Thursday, May 14, 2009

Scuffle Between Brothers Lead To Mmarijuana Bust

   Law enforcement officers dispatched Tuesday to intervene in an altercation between brothers during which shots had been fired, ultimately arrested two individuals on charges of manufacturing marijuana.

   Deputies with the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Department caught the 6:00 p.m. call out to a home situated at 208 Cobb Alley in Leoma. When they arrived they confronted brothers Kelvin and Bart Kelsoe about the altercation.

   Bart informed deputies that he and his brother had been engaged in a verbal argument when Kelvin “pulled out a handgun and fired…” He stated that he then went back inside the house.

   Kelvin reported to deputies that his brother had been “verbally abusive toward their mother,” and that he wanted him to leave. He admitted he had obtained his Parabellum 9mm handgun and fired two shots into the air. He indicated that he had been standing beside his truck at the time, and that his brother had been on the front porch. Deputies reported finding a spent shell casing lying in the driveway.

   Deputies learned that a the driver of a white Chevrolet El Camino had pulled into the drive shortly after the incident, had stayed a few minutes, then left. The vehicle was located a short distance away, near the Cobb Alley/Rabbit Trail Road intersection. When they approached the vehicle, deputies report they could readily see that there was a white bucket in the rear of the vehicle that had two marijuana plants growing inside.

   A trace of the vehicle license plate lead deputies to speak with Michael Hughes, who had also been at the Kelsoe home. After obtaining permission to conduct a search of the vehicle, deputies report finding ten more plants growing in containers, as well as a glass pipe and a set of digital scales.

   Deputies report they determined that Hughes and Kelvin Kelsoe “were giving false statements about the incident.” They both then began cooperating with the investigation, indicating that they had placed the containers into Hughes’ vehicle to move them away from the house before law enforcement officials arrived. Kelvin Kelsoe also allegedly admitted he had given his gun to a friend, who had left the area with it. The friend was subsequently contacted and returned the gun to the scene.

   Deputies reported also finding approximately 47 Xanax pills lying in the yard, close to where the 9mm casing was found. All, however, denied ownership.

   As a result of the investigation Kelvin Kelsoe, age 41, was placed under arrest on charges that include aggravated assault, reckless endangerment, filing a false police report and manufacturing marijuana.

   Michael Andrew Hughes, age 26, was arrested on charges of manufacturing marijuana, filing a false police report and possession of drug paraphernalia.

   Both Kelsoe and Hughes are slated to answer the charges through Lawrence County General Sessions Court on Monday, June 15, 2009.