DEA, Williamsburg police joint anti-drug effort on I-75 leads to six arrests Wednesday

During a joint drug interdiction operation Wednesday afternoon, Williamsburg police and agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration arrested six people near I-75, including a fugitive from Ohio and a couple returning home after a trip to a Georgia pain clinic.

According to a press release from Chief Wayne Bird, those arrested at the rest area along I-75 included:

¥ Melissa A. Stepp, 42, and William K. Stepp, 45, both of Ironton, Ohio – first-offense driving while under the influence of alcohol/drugs and no operator’s license.

¥ Chasity L. Skeens-Smith, 36, of Wayne, West Virginia – first-degree trafficking in a controlled substance, marijuana possession and possession of drug paraphernalia.

¥ Mark Brandon Maynard, 29, of Wayne, West Virginia – complicity to first-degree trafficking in a controlled substance, marijuana possession and possession of drug paraphernalia.

¥ Brandon R. Mace, 34, of Berlin, Ohio – fugitive from another state. Mace is wanted in Ohio on charges of money laundering and domestic violence assault.

¥ Patrick O. Ryan of Knoxville – marijuana possession.

About 2:39 p.m. federal agents and Detective Bobby Freeman observed William Stepp pull into a rest area parking space in a 1995 red Chevy, and run up and over the curb onto the sidewalk, according to an arrest citation.

He almost fell down several times and could not do field sobriety tests. Stepp told police he went to a pain clinic in Georgia and took 10 Xanax pills, according to the arrest citation.

Law enforcement officers observed Melissa Stepp enter the driver’s seat and pull out of a parking space before being stopped by police, according to her arrest citation.

She was unsteady on her feet, had red glossy, bloodshot eyes, and failed field sobriety tests. She told police she was at a pain clinic in Florida, and at another pain clinic in Georgia. Stepp said she had taken Xanax that day, according to her arrest citation.

About 3:30 p.m., Skeens-Smith and her boyfriend, Maynard, were stopped and questioned by police at the rest area.
Before officers approached Skeens-Smith, she took pills from a pill bottle, poured them into another bottle and gave it to Maynard, according to her arrest citation.

Before officers approached Maynard, he took pills and emptied them into a McDonald’s carton before putting them into the garbage at the welcome center, according to his arrest citation.

Police also found a marijuana joint in the center console of the 2011 blue Chevy that the couple was riding inside, according to arrest citations.

Mace was arrested about 1:11 p.m. at the welcome center.

Maynard, Skeens-Smith, and Mace all pleaded not guilty during their video arraignments Thursday afternoon from the Whitley County Detention Center.

District Judge Cathy Prewitt scheduled Oct. 10 preliminary hearings for all three.

She appointed the public advocate’s office to represent Skeens-Smith and Maynard and set $7,500 cash bonds.

Both Melissa Stepp and William Stepp pleaded guilty to their drunk driving charges.

Prewitt ordered that their operator’s licenses be suspended for 90 days, that they attend DUI classes, and sentenced each of them to 30 days in jail.

Their jail sentences were conditionally discharged or probated on the condition they not violate the law again for two years.

Prewitt also ordered them to pay $738 each in fines and court costs. Both no operator’s license charges were dismissed.

Williamsburg police officers participating in the operation, included: Bird, Freeman, Officer Brandon White, Officer Jim Pool, Deputy Chief Jason Caddell, K-9 Officer Brandon Prewitt and his partner "Rico."