CANDIDATES DISCUSS METHAMPHETAMINE

Sheriff, Prosecutor Hopefuls Speak In S.C.

The four men vying to become Kanawha County's next law and order duo said
Tuesday that they believe police and prosecutors can do more to stop the
spread of methamphetamine.

Speaking at a forum in the South Charleston Women's Club, the candidates
for county sheriff said they would call on lawmakers to increase
punishments for making methamphetamine while the candidates for county
prosecutor promised to focus more of the office's resources on drug crimes.

"It's become an epidemic in this county," said Tom Ciccarello, the
Democratic candidate for prosecutor. Ciccarello, now an assistant Kanawha
County prosecutor, said the county could begin stamping out dangerous drug
labs by moving to seize drug makers' homes and cars.

Ciccarello said going after methamphetamine makers is part of his plan to
put more drug dealers and violent criminals in prison.

"I know how to try a criminal case and I know how to put it to trial and I
know how to get some of these people off the street that ought to be off
the street, people that will shake a gun in your face," he said.

His opponent, Republican Bill Charnock, said he would "prioritize the
prosecution of meth lab cases" and ensure that cases were handled correctly
by having an assistant prosecutor specialize in drug cases.

He said "this whole meth epidemic has become an epidemic" because Mike
Clifford, the current prosecutor, has not done his job and actively
prosecuted cases. "We just need to be more aggressive," said Charnock, who
said he would personally take six criminal cases to a jury in his first six
months in office.

While the prosecutorial candidates told the 25 people at the forum about
prosecuting more methamphetamine makers, the sheriff's candidates spent
their time talking about the need to hand out harsher punishments.

Jerry Riffe, Charleston's former police chief, said he thinks the state
should enact laws limiting the sale of common household items used to make
methamphetamine and increasing prison time for people who make
methamphetamine around kids.

"We need some new legislation here," he said. "Methamphetamine is a hideous
drug."

Mike Rutherford, the Kanawha County parks police chief, said he has "every
intention of taking the sheriff's department and absolutely attacking this
problem."

A retired Kanawha County sheriff's deputy, he said the county could root
out more drug labs and solve other crimes by encouraging the public to call
in anonymous tips and working with businesses to identify people buying
large quantities of items used to make methamphetamine.