Seven arrested on indictments for drug-related crimes

Seven were arrested Wednesday morning as local, state and federal officers began serving arrest warrants on nearly 20 who had been indicted for such offenses as drug distribution and trafficking.

“We have been working with our federal partners and the SEMO Drug Task Force in covert operations for the past 24 months,” Poplar Bluff Police Chief Danny Whiteley said. “(Wednesday), we culminated all of those cases with a round up.”

By noon Wednesday, Whiteley said, four had been arrested on federal indictments and three on state indictments handed down by a Butler County grand jury.

Poplar Bluff Police Capt. J.R. Keirsey watches a house Wednesday morning during a round up of wanted drug offenders. Photo provided

Arrested on federal warrants were:

• Amber E. Wrinkle, 38, of Poplar Bluff, one count of distribution of heroin and two counts of distribution of Acetyl Fentanyl; suspicion of possession of marijuana and delivery of heroin, no bond;

• Marvin D. Price Sr., 61, of Poplar Bluff, two counts of distribution of heroin, no bond;

• Jaquan T. Whitfield, 23, of St. Louis, two counts of distribution of heroin, no bond; and

• Freeman C. Williams Jr., 23, of Poplar Bluff, three counts of distribution of heroin and one count of distribution of methamphetamine, no bond.

Arrested on Butler County warrants were:

• Toriona S. Dudley, 26, of Poplar Bluff, two counts of delivery of a controlled substance, one count of unlawful use of a weapon, one count of possession of a controlled substance, $25,000 cash or surety bond;

• Jaleel D. Gipson, 27, of Poplar Bluff, two counts of delivery of a controlled substance, one count of unlawful use of a weapon, one count of possession of a controlled substance and one count of tampering with physical evidence, $25,000 cash or surety bond; and

Local, state and federal law enforcement officers meet Wednesday morning outside the Poplar Bluff Police Department as they prepare to serve arrest warrants for drug-related offenses. Photo provided

• Trevin S. Eason, 26, of Poplar Bluff, one count of delivery of a controlled substance, $25,000 cash or surety bond.

Further arrests, Whiteley said, are expected.

“As always, it went really well,” Whiteley said. “We had great cooperation between the federal and state agencies, and to this point, no one was injured or anything like that.”

A search warrant, Whiteley said, was sought and obtained “relating to one of the arrests” for a Kendall Avenue residence.

To make the arrests, “we divided the officers from various agencies into teams,” said police Lt. Josh Stewart.

The teams then went to the most current addresses of the wanted suspects, Stewart said.

“We had 11 state and six federal” warrants, Stewart said. “We were seeking nine individuals on state warrants because two were already in custody.”

All of the local indictments, according to Butler County Prosecutor Kacey Proctor, were for such offenses as the felonies of delivery of a controlled substance and drug trafficking.

The indictments were among the more than 50 handed down by a Butler County grand jury, said Proctor, who indicated the other indictments were for such offenses as rape, child molestation, first-degree assault, manslaughter and various other crimes.

Stewart said the federal indictments were for distribution of a controlled substance.

Nearly 30 officers from the Poplar Bluff Police Department, Missouri State Highway Patrol, Butler County Sheriff’s Department, Dunklin County Sheriff’s Department, SEMO Drug Task Force, the Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Marshal’s Service and U.S. Army National Guard participated in the round up.

Whiteley said this round up was a good opportunity to explain to the citizens about the progression of narcotics investigations and why a report of suspicious activity about a neighbor or relative may not result in an arrest for a year or more.

“When we’re targeting various individuals who are known suppliers of narcotics, such as heroin, Fentanyl, methamphetamine and so forth, we normally utilize various investigative procedures, such as undercover law enforcement and/or cooperating individuals,” Whiteley said.

To make a good case for the prosecutor, “we need to have multiple buys from a dope dealer before submitting charges to the prosecuting attorney to show a pattern of behavior of dealing narcotics,” Whiteley explained.

Law enforcement, he said, want to protect the identities of those individuals, whether they are officers or cooperating individuals.

“Generally, we develop multiple targets from the investigation through intelligence and narcotics buys and continue to investigate as long as possible to get as many dope dealers as we can before submitting charges to the prosecutor’s office,” Whiteley explained.

Once charges are filed, defense attorneys have access to discovery, which in turn possibly identifies the undercover officer or the cooperating individual.

“Naturally, that will end the ability of that particular person being able to buy dope and continue the investigation any further.”

Whiteley expressed his appreciation to Proctor for convening a grand jury to assist in this investigation.

A grand jury, according to Proctor, is a “great tool” for prosecutors to use to “quickly and efficiently move cases through the criminal justice system.”

Proctor said participation in a grand jury takes a lot of time and commitment.

“I would like to thank the members of the grand jury for their participation and taking the time out of their lives to help make the criminal justice system here in Butler County work more efficiently,” Proctor said. “I also would like to thank all the law enforcement officers for their help to make the cases and participating in this round up.”

Whiteley also had a message for “dope dealers. We know who the majority of you are.

“You are a target of ours, and to any scumbag coming in from out of town, dealing dope in our community, we will find out who you are.”