Monday, March 28, 2011

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn -- Eleven men and eight women were arrested today in Lincoln County on charges involving various violations of federal narcotics and firearms laws. Today's arrests by agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco , Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI), 14th Judicial District Drug Task Force and Lincoln County Sheriff's Department, are the result of a year-long investigation into the manufacture and distribution of methamphetamine in and around Lincoln County.

All of the individuals arrested are charged with conspiring to manufacture and distribute methamphetamine and conspiring to possess and distribute pseudoephedrine for the purpose of manufacturing methamphetamine. Several also face federal charges for distribution of methamphetamine and possession of the components of a meth lab. One individual also faces a federal charge of unlawful possession of a firearm. Those arrested include: Tracy Carter, 36, Jackie Nix, 39, Robert "Bo" Caldwell, 39, Christopher Whitfield, 37, Missy Nicole Harrison, 26,Chris Able, 29, Jenna Stubblefield Carter, 28, Cynthia Mearse, 50, Samuel Baker, 34, Charles Norris, 50, Janice Kruzich, 50, Linda Patrick Taylor, 49, Carrie Swindle Beck, 30, Randall Ashby, 41, Amanda Franklin, 33, and Christy Franklin, 36, all of Fayetteville, Tenn. Henry Dewayne Thompson, 42, Jimmy D. Norris, 45, and Kevin Stubblefield, 22, all of Fayetteville, are currently in custody and will be brought to federal court in the coming week. Other federal defendants are pending arrest and their names and other pertinent information will be released upon their initial appearance before the U.S. Magistrate Judge. A list of each individual charge with the potential penalty, if convicted, is listed on the summary sheet attached to this release.

Initial appearances are scheduled for Tuesday, March 28, 2011, in U.S. District Court in Chattanooga, before the William B. Carter, U.S. Magistrate Judge.

U.S. Attorney William C. Killian gave credit to the Lincoln County Sheriff's Department, TBI, Tennessee Meth Task Force and others, stating "it was the cooperation between these agencies that resulted in these indictments."

Assistant U.S. Attorney Terra Bay will represent the United States.

Members of the public are reminded that these are only charges and that every person is presumed innocent until their guilt has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

This case was part of the Department's Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) and the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) programs. OCDETF is the primary weapon of the United States against the highest level drug trafficking organizations operating within the United States, importing drugs into the United States, or laundering the proceeds of drug trafficking. The HIDTA program enhances and coordinates drug control efforts among local, State, and Federal law enforcement agencies. The program provides agencies with coordination, equipment, technology, and additional resources to combat drug trafficking and its harmful consequences in critical regions of the United States.

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