HCSO gets to keep cash, hopes to use it for jail job training center
The Hopkins County Sheriff’s Office has recently made two large strides in the fight against criminal bulk cash smuggling, according to Sheriff Lewis Tatum and Chief Investigator Corley Weatherford.
CASE ONE
On Aug. 20 at approximately 7:30 p.m., Deputy Colt Patterson stopped a silver Chevrolet truck at approximately the 126 mile marker of Interstate 30 for allegedly crossing the center line. When speaking to the vehicle’s occupants, Patterson allegedly found them to be deceptive, and therefore, with the help of his K-9 partner Chiv, conducted a probable cause search.
Patterson and Chiv found what appeared to be 2.4 grams of suspected cocaine and approximately 109,000 in cash hidden in interior components of the vehicle, according to reports.
Deputies took Dion Mitchell McLendon, 56, of Round Rock, into custody, and he was booked into HCSO jail on charges of money laundering from $30,000 to $150,000 and possession of a schedule one controlled substance from one to four grams, according to records. Bond was set at $40,000 and McLendon was released the next day, according to records.
CASE TWO
Then, only a little more than 24 hours later at 12:38 p.m. on Aug. 22, Lieutenant Amanda Weatherford attempted to assist a vehicle sitting on the north service road of I-30 at approximately the 120 mile marker.
However, according to reports, Lt. Weatherford observed suspected marijuana and pills sitting in plain view in the vehicle. While Lt. Weatherford returned to her patrol vehicle to run the vehicle occupants through the computer system in order to search for warrants, she allegedly observed them to make furtive movements inside the vehicle, the report said.
Upon confronting the man about his alleged activities while she was in her patrol vehicle, Lt. Weatherford believed he had been shoving items into the back of his pants, as he had “a large bulge in the backside of his underwear,” reports said.
After placing the man in handcuffs, HCSO conducted a probable cause search of the vehicle and located suspected marijuana, pills, suspected codeine, and approximately $10,000 in cash, according to Investigator Weatherford. The pills were later allegedly determined to be oxycodone weighing 2.39 grams, the report said.
Deputies took Byron Jamison Brown, 29, of Little Rock, AR into custody, and he was booked into HCSO jail on charges of money laundering from $2500 to $30,000 as well as possession of a schedule one controlled substance from one to four grams, possession of a schedule one substance substance less than one gram, and tamper/fabricate physical evidence with intent to impair, according to records. Bond was set at $40,000 and McLendon was released the same day, according to records.
MONEY LAUNDERING VS. MODERN POLICING
Although it is not illegal to travel with large sums of currency, “what it boils down to is what that currency is derived from,” Investigator Weatherford told the News-Telegram.
“In both of these cases, the currency was found with narcotics and was found in a manner consistent with concealment,” he said. “That’s not normal. You may get a large amount of money to go make a purchase, but that wouldn’t be packaged in the same way as if you were trying to transport it across the country for criminal activity.”
HCSO has neither been able to rule in--or out-- ties of these crimes to cartels or organized crime, Investigator Weatherford said.
“Crime along our interstate system, whether it’s a small group or large group isn’t determined,” he stated. “However, most of the drugs or money do have that connection.”
With the exception of some locally grown marijuana and small quantities of methamphetamine, Investigator Weatherford says that any drugs or large amounts of cash that make their way to or through Hopkins County have some connection to organized crime, whether foreign or domestic.
Both Investigator Weatherford and Sheriff Lewis Tatum credit the team of law enforcement officers at HCSO for their hard work at getting dangerous substances off the streets.
“Our interdiction team does a great job on the interstate and they work hard,” Investigator Weatherford said. “It’s not an easy job… it’s 99% boredom and 1% terror, because it’s monotonous activity stopping cars and then things go haywire really quick. We’re very proud of them, Deputy Patterson and Amanda [Lt. Weatherford] and all of them.”
While the nearly $120,000 in funds needs to be catalogued, documented and reported, HCSO will get to keep a large portion, Tatum said. Although HCSO is not sure yet how they will invest the seized funds, Tatum has his eye on a truck lift station for the HCSO’s job training program, located at approximately 254 East Houston St. The program is used to provide job training skills for the incarcerated as they reenter the workforce.