TAKING METH TO TASK

The Northwestern North Carolina Methamphetamine Task Force made its
first arrests and held a news conference on Wednesday to introduce the
multi-agency anti-drug effort.

The task force arrested four Watauga residents in a 12-count federal
indictment, a significant change in the charges that illegal
methamphetamine manufacturers face.

Watauga Co. Sheriff Mark Shook said the involvement of the Drug
Enforcement Administration and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms
means that meth offenders will face much stiffer sentences,
particularly when weapons are involved.

Shook said as meth producers become more sophisticated, the task force
will help fight was has become a rural problem.

"We're dealing with a lot of folks traveling across the state and from
county to county, and we're trying to track those groups," he said.

Officers arrested Jonathan Adam Taylor, Kenneth Coffey, Richard Lynn
Taylor, Jr., and Jamie Danielle Greene. A fifth suspect, James Darrell
"J.D." Smith, Jr., has not yet been arrested.

The four defendants were taken to Charlotte where they will stand
trial on a number of charges, including conspiracy to unlawfully
possess 500 grams or more of methamphetamine with intent to distribute.

Other charges include the use of precursor chemicals and possession of
firearms in connection with illegal meth production.

Shook said the federal charges available through working with other
agencies are a welcome tool in the battle against illegal meth labs,
in which Watauga County leads the state.

If convicted, the defendants face not less than 10 years in prison,
with maximum penalties of life in prison and a $4 million fine. Under
state laws, those who manufacture meth usually face a maximum of a
year in prison.

Shook introduced members of the task force at the press conference and
said the regional approach would allow officers to identify expanding
methamphetamine networks.

The task force received a grant of up to $170,000 to fund a central
office for the task force. That office will collect information from
the participating agencies and share data that will help in
investigations and arrests.

Agencies involved in the task force, in addition to the Watauga County
Sheriff's Office and the two federal agencies, are the Ashe and Wilkes
county sheriff's offices, the District Attorney's office of the three
counties, the Boone Police Department and the N.C. State Bureau of
Investigations.

The task force grant will enable three members of each county
department to become certified in methamphetamine response, which will
help relieve the burden on the SBI.

Currently, local agencies must call in the SBI when making meth busts
because of the specialized equipment and dangers involved.

Shook said the typical profile of a meth user in Watauga was that of a
white male or female between 25 to 45, in the lower middle class. He
said the youngest arrested had been 15 and the oldest 70, though teens
were often used to buy the precursor chemicals needed to make meth.

Common retail items such as pseudoephedrine used in cold medicine and
brake fluid are used in the production, and meth manufacturers often
use youngsters to make the purchases to avoid arousing suspicion.

Shook said the federal charges also make emergency responders feel
safer in making lab investigations.

"It's becoming more dangerous," he said. "We have more death threats
on officers and threats of booby-trapping the labs."

He said meth use causes paranoia, which made the offenders even more
dangerous. "Most labs you go into now, you see firearms," he said.

Read more about the regional methamphetamine task force in Friday's
Watauga Democrat.