Local police round up suspected drug dealers in Operation Christmas Spirit Thursday

Troy Smith, 50, of Rockholds, is escorted by police during a drug roundup Thursday morning. He is accused of selling marijuana and pain pills.

About 20 law enforcement officers from agencies across Whitley County hit the streets before dawn Thursday morning to round-up about two-dozen suspected drug dealers as part of Operation Christmas Spirit.

"It is a concentrated effort from all the departments," said Whitley County Sheriff Colan Harrell. "This is not the last. This is just the start."

Williamsburg Police Chief Wayne Bird agreed noting that his department has made several other controlled buys but cut off the number of suspects they were looking for at 11 in order to keep the round-up manageable. Sheriff’s deputies had another 13 suspects, who they were trying to locate.

"We actually have a whole lot more but my experience in the past with bigger round-ups is it is too much work," Bird noted.

Another factor is that after about the first hour of any drug round-up, the suspected drug dealers in the community tend to scatter as cell phones light up and word travels, Bird noted.

Officers began staging at the Williamsburg Tourism and Convention Center about 6 a.m. Thursday.

By 6:30 a.m. had begun scattering across Whitley County in two-person teams looking for alleged drug dealers, whom police had made controlled drug buys from in recent months.

Most of the cases dealt with trafficking pain pills, but there were also instances involving marijuana and cocaine in at least one case, Harrell said.

Pain pills are popular for a variety of reasons, including accessibility, concealment and expense, he added.

Bird said that the drug buys generally took place within the last four months.

He added that about five to six of the cases his officers obtained arrest warrants for dealt with doctor shopping where suspects obtained drugs from multiple doctors at the same time.

"We started working on doctor shopping shortly after the new house bill came out," he noted.

Harrell said that Commonwealth’s Attorney Allen Trimble was consulted on the cases, which will all be presented to the grand jury as early as next month.

Harrell said that authorities actually arrested one additional individual Thursday morning, whom they had been looking for since their last round-up.

After the individuals were arrested, officers brought them back to the tourism center where they were processed and formally served with the arrest warrants.

The suspects were then turned over to the custody of Whitley County deputy jailers, who transported them via jail van to the Whitley County Detention Center where they were incarcerated.

"We definitely want to thank them because them coming down with a van makes things a lot easier for us and makes things run smoother," Bird added.

As of 9 a.m. Thursday, police had arrested the following individuals, according to Williamsburg police and Whitley County sheriff’s deputies:

• James A. Baker, 60, of Williamsburg – trafficking in marijuana less than eight ounces and two counts of second-degree trafficking in a controlled substance.

• Troy Smith, 50, of Rockholds – trafficking in marijuana less than eight ounces and first-degree trafficking in a controlled substance.

• Tona S. Swain, 40, of Williamsburg – two counts of second-degree trafficking in a controlled substance.

• Rachel Teague, 18, of Williamsburg – second-degree trafficking in a controlled substance.

• Dewey Canada, 60, of Canadatown – second-degree trafficking in a controlled substance.

• Phillip Huddleston, 32, of Wolf Creek – trafficking in marijuana and second-degree trafficking in a controlled substance.

• Carol Miracle, 61, of Casey Road – second-degree trafficking in a controlled substance.

• Linda Partin, 46, of Wagon Wheel Road – first-degree trafficking in a controlled substance.

• Bill Jones, 37, of Cemetery Road, Williamsburg – second-degree trafficking in a controlled substance.

• Jackie Haynes, 49, of Jeffries Court, Williamsburg – first-degree trafficking in a controlled substance.

• Erica Smith, 24, of Railroad Lane, Emlyn – second-degree trafficking in a controlled substance.

• Jamie McKinney, 36, of Wagon Wheel Road – second-degree trafficking in a controlled substance.

• Kenneth Michael Ramsey, 27, of Ky. 1804, Saxton – first-degree trafficking in a controlled substance-cocaine, and first-degree trafficking in a controlled substance-opiates.

Agencies assisting in Thursday’s round-up included: Whitley County Sheriff’s Department, Williamsburg Police Department,

Kentucky State Police, Whitley County Detention Center and Constables Lonnie Foley and Andy Moses.

Harrell added that Operation UNITE was also instrumental in the investigation.