February 27, 2008

Three children were removed Tuesday from a house in rural Weir where two adults were arrested on suspicion of drug crimes.

Cherokee County sheriff’s Lt. William Perryman said in a statement that officers from the Community Narcotics Enforcement Team interviewed a woman at an address on Northeast Coal Valley Road. The team is composed of officers from Cherokee County, and Barton, Vernon and St. Clair counties in Missouri.

Officers reportedly found chemicals usually associated with the illegal making of methamphetamine. Officers reportedly found another suspected meth lab inside a vehicle in an outbuilding on the property.

The woman and a man were arrested on suspicion of felony manufacturing of meth, felony meth possession, conspiracy to manufacture meth, marijuana possession and child endangerment.

The three children removed from the house were placed in police protective custody.

“Methamphetamine labs pose a risk not only to the manufacturers, but to the people living, working or playing nearby,” said Undersheriff Kent Soucy in a statement.

February 29, 2008

Three people were arrested as a result of a search warrant executed east of Weir.

Officers from the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Department, and members of the Community Narcotics Enforcement Team from Vernon and Barton counties in Missouri executed a search warrant at 11:40 p.m. Wednesday at a house on Northeast Highway 103.

Cherokee County Undersheriff Kent Soucy said in a statement that authorities found two suspected methamphetamine labs on the property, along with suspected meth and suspected meth-making ingredients.

This is the second time in two months a search warrant has been executed on the property, Soucy said.

Charges are pending against three people who were arrested as a result of the search. Charges may include conspiracy to manufacture meth, manufacturing meth and meth possession.

March 08, 2008

A 36-hour effort by law enforcement agencies which began on March 5 ended in 36 regional arrests for drug trafficking in Southwest Missouri and Southeast Kansas. At a special press conference called by Barton County Sheriff Shannon Higgins, members of the news media heard what successful law enforcement can do when area agencies work together to enforce drug laws. Higgins told the group, “Although Missouri sits at the top of the list for drug trafficking and production of meth, the federal government just last year eliminated funding which pays for the officers in the various drug task forces.”
Higgins continued saying Missouri Governor Matt Blunt called on the Missouri General Assembly to act where Washington had failed, and the Assembly did just that to continue MoSMART.
The arrests made on March 5 are the result of that funding and Operation Byrne Blitz, a grant from the federal government which is also now in jeopardy.
Agents from the Barton County Sheriff’s Department, Bates County Sheriff’s Department, St. Clair County Sheriff’s Office, Vernon County Sheriff’s Office, Newton County Sheriff’s Office, Barry County Sheriff’s Office, CNET Drug Task Force, SW Drug Task Force, SE Kansas Drug Task Force, Kansas Bureau of Investigation along with the Missouri State Highway Patrol and Missouri Counter Drug Air Division conducted the regional effort in the two states to conclude the operation after months of investigation.
This successful operation is just proof of the effectiveness of federal money made available, especially in rural communities where meth trafficking is at the worst level.
During Operation Byrne Blitz SW Missouri/SE Kansas, six search warrants were executed; seven meth labs drugs were seized; 36 arrests were made; 32 knock and talks were executed; 15 grams of meth were seized; nine pound of marijuana were seized; eight handguns and 18 rifles were seized, two marijuana growing operations were found with 28 plants seized, and 22 boxes of Sudafed were seized. On March 6, the officers of the task force were still working to close cases. Seven of the arrests were made in Barton County, three for outstanding felony warrants and the others on drug trafficking and possession of meth or drug paraphernalia. Names have not been released because some charges are pending.
Higgins outlined some of the parts of the ongoing efforts to stop meth trafficking. For instance, law enforcement tracks the amount of Pseudophedrine which is sold at area pharmacies. In just one isolated incident two from Arkansas were apprehended at the Lamar Wal-Mart for purchasing amounts of cold medicine; the law says nine grams is all that can be purchased in a month. Persons purchasing over that amount are guilty of a misdemeanor, and the two from Arkansas were traveling up and down Highway 71 purchasing Pseudophedrine in pharmacy after pharmacy for the eventual production of meth. Higgins says these runners oftentimes can sell a box of cold medicine containing Pseudophedrine for as much as $25 per box. Higgins also thanked the Missouri National Guard for cataloguing purchases of Pseudophedrine around the state for law enforcement officials to have access to.
Higgins says, “Just because there are borders created for law enforcement territory, there is certainly no boundaries for drug trafficking and that is why agency cooperation is so important.”
According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol the Missouri statewide totals for Operation Byrne Blitz include 247 arrests, 33 search warrants, 24 weapons seized; 16 meth labs seized; 27 endangered children rescued; $8,098 currency seized; 16.6 pounds of marijuana seized; 2,014 grams of cocaine seized; 152 grams of crack cocaine seized and 691 miscellaneous pills seized.
If funding is not renewed through the federal government, and supplemented by state government, the state of Missouri could lose 44 officers dedicated to drug task forces across the state. Four of those would be from the CNET Drug Task Force which includes Barton, Vernon and St. Clair Counties in Southwest Missouri.
Operation Byrne Blitz was established by the Edward Byrne grant program named for a New York City police officer killed at young age by organized drug traffickers who were trying to prevent a witness from being able to testify in a drug case. The operation in Missouri, operated on March 5, was conducted to show the effectiveness of the funding and the impact cuts to the funding could have on successful drug law enforcement. Even though a special collective effort was conducted, this kind of cooperative work between law enforcement agencies occurs on a daily basis.
The CNET Drug Task Force has been nominated for drug task force team of the year for the state of Missouri.

February 16, 2008

The Barton County Sheriff’s Office, along with the CNET Drug Task Force and Jasper County Drug Task Force, served a search warrant on a residence in the 300 block of 3rd Street in Jasper. During the search, both methamphetamine and marijuana were seized, along with dozens of stolen items.
Sheriff Shannon Higgins said this solved two burglaries in Barton County, and gave leads to a few other burglaries within the county.
Charges are currently pending in Jasper County for drug possession and burglary, and receiving stolen property in Barton County.
Other investigations are continuing as a result of the arrests.

Barton County Sheriff Shannon Higgins announces in a press conference Thursday, March 6, the aftermath of a multi-jurisdictional drug bust and what the projected 2009 federal drug task force funding cuts would mean for area residents. Higgins was joined by several state and local officials including St. Clair County Sheriff Ron Snodgrass, Vernon County Sheriff Ron Peckman, Missouri State Highway Patrol Trooper Mark Harnell and Kansas Bureau of Investigation officer Frank Papish.