ONE BATTLE TELLS TALE OF METH WAR IN LINCOLN COUNTY

Detectives Raid Home in Lincoln County

Reporter Susan Weich Was Invited by Lincoln County Authorities To
Observe a Recent Drug Raid.

The 21-month-old girl doesn't seem to mind when the paramedic wakes
her and carries her outside into the drizzling rain. The toddler is
wearing only a diaper, so the paramedic wraps her in a blanket and
hands her to her 20-year-old sister, who is sobbing, sitting on the
bumper of a police car.

"People say that these are victimless crimes," Lincoln County Sheriff
Dan Torres said. "There's your victim right there."

Police had just arrested the girls' mother on drug charges.

Torres and detectives on the Narcotics Enforcement Team have been
cracking down on drug dealers, including a growing methamphetamine
trade, in Lincoln County since Torres took office in January 2001.

In 2001, the sheriff's department sent 45 narcotics cases - 35 more
than all the criminal cases forwarded the previous year - to the
prosecutor. Last year, the department raided 46 methamphetamine labs,
arresting 105 people. In the first four months of this year, the
department uncovered 15 meth labs and arrested 164 people on
meth-related offenses.

On Memorial Day weekend, deputies served a search warrant at the
little girl's home on Hickory Hills Drive in Winfield.

Her mother, Ruth Ann Kimbrough, was charged last week with
first-degree drug trafficking, two counts of possession of a
controlled substance with intent to distribute, five counts of
possession of a controlled substance and first-degree endangering the
welfare of a child.

Detectives had been working a case against Kimbrough, 38, since Feb.
11, when a police informer allegedly bought marijuana from the woman,
also known as "Biker Annie."

The informer told them that Kimbrough was planning a Memorial Day
weekend party and had been cooking methamphetamine - "a mother lode of
dope."

Members of the Sheriff's Emergency Response Team met for a briefing
before the raid. Aerial photos of Kimbrough's property showed a
dilapidated trailer, four old vehicles and a few outbuildings,
including a doghouse.

Discussion centered on Kimbrough's Rottweiler, weighing about 140
pounds. Police decided not to go in the back door, close to the
animal's run, to keep anyone - including the dog - from being hurt.

Flushing evidence

The plan was to ride up to the home, which sits on a hill visible from
Highway 47, and throw a "flashbang," a device that mimics the sound of
an explosion. The flashbang would be set off near the back door, and
police would go through the front.

One officer was assigned to the dog, several others to any people
inside and a few more to the bathroom to prevent any drugs from being
flushed down the toilet.

Detective Ray Floyd, 30, of the Troy Police Department, and Detective
Kirk Rose, 28, of the Lincoln County Sheriff's Department, were on
duty Memorial Day weekend. The other detective on the narcotics team,
Mike Lang, 28, had a day off. They say they have their work cut out
for them as they try to control a 647-square-mile area that is largely
rural and a breeding ground for meth production.

After the briefing, police piled into a van and several cars, first
driving past Kimbrough's home and then stopping in the parking lot of
New Galilee Christian Church to get set up.

Members of the emergency response team donned helmets and bulletproof
vests. They pulled two running boards off the top of the van and
connected them to the sides of the vehicle. Three team members hopped
onto each board, and police headed back toward Kimbrough's mobile home.

The van turned up Hickory Hills Drive, a gravel road, and police went
to work: First came the explosion, then pounding on the front door,
voices yelling "search warrant," the shattering of glass, then the
breaking of the deadbolt and door lock.

Detectives waited anxiously in the car across Highway 47, counting the
seconds until the team got through the door.

"You've never seen a person move so fast from where they are to the
bathroom," Floyd said. "You'll be banging on the door and hear the
toilet flushing away the evidence."

Once the team entered the trailer, the detectives drove up to the
scene. Kimbrough was apprehended in the bathroom of the trailer.
Police said she was attempting to flush marijuana and meth down the
toilet. Police recovered the drugs and material used to make meth.

Torres showed up with his police dog, Shotzi, who helped search the
residence for drugs. Torres tries to attend all drug busts.

"I love you, honey"

"Drugs tie into so much other stuff that happens; I can't tell you how
many burglaries we've cleared at these things because people trade
stolen property for the drug," he said.

The odor of ether and ammonia, two items used in the manufacture of
meth, were noticeable, so police opened windows and doors to ventilate
the trailer.

Just as the members of the emergency response team started to relax, a
Ford Explorer sped up the driveway. Three officers yelled for the
driver to stop and put her hands up. It was Kimbrough's older
daughter, who saw police and became alarmed. As she cried, Torres
pulled her aside to tell her what was happening. The paramedic handed
over her little sister.

Kimbrough walked out of the trailer, handcuffed, barefoot, wearing a
pink-and-white plaid housecoat. Open sores were visible on her face,
arms and legs. Meth users often develop such sores. As she strode past
her daughters, she said, "I love you, honey. Don't cry."

Her older daughter whispered, "I love you, too."

A few minutes later, a worker with the Division of Family Services
arrived and took the baby to a foster home. The other daughter agreed
to care for the dog and some cats.

Kimbrough was held over the weekend, on the warrant for her arrest
based on the earlier sale of marijuana. After additional charges are
filed, her bail was raised to $200,000 in cash.

Kimbrough's bail is high by most counties' standards but common for
Prosecutor John Richards, who regularly seeks $50,000 to $100,000 in
cash-only bail on any meth arrest.

Richards has worked in Lincoln County since 1991 and has seen the drug
of choice evolve from crack cocaine to marijuana to
methamphetamine.

Meth has proved to be a challenge for prosecutors because the drug is
so addictive and those charged often turn into repeat offenders.

"It's cheap to produce, and cooks are buying or stealing ingredients
that are household items," Richards said.

During the sentencing phase, many criminals are given the option of 60
days of "shock time" in prison or 30 days of inpatient treatment.

"We know they're not going to stop unless we get them help," Richards
said.

Associate Circuit Judge Ben Burkemper, who has been on the bench since
September 2001, says the volume of drug cases has caused him to lead
an effort to get a drug court established in the next two years so
offenders get the care they need.

"It's cheaper for the county to treat the offenders than to keep
reincarcerating them," he said.