Sheriff’s deputies, Corbin police recover pound of suspected crystal meth worth over $70,000

Whitley County Sheriff’s deputies and Corbin police recovered over $70,000 worth of crystal methamphetamine, which is also known as “ice,” and over $7,000 cash following a pursuit Sunday in Corbin.

Whitley County Sheriff’s deputies and Corbin police recovered over one pound of suspected crystal meth and over $7,000 cash following a pursuit Sunday.

Deputy Jonas Saunders was patrolling in the area of Cumberland Falls Highway and Fifth Street in Corbin when he attempted to make contact with a man believed to have an active warrant for his arrest.

When Saunders pulled up to the car in a gas station parking lot, the driver put the vehicle in reverse and fled the parking lot at a high rate of speed, according to a sheriff’s department release.

Saunders pursued the vehicle on Fifth Street and observed a bag thrown out the passenger side window.

The pursuit ended when the car wrecked near the entrance to Tattersall Estates subdivision.

When Saunders exited his cruiser, he observed an item thrown from the driver’s side window, which was identified as a 9mm pistol, according to the release.

Both the driver, Brandon E. Cole, 29, of Williamsburg, and passenger William M. Mitchell, 27, of Corbin, were taken into custody.

“When the discarded bag was located, it contained a large amount of a crystal substance believed to be ‘ice’ methamphetamine. The quantity was so large that Deputy Saunders could not weight it using the scales carried in his cruiser,” Sheriff Colan Harrell wrote in the release.

The bag was eventually weighed and authorities determined that it was over one pound, and the drugs had a street value over $70,000, the release stated.

Also located with the large bag was a bank-style bag containing over $7,000.

In the vehicle’s center console, police recovered smaller bags containing what’s believed to be meth and needles, according to the release.

Whitley County EMS evaluated Cole and Mitchell at the scene.

Saunders charged Cole and Mitchell with possession of a handgun by a convicted felon, first-degree wanton endangerment, first-degree trafficking in a controlled substance (meth), possession of drug paraphernalia and third-degree possession of a controlled substance.

Saunders also charged Cole with first-degree fleeing or evading police and reckless driving, and Mitchell with tampering with physical evidence.

Both were lodged in the Whitley County Detention Center where they are being held in lieu of $50,000 cash bonds, according to the jail’s website.

They are scheduled for preliminary hearings on April 24 in Whitley District Court in Corbin.

Saunders is continuing the investigation, and the cases will be presented to a Whitley County Grand Jury.

Deputy Mike Lawson, Court Security Officer Donnie Witt and several Corbin Police Department officers assisted Saunders at the scene.