Four individuals arrested on meth-related charges following Alcoa Highway traffic stop
From Staff ReportsOriginally published: October 21. 2009 10:34AM
Last modified: October 21. 2009 11:19AM
Four people from Kentucky were arrested Tuesday on meth-related charges following a traffic stop on Alcoa Highway.
According to a release from Blount County Sheriff's Office, investigators with the 5th Judicial Drug Task Force were notified that several suspicious people were shopping for pseudoephedrine at a Blount County pharmacy. According to the release, Scotty Mack Griffith, of Jellico, Ky., and Ashley Deane Johnson, of Williamsburg, Ky., purchased pseudoephedrine from the pharmacy.
Investigators followed the individuals and conducted a traffic violation stop on the vehicle on Alcoa Highway near McGhee Tyson Airport. Investigators say Griffith, Johnson and Danny Ray Osborne, also of Williamsburg, admitted to purchasing pseudoephedrine for the purpose of the manufacture of methamphetamine.
Griffith, 40, was charged with promoting the manufacture of methamphetamine and possession of a Schedule II controlled substance (methamphetamine). He is being held on bonds totaling $55,000 pending a 9 a.m., Oct. 28, hearing in Blount County General Sessions Court.
Johnson, 25, was charged with promoting the manufacture of methamphetamine. Johnson is being held on a $50,000 bond pending a 9 a.m., Oct. 28, hearing in Blount County General Sessions Court. She is also being held on a warrant out of Campbell County.
Osborne, 37, was charged with promoting the manufacture of methamphetamine, possession of a Schedule II controlled substance (methamphetamine) and possession of drug paraphernalia. Osborne was also charged with criminal impersonation after he gave investigators a fake name during the traffic stop. He is being held on bonds totaling $57,000 pending a 9 a.m., Oct. 28, hearing in Blount County General Sessions Court. He is also being held on a warrant out of Williamsburg.
Billy Lee Johns, 33, also of Williamsburg, was charged with possession of a Schedule II controlled substance (methamphetamine), possession of a Schedule VI controlled substance (marijuana), and possession of drug paraphernalia. He is being held on bonds totaling $7,000 pending a 9 a.m., Oct. 28, hearing in Blount County General Sessions Court.
A fifth individual in the vehicle was not charged, and released a short time later.
The Blount County Sheriff's Office Patrol Unit transported all four individuals to the detention facility.
The 5th Judicial Drug Task Force is comprised of deputies and officers of the Blount County Sheriff's Office, the Maryville Police Department, and the Alcoa Police Department. All investigators assigned to narcotics investigations are members of the Tennessee Methamphetamine Task Force, which allows for specific statewide intelligence sharing used to identify, investigate, and prosecute persons using and manufacturing methamphetamine.
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