NELSON COUNTY'S DRUG ARRESTS SKYROCKET

The first quarter of 2007 has not quite ended, and already more
people have been arrested in Nelson County on drug offenses than in
all of 2006.

The number of arrests for 2007 so far is 21. The number for all of 2006: 20.

In addition to rising drug activity, increased communication - within
law enforcement agencies and with the community - has led to more
arrests. All the major players are here: cocaine, marijuana,
methamphetamine, even some heroin.

"Since I've been working, cocaine has been a drug that has always
been here," M.E. Bridgwater, investigator for the Nelson County
Sheriff's Office, said during a recent interview. "It's always been prominent."

On the morning of March 14, the sheriff's office, along with state
police and the Jefferson Area Drug Enforcement (JADE) task force,
made one of their biggest busts to date. Bridgwater said that as far
as the amount of drugs go, this was the biggest one during his tenure here.

Officers arrested Nelson residents Allen Wayne Thompson and Nissa
Marie Teague. Officials were seeking charges against Thompson for
possession of a controlled substance with intent to manufacture/sell,
and possession of marijuana with intent to sell or distribute.

Teague was facing a charge of manufacture and/or distribution of a
controlled substance, and possession of a controlled substance with
intent to sell/distribute.

Both were being held, and have court dates scheduled for July 18 in
Nelson County District Court.

Serving a search warrant at the 10667 Rockfish Valley Highway
residence in Afton of the suspects, officers found one kilogram of
cocaine, five to seven pounds of marijuana, and more than $13,000 in cash.

Officers had been working on the investigation for a few years,
according to Bridgwater. They received anonymous tips and other
information, but nothing solid enough to go on, he said.

"But all of a sudden," Bridgwater said, "the door just opened, and
there it was."

With new information in hand, the nature of which Bridgwater declined
to disclose, the sheriff's office, after networking with state police
and JADE, was able to obtain a search warrant.

In addition to drugs, officers seized several vehicles, a motorcycle,
an enclosed trailer, a commercial pressure washer, a big screen
television, a computer system, stereo systems, and more.

Officers say cocaine and heroin are hardly new problems in the
county. Methamphetamine use, meanwhile, is likely becoming a bigger
problem in the county than cocaine, according to Bridgwater.

Methamphetamine, also know as meth, crystal meth, or ice, is a highly
addictive drug. Snorted, smoked, injected, or taken orally, it gives
users a short, but intense "rush," according to the National
Institute on Drug Abuse.

"Methamphetamine, in my opinion, is probably the most dangerous drug
that we've seen around here thus far, because it makes people so
paranoid," Bridgwater said.

"They use this drug, they don't eat, they take binges on sugary
foods, and they don't sleep," he said.

Bridgwater said methamphetamine spread from the Shenandoah Valley
into Nelson. According to the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), the
Shenandoah Valley region contains the highest percentage of meth
abusers in Virginia.

"Now it's spread throughout the county," Bridgwater said. "Just about
every community in the county, we have seen a sign of methamphetamine."

While the sheriff's office has good information sources, Bridgwater
said that they are always in need of more.

"Sometimes that little 20-second phone call with that little bit of
information is all we need, come search-warrant time. And sometimes
that's all we need, come court time," Bridgwater said.

The investigator says the sheriff's office has an increasingly
productive working relationship with the community.

"Knowing who the people are is not the hard part. The hard part is
finding the evidence to be able to do something about it."