By Staff
Staff report
Three Brewton men were charged with multiple drug offenses this week, following the recovery of a crystal methamphetamine lab and large quantities of the illegal drug earlier this week.
Agents from the 21st Judicial Circuit Drug Task Force and deputies from the Escambia County Sheriff's Department executed a search warrant at 505 Crook Road in Brewton, the residence of Douglas Alton Crook, at 1:30 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 27.
When agents executed the search warrant at the Crook residence, they recovered an operating crystal methamphetamine lab and a large amount of the illegal drug. When agents arrived, the homeowner, Crook, fled on foot. The K-9 tracking dogs from Fountain Prison, along with a helicopter from Escambia County, Fla., responded and assisted agents in the search.
Crook was arrested Tuesday in a home on Boyd Street in East Brewton after agents received an anonymous tip that he was hiding there. He's been charged with unlawful manufacturing of a controlled substance (crystal meth), unlawful possession of a controlled substance (crystal meth), and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia.
James Douglas Jackson, 49, of 625 Grapefarm Road, was charged with unlawful manufacturing of a controlled substance (crystal meth), unlawful possession of a controlled substance (crystal meth), unlawful possession of marijuana, second degree, and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia.
Mark Brandon Thompson, 23, of 1801 Smith Road, Brewton, was charged with unlawful possession of a controlled substance (crystal meth), unlawful manufacturing of a controlled substance (crystal meth), and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia.
Also assisted the task force was the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences, which took samples of the controlled substances, and Harbour Ferguson from Spanish Fort, which took custody of the crystal meth lab.
The 21st Judicial Task Force is comprised of several law enforcement agencies, including the Escambia County Sheriff's Department, Atmore Police Department, East Brewton Police Department, Brewton Police Department, Flomaton Police Department and the Escambia County District Attorney's Office and the Escambia County Commission.
The Task Force receives 75 percent of its funding from a grant funded by the Bureau of Justice Affairs Division of the United States Department of Justice and which is administered by the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs. The remainder of the funding is provided by the Escambia County Sheriff's Department, Atmore Police Department, Brewton Police Department and the Escambia County District Attorney's Office.