Thursday, January 29, 2015
Tip From Alert Store Employees Lead To Meth Arrests
Security personnel at a Lawrenceburg business tipped police officers to suspicious actions of a couple last week, resulting in the pair being arrested after meth lab components were found inside their vehicle.
According to reports filed through the Lawrenceburg Police Department, officers were contacted by security personnel at Walmart and responded to the North Locust Avenue business. Security personnel reported that a man and woman were inside the store “acting suspiciously.”
They said that the man had picked up a pack of lithium batteries and it looked as if he had concealed them inside his coat. The woman, they said, had picked up a container of Coleman fuel. Both are components commonly associated with the manufacture of methamphetamine.
Security personnel said that they had lost sight of the male. Officers report they made contact with the female suspect, thirty-four year old Talia Michelle Hensley of 9 Valley Road, as she exited the front door carrying the Coleman fuel. Once the male subject, Jacob Allen Atwell, 21, of 5719 Wayland Springs Road, exited the store officers approached him, as well.
Although Atwell denied having taken any batteries officers report finding some in his jacket pocket. They report that Hensley had been driving their vehicle despite the fact that her driver’s license had been revoked.
Both were subsequently placed under arrest. Hensley told officers that she had purchased the fuel because “her house was cold and she was going to use it in her heater to keep warm.” Atwell, on the other hand, said that she had bought the fuel because “he was sleeping outdoors in a tent and she (Hensley) was going to let him use her heater.”
Once they gained consent, officers conducted a search of the couple’s 2006 Ford Ranger truck. They found two black backpacks inside. In the pack belonging to Hensley officers found marijuana, used syringes, a spoon with drug residue, Suboxone strips, a meth pipe, a plastic bag full of marijuana seeds, digital scales, flashlights, pliers, knives, a butane torch, cotton swabs, gloves, a bottle containing an unknown clear liquid, and a receipt showing that other meth lab components had been purchased.
Inside Atwell’s pack officers report finding butane torches, digital scales, coffee filters, electrical tape, cotton swabs, plastic baggies, gloves, flashlights, waterproof matches, power cords, and miscellaneous tools. A glass jar and funnel were also located inside the truck.
Officers asked Hensley to empty her pockets. When she did so, they found that she was in possession of $2,569 in cash. While processing the evidence, officers discovered that two of the coffee filters found inside Atwell’s pack contained a white powdery substance. Field tests revealed that the substance was meth.
Officers report that, based on the theft of the batteries, purchase of the fuel, Hensley’s criminal history (two prior meth-related convictions), and the discovery of multiple meth components inside their truck, both Hensley and Atwell were issued drug charges.
Both were transported to the Lawrence County Detention Center where Hensley was booked under charges of promotion of the manufacture of meth, simple possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, and driving on a revoked license. Atwell was charged with possession of meth, promotion of the manufacture of meth, and theft of property.
The contraband was seized along with the cash, which is believed to be proceeds from illegal drug sales.
