A crackdown on drugs in East Brewton put an end to two meth labs and the illegal trafficking of synthetic marijuana.
Chief Kenny Brazile said at least eight people have been jailed in recent weeks, including five at a house party on Dec. 2; one on Dec. 4 at a Ball Lane trailer park meth lab and another on Dec. 5 behind a U.S. Hwy. 29 residence.
“Drug activity picks up during the holiday season,” Brazile said. “And as long as we’re getting reports of it, we’re going to actively investigate those reports.
“These are only a few of the arrests we’ve made in the last month,” he said. “It appears that spice – or synthetic marijuana – is the drug of choice for young people, and we will not tolerate its use or the trafficking of it in East Brewton.”
First arrested was 28-year-old Jerome Bailey, Brazile said.
“Mr. Bailey had been under surveillance for a number of weeks after officers received information about his activities,” Brazile said. “Officers performed a traffic stop on (Bailey’s) vehicle and discovered he had large quantities of synthetic marijuana on him after making a trip to Pensacola.”
Bailey was charged with possession of a controlled substance and trafficking.
Next, officers arrested Lawanna Bell at her home on Victory Street after making a controlled purchase from her on Dec. 2.
“When officers arrived at the home, they found four others inside and it appeared the group had a party the night before,” Brazile said. “After an investigation, it was determined that Bell was selling the drugs while others were smoking them.”
Bell was charged with distribution and possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of marijuana I.
The following are charged with possession of a controlled substance and possession of marijuana II: Timothy Scroggins, 39, of Brewton; Chance Wetherington, 19, of East Brewton; Lisa Sindelar, 36, of Brewton and • Calvin L. Kyser, 28, of Brewton. Kyser is also charged with tampering with evidence after he attempted to flush the marijuana down the toilet when officers made entry into the residence, Brazile said.
On Dec. 4, officers acted on reports of strange odor coming from Rhoda Emmons’ Ball Lane trailer park home in the Springhill Community, Brazile said.
“After a lengthy investigation, officers went to the residence and were greeted with the same odor that they had received complaints about,” he said. “We obtained a search warrant and determined she was manufacturing methamphetamine inside the home.”
Brazile said while there wasn’t an “active cook” ongoing in the home, officers did find all the precursor chemicals and paraphernalia.
“In fact, we found the remnants of a party from the night before that were left in plain view on the table,” he said.
A spin-off from that investigation led to the arrest of 26-year-old David Emmons.
“He is no relation to Ms. Emmons; however, after receiving information, he was observed purchasing the ingredients to manufacture methamphetamine from a couple of drug stores in Brewton,” Brazile said. “From there and carrying a backpack, he went behind a residence off U.S. Hwy. 29 and was arrested.”
Brazile said inside the backpack, officers found ice packs, cold medicine and bottles.
Mr. Emmons was charged with manufacturing a controlled substance.
“Holidays are always a busy time; so we ask residents to be vigilant to any suspicious and illegal activity,” Brazile said. “If you see something that isn’t right, please call, and we will investigate.”