By James B. Bartle
Nine St. Clair residents were indicted and arrested following a federal indictment handed down on Wed., Apr. 14.
Some 30 different law enforcement officers from seven different agencies made an early morning roundup of those wanted on federal indictments of manufacturing methamphetamine from 2006 through 2009.
Authorities from the Franklin County Narcotics Enforcement Unit, St. Clair Police, Sullivan Police, Union Police, U.S. Marshal’s Service, DEA and Franklin County Sheriff’s Department arrested:
Sean James Dace, 42, St. Clair; Jacob Daniel Jones, 22, St. Clair; Dana Kay Banderman, 31, St. Clair; Richard Harold Kopf, 42, St. Clair; Nicholas William McFerrin, 28, St. Clair; Johnny D. Herrington, 49, St. Clair; Sherry Renee Herrington, 37, St. Clair; David Lee Sohn, 28, St. Clair; and Clarence Robert Spear, 36, St. Clair. Spear was actually in state custody at the time of the roundup.
The defendants were indicted on one felony count each of conspiracy to manufacture in excess of 50 grams of methamphetamine and possession of pseudoephedrine with the intent to manufacture meth. If convicted, the conspiracy count carries a penalty range of five to 40 years in prison and/or fines up to $2 million. Possession of pseudoephedrine carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and/or fines up to $250,000.
Harry S. Sommers, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA St. Louis Division, stated, “These arrests should serve as a warning to anyone engaged in the deadly practice of making methamphetamine. Criminals should remember that no matter how committed they are to sidestepping the law, we are equally dedicated to finding them and locking them up.”
According to Franklin County Narcotics Enforcement Unit Sgt. Jason Grellner, those indicted are alleged to have purchased 412 boxes of cold tablets containing pseudoephedrine, the main ingredient needed in meth production, from 39 different pharmacies throughout the area including 15 Wal-Mart stores, 12 Walgreens, and 21 individuals pharmacies from Rolla to Mount Vernon. These cases were just in 2007 and 2008 alone and do not account for the totals in these cases for 2009.
Those indicted have been caught eight different times with meth manufacturing components totaling enough meth material to generate about $25,000.
Grellner indicated that, once the initial investigation in this case began, authorities learned that they were dealing with a much larger operation than initially indicated.
Grellner also stated that this was just another case of how bad the meth production is in Missouri and the efforts that need to be made by communities and the state to require a prescription for pseudoephedrine products.
Grellner added that, in the state of Missouri for the first two months of the year, law enforcement has brought down 300 labs and, at that pace, they will shatter the 2004 and 2005 record levels of meth production.