OSBI INCREASES SECURITY AFTER MARIJUANA TAKEN

WAYNOKA, Okla. (AP) -- The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation has added
security to the process of destroying confiscated drugs after a former
waste disposal company employee absconded with some of the illegal substances.

A Woods County judge recently sentenced Monte Lopshire, 50, to 12 years in
prison after Lopshire pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of marijuana
with the intent to distribute, unlawful possession of a firearm during the
commission of a felony and maintaining a place frequented by users of
controlled drugs.

Lopshire was accused of possession of marijuana that his uncle, Robert
Makee, confessed to taking in January. Makee worked at the Lone Mountain
facility.

Lopshire received 10 years for the first two offenses and 12 years for the
last. The sentences are to run concurrently.

A Woods County Sheriff's Department affidavit states that Makee confessed
to taking 10 pounds of marijuana from the Lone Mountain waste disposal
site. Kym Koch, OSBI spokeswoman, confirmed that the marijuana had been
seized as evidence by the agency.

Makee, 54, then gave the drugs to Lopshire, the affidavit states. He
pleaded guilty to delivery of marijuana and received a two-year suspended
sentence in May.

Koch said the agency has taken more precautions to ensure that confiscated
drugs are disposed of properly.

"We have increased the number of criminalists who watch the process from
start to finish," she said.

Now, six to 10 OSBI representatives go to the site instead of three, she said.

Employees follow the same process to destroy the items as before. Once the
drugs arrive on the site, employees shred them and mix them with concrete,
officials said.

After the mixture hardens, it is buried in the landfill, Koch said. Makee
took the drugs and hid them before they were shredded, she said. He
returned later to retrieve the items, the affidavit states.

Doug McLain, facility manager, said Makee was dismissed after the incident
because he did not return to work.

Safety Kleen, the company that manages the Lone Mountain site, does not
have a disposal contract with any other law enforcement agency, McLain said.

Koch said she doesn't know of any similar incidents in the department's
yearlong contract with the company.

The department paid approximately $5,835 for service in the fiscal year
that ends Saturday.