Duo set to take deal in meth case

Two Richmond residents accused of federal drug trafficking charges after a traffic stop in August near the Kentucky-Tenn. Border on I-75 by a Drug Enforcement Agency agent are expected to accept guilty pleas in U.S. District Court in London today.

Robert W. Miller and Zane Vanarsdale each face one count of conspiracy to distribute 50 or more grams of methamphetamine, and one count of aiding and abetting the distribution of methamphetamine following a criminal complaint filed against them in U.S. District Court in London earlier this year. The two were indicted by a grand jury on Aug. 28 and originally pleaded not guilty to the charges during an initial appearance.

Both men are scheduled to appear before U.S. District Judge Gregory F. VanTatenhove for rearraignment hearings today. According to court records, they are expected to accept plea agreements on the charges.
According to an affidavit, written by DEA Special Agent Gregory Bunch, Miller and Vanarsdale stopped at a rest area near the one-mile marker on I-75 in Whitley County and were observed by police scanning the parking lot “and surrounding area in a suspicious manner.” Miller walked toward the rest area office and Vanarsdale was then approached by DEA Special Agent Jerel Hughes. Vanarsdale told Hughes the two were from Richmond and that they were returning from a trip to Atlanta, GA to visit friends.

Miller told Hughes the two had celebrated Vanarsdale’s birthday in Atlanta.
According to the affidavit, Hughes got consent from both to search the vehicle. A Kentucky State Police K-9 search dog, “Rex,” “positively alerted to the presence of contraband in the rear seat of the car behind the drivers seat.”

Hughes found a black nylon bag in the rear floorboard. After searching the bag, he claims to have discovered a plastic bag containing suspected methamphetamine. The substance weighed 54.701 grams. Later laboratory tests, Bunch writes, revealed the substance to be meth.

Bunch said the two men admitted they had purchased the methamphetamine in Atlanta and were taking it back to some friends whom they had pooled money together with to buy the drug.

“Miller admitted that the current trip was his fourth, and that he usually obtained one eighth ounce of methamphetamine per trip,” the affidavit says.

Both Vanarsdale and Miller have been in federal custody since their arrests.