Crystal Dawn CookThe DeKalb County, Ala., Sheriff's Office reports five people have been arrested on drug charges in the county.
"We are still having to deal with meth labs, but the majority of the methamphetamine we see now is coming from outside our area," DeKalb County Sheriff Jimmy Harris said in a news release. "Northeast Alabama is being used as a distribution hub for the cartels, and we are working daily with our federal partners to curb this activity. As long as there is a demand for this drug, they will try to get it here."
Timothy Brandon Richards, 31, was arrested June 3 after drug task force agents served a warrant at a residence on County Road 768 in Ider. Agents discovered Richards with a lab ready to start producing meth, drug paraphernalia and already produced methamphetamine. Additionally, a child was taken from the residence and placed with family members.
Richards is being held at the DeKalb County Detention Center on charges of unlawful manufacture of a controlled substance in the first degree, unlawful possession of a controlled substance and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia.
Samuel Edward Simpson II, 35; Brandy Nicole Rothell, 30; and Crystal Dawn Cook, 39, were arrested June 5 after Fort Payne police officers responded to a noise complaint at an apartment in North Fort Payne.
Officers found the door open and spoke with a person about the complaint. Drug evidence was visible from the door, and the suspects were detained when the apartment was searched. According to the release, officers found "a large amount of drugs," about $4,000 in cash, a rifle and a 9mm handgun.
Cook and Rothell are expected to be moved to the DeKalb County Detention Center, where Simpson was first booked.
Additionally, drug task force agents and Fort Payne police executed a search warrant on a South Fort Payne residence June 5 that resulted in the discovery of cash, drug paraphernalia and more than 50 grams of meth. Norris Lee Norton, 54, was arrested on charges of the distribution of a controlled substance and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia.