Authorities in Bledsoe County, Tenn., seized vehicles, drugs and cash in a probe that landed three people in jail Authorities in Bledsoe County, Tenn., seized vehicles, drugs and cash in a probe that landed three people in jail after a search warrant was served at a scrap yard in downtown Pikeville.
Bledsoe County Sheriff's Office deputies and Pikeville Police Department officers joined forces to serve a search warrant Wednesday at a recycling center and scrap yard on Main Street in South Pikeville. The location is across the street from the town's Head Start facility, playground and walking track.
Three people, including an owner of the building where the seizures were made, were being processed at the Bledsoe County Detention Center Thursday afternoon in the wake of the operation.
Brian Gross, Charles Wyatt and Holly Moore were arrested Wednesday without incident, Bledsoe County Sheriff Jimmy Morris said. Their charges were still being compiled Thursday afternoon as they were being processed into the jail.
Morris said Gross and his brother, Michael, own the Main Street building. Michael Gross is serving a prison sentence on drug-related charges, the sheriff said.
Bledsoe authorities plan to seek seizure of the property and contents, Morris said.
During Wednesday's operation, officers seized 101 grams of methamphetamine - including smaller amounts of the drug purchased in undercover buys - $2,500 in cash, vehicles and other property, Morris said. A .357-caliber pistol also was seized, creating problems for Brian Gross, who has a felony conviction, he said.
"Information came in that large amounts of narcotics were being sold from the building," Morris said in an earlier statement on the operation. "Surveillance of the property was started and information gathered."
On Thursday, Morris said authorities had been keeping watch on the location for "a long time."
"Yesterday, we got the break we needed to get in," he said. He didn't describe the "break," but he was pleased with the outcome.
"Any time you get a sting operation underway, you're going places," Morris said.
The proximity of the allegedly criminal operation on Main Street to the school, playground and walking track across the street was a concern for law enforcement, Sgt. George Hodge said in a Facebook post on the operation.
"One of our main concerns today was the safety of the children on the playground," Hodge said. "As I [sat] in the parking lot I was talking back and forth with the sheriff and made sure that everyone knew that there were children outside.
"Before we made our entry, I was going to ask the staff to bring the children inside, but the staff was very alert to my presence and took action before [I] ask[ed]; so great job on your part," Hodge said of school staff.
Contact staff writer Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6569. Follow him on Twitter @BenBenton.