Pubdate: Wed, 30 Jul 2003
Source: Daily Post-Athenian (TN)
Copyright: 2003 East Tennessee Network - R.A.I.D. (Regionalized Access Internet
Contact:  http://dpa.xtn.net/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1673
Author: BEN BENTON
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/states/tn/ (Tennessee)

MEIGS' BATTLE WITH METH LABS "AIN'T LETTING UP"

DECATUR - Possibly because of nothing more than its geographical location, 
Meigs County was inundated with methamphetamine activity about two years 
ago as production of the drug surged across the state from the west.

Sheriff Walter Hickman said there's been no slowdown yet. Meigs County, 
along with other counties in the Ninth Judicial District, has been one of 
the most active counties in the state in methamphetamine production 
enforcement. The battle still rages week to week, said Hickman.

"It ain't letting up. I don't see an increase, but it's not declining 
either," Hickman said. "We're averaging about one a week and it seems to be 
holding."

During the summer of 2000, authorities west of here began warning 
methamphetamine was said to have made its way to Meigs County, he said.

The meth war began in Meigs County just a couple of weeks after McMinn 
County busted its first suspected lab, according to Hickman.

"Our first seizure of a lab - it wasn't in operation - was on Aug. 18, 
2000," Hickman recalled. "It was located on Highway 68 near the Watts Bar Dam."

First contact with a meth lab was made by Meigs County Sheriff's Chief 
Deputy Mike Ervin when he answered what he expected to be a routine 
"disturbance call."

Ervin arrived at the home around 6:30 a.m. that day and discovered what he 
believed was evidence of a possible meth lab.

Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Brian Freeman was contacted 
along with Ninth Judicial District Drug Task Force Director Sam West for 
help with the investigation.

Officers found what they identified as meth lab components in an 
outbuilding and inside a car on the property.

In 2000, Hickman said state authorities described the setup as a "typical 
lab for this part of the country."

Officers also seized about one ounce of finished product.

Tuesday, Hickman said that lab began what he described as a meth epidemic, 
and law enforcement has been racing to keep up ever since.

No arrests were made during the initial investigation into the first lab, 
but the continuing investigation that followed until March 2001 resulted in 
10 federal indictments, nine of which soon became federal convictions 
either by plea or trial.

Hickman said the nine convicted in federal court are still serving their 
sentences.

Hickman said Meigs' first meth cases were all handled by federal authorities.

He said his department then began making arrests in connection with 
suspected lab found.

"Later on, we indicted four more Meigs County guys in federal court," he 
said. "But since then, we've been indicting them in state court due to the 
fact that federal court is swamped with so many cases."

Hickman said meth cases were straining local courts, leading them to 
lengthen their investigations and focus on Criminal Court indictments 
rather than charges in General Sessions Court.

"Right now, we're taking the majority of the cases to the Grand Jury," 
Hickman said. "That keeps things from bottlenecking in General Sessions Court."

The cost to the Sheriff's Department has been in overtime hours and sweat.

Hickman said the meth epidemic has greatly increased the workload.

He said each lab raid ties up four or five officers for hours at a time. 
"It's taking away from a lot of law enforcement duties that we need to be 
attending to," Hickman said. "If kids are involved, DCS has to come in, and 
officers have to stay to be with them."

Hickman said the most recent meth raid and lab discovery had to be cleaned 
up by a hazardous materials team from Nashville.

"The officers had to wait for them and that's more overtime for the 
officers," he said.

The Southeast Tennessee Methamphetamine Task Force, which was the recipient 
of federal funding aimed at attacking meth production in the region, has 
helped the Sheriff's Department with funding to aid costs associated with 
meth-related law enforcement.

Hickman said the effect of the meth problem has really put pressure on his 
department's one meth officer.

"Right now, we're overloading our one certified officer," he said. "I hope 
we can get another officer certified, at least."

Hickman said he hoped to lighten the load on meth-certified Deputy Jimmy Ervin.

"We're going to try to get three or four officers in the training program 
the Task Force is holding in Chattanooga in September," he said. Some 
deputies already have considerable experience working with Ervin on 
methamphetamine investigations conducted over the past two years and those 
same officers could be the ones sent to school. He said that experience 
should help with their work toward certification.

But larger, better-trained departments won't solve the problem of meth, 
Hickman said.

"I think we're going to have to have education, more enforcement, more 
funding and different penalties, as far as the Legislature," he said. "It's 
a major problem. It's something we're going to have to deal with as a 
society; it can't be all law enforcement. It's going to take help from the 
community."

Hickman said a successful war against meth will take a combination of 
efforts on part of law enforcement, courts and the state Legislature. An 
educated populace will probably have the most immediate effect, he said. 
"Another thing is there's so much danger in it, we get a lot more help from 
the citizens who are worried about it," he said. "Residents recognize the 
danger of it. It's a safety issue.

"Although a lot of them don't like to get involved, I see a lot more 
cooperation out of the citizens. The public is concerned because of the 
safety issue. I don't think people are getting complacent about it. The 
concern is there," said Hickman. "It seems like the people here might even 
be more concerned."

The concern is not ill-founded.

Just last week, one of the Sheriff's Department's deputies had to be taken 
to the hospital for treatment after inhaling some noxious fumes, according 
to Hickman.

Hickman said educating the public would make great strides toward stemming 
the popularity of the drug and proliferation of meth labs in every 
community. .

NEXT: What signs retailers and residents should look for in suspected meth 
operations. . 
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