SHERIFF: DRUGS LED TO TRAGEDY

Murders, Suicide Illustrate Effects of Crystal Meth

Years ago, law enforcement officers in Etowah and surrounding counties
identified the trafficking of crystal methamphetamine as one of, if
not the worst, drug problem drug enforcement officers encounter. The
situation has not gotten better.

For those far removed from drug use or law enforcement, hearing that
might not mean much. Even concerns about the dangers of drug labs
operating in the community has not caused great alarm, except for the
officers who must investigate them and be exposed to the hazardous
chemicals. Drug use hurts the drug users, but its broader effects may
not be obvious to others.

But Etowah County Sheriff James Hayes says he believes crystal
methamphetamine played a part in a weekend tragedy that left four
people dead and robbed a Tabor Road home of all signs of life.

William Eric Krost, who killed his three children and several family
pets, authorities say, then hanged himself, had no pending drug
charges. But Hayes says in a taped message Krost left behind, he
acknowledged he was using the drug, which can cause paranoia.

Authorities say Krost's wife had asked for a divorce; perhaps only the
couple know if drug use contributed to the marital problems that
sparked Krost's actions.

Hayes is concerned that the lag time between charging people with drug
use and getting their cases to court is too long - that drug
defendants continue to traffic drugs and often log multiple charges
before they are tried for the first.

He says he would like to see Etowah County's judges establish a
special crystal methamphetamine docket to try to move some of the many
cases pending through the court system more promptly.

The sheriff would also like to see sentencing guidelines for crystal
meth cases changed so no probation is allowed. The logistics of that
would be far more difficult than having a special meth docket. The
state is struggling with prison populations now and most jails are
too. To make such a sweeping change, there must be some way to sweep a
lot of other inmates out of our prisons.

Perhaps a faster moving court docket for these cases would help, even
if it did not mean everyone convicted gets time behind bars. It would
have to do more to curb the crystal meth trade than the current system
that seems to let jail and bail people so they can return to the same
business.

It might not guarantee that Hayes and his investigators never see
something like the brutal crimes against helpless children that they
saw in the Krost home , but maybe it is an approach that could ease
the problem.

As last weekend proved, drug abuse is not always a victimless
crime.