Deputies seize methamphetamine, arrest four
Vernon County Sheriff's Office deputies were all set to make a raid on a house in Nevada on Monday evening, when their plans unexpectedly changed.
Deputies expected to arrest five people at the house, but ended up taking three of them into custody during two traffic stops in the parking lot of the Wal-Mart Super Center in Nevada. The raid on a house at 502 S. West St. followed later in the evening with one arrest.
Vernon County Sheriff Jason Mosher said the four arrests were the result of the undercover investigation by his officers. During the traffic stops, Mosher said deputies seized several grams of what is thought to methamphetamine,
$700 believed to be used in drug transactions and paraphernalia such as syringes and a set of digital scales disguised as a cell phone.
The three individuals arrested at Wal-Mart have been identified as Meghan Tymeson, 29, Jennifer Rinker, 35 and Teresa Saunders, 34, all of Nevada. All three women have been charged with one count
of possession of a controlled sub-
stance with intent to distribute, a Class B felony.
Tymeson and Rinker are recent graduates of the Vernon County Adult Recovery Court program.
Arrested at the house was Lane V. Blankenship, 52, of Nevada. He has been charged with possession of a controlled substance and endangering the welfare of a child, both Class C felonies. Mosher said the man was intoxicated and possibly under the influence of drugs.
After the traffic stop, the three women were transported to the Vernon County Jail and interviewed by investigators.
After statements were taken, the five-man raid team was briefed on the operation by Chief Deputy Shayne Simmons.
Simmons told his deputies the location of the house and warned them they might encounter two men and a juvenile in the home.
He explained how the team was to approach and enter the house and where officers would enter and that they announce their presence before going inside. An ambulance was on standby, just in case anything went wrong.
Deputies donned a tactical shield, door buster, ballistic helmets, bullet proof vests and weapons. While they waited, they prepared repeatedly checked gear and practiced deploying from the back of the truck and the orderly manner in which they approach and enter a scene.
Officers "stack" in a tight line with each man touching the man in front of them. In the formation, the shield man leads the line and the deputy with the door buster follows. As they enter the house, each room is checked and the entire lower floor of the house is checked before the team moves upstairs.
The raid team rode in the back of a truck, with two support vehicles following. The team moved in on the house quickly. The team entered through the back door, the one most often used by the residents.
Nevada police were on the scene for support. Once deputies breached the door, they moved through the house quickly. About the only things visible from the outside were curtains moving and flashlight beams jabbing into dark areas.
After a short while, a deputy came out of the house carrying a 4-year-old boy and put him in the truck. A deputy stayed with the boy the entire time. The youngster asked for his shoes, and new blue shoes he had just gotten were retrieved from the house and put on the boy.
A representative of the Division of Family Services was called to the scene and arrived a little later.
Blankenship was the only suspect in the house and he was brought out with his hands cuffed and was almost immediately placed into a Nevada police car and taken to the Vernon County Jail.
Mosher said deputies seized what may be liquid methamphetamine and more drug paraphernalia.
Bond for the four was set at $100,00, cash only.