THE UNION Articles on
Meth -- August
Charges stem from meth bust, Trina Kleist, August 23, 2005
Police chase yields meth arrest, Trina Kleist, August 24, 2005
Supervisors: Meth help necessary, Becky Trout, August 24, 2005
Supervisor urges Bush to focus on meth, Becky Trout, August 22, 2005
Hearings held for Penn Valley meth raid suspects, Trina Kleist, August 22, 2005
Woman pleads guilty in meth raid, Trina Kleist, August 12, 2005
Drug court success story praised, Trina Kleist, August 9,2005
Woman pleads in meth case, Trina Kleist, August 3, 2005
Meth devours our small-town life, Jeff Ackerman, August 2, 2005
Traffic stop leads to $50K drug find, Sierra Sun, Renée Shadforth, August 2, 2005
By Trina Kleist,
trinak@theunion.com
August 23, 2005
Court hearings were held recently for several people arrested in a July 28 raid in Penn Valley. They are facing various charges related to methamphetamine possession and sale:
• Felony child endangerment charges against Shilo Wells, 25, of Penn Valley, were reduced to a misdemeanor endangerment charge on Aug. 11. However, the judge denied her request to reduce her bail, previously set at $150,000. A preliminary hearing is set for Aug. 30.
• Leslie Schofield, 25, also of Penn Valley, had a preliminary hearing set for Aug. 30. He is the father of Wells' 3-year-old son, who was in the apartment at the time of the raid. Drugs, related items and weapons were found within reach of the two children found in the residence on Broken Oak Court, county narcotics officers said.
• Bradley Stewart, 25, also of Penn Valley, had misdemeanor child-endangerment charges added to his case. A pretrial conference was set for Thursday and a preliminary hearing for Aug. 30.
• Gregory Liddle, 30, of Grass Valley, had a preliminary hearing set for Aug. 30 on charges of possession and possession for sale.
Liddle also faced unrelated charges involving an alleged theft of $100 from the Grass Valley Jack in the Box on June 19. Those charges were dismissed during a preliminary hearing, also on Aug. 11.
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To contact staff writer Trina Kleist, e-mail trinak@theunion.com or call 477-4231.
Police chase yields meth arrest
By Trina Kleist,
trinak@theunion.com
August 24, 2005
A Nevada City man, who reportedly led Grass Valley police on a short chase, was being held Tuesday at Wayne Brown Correctional Facility on suspicion of having methamphetamine for sale.
Police sighted Matthew Roberts, 21, late Sunday while Roberts was driving on Ridge Road, and they identified him as having several vehicle code violations, Police Capt. Dave Remillard said. Roberts turned onto Hughes Road and did not stop when officers turned on their lights and siren, Remillard said.
Police continued to follow as Roberts sped up, but they stopped the pursuit when he reached East Main Street out of concern for public safety, Remillard said.
They later found Roberts near his car on Catherine Street. He took off on foot but soon stopped and officers arrested him without further incident, Remillard said.
Upon searching Roberts' vehicle, police found seven grams of methamphetamine and smaller amounts of the drug in other bags. They also found scales, drug packaging materials and tools that could be used to commit burglary, Remillard said.
At the time of his arrest, Roberts was on probation for other violations that could not be determined late Tuesday, Remillard said.
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To contact staff writer Trina Kleist, e-mail trinak@theunion.com or call 477-4231.
Supervisors: Meth help necessary
By Becky Trout,
beckyt@theunion.com
August 24, 2005
President George W. Bush will soon receive a message from Nevada County: Methamphetamine, more than marijuana, begs for federal attention.
"The administration's policy is misguided," Nevada County Supervisor Nate Beason said Tuesday morning.
Frustrated by the Bush Administration's plans to direct more resources toward fighting pot while cutting support for measures against methamphetamine, Beason conceived of the idea to send the nation's leader a letter.
On Tuesday, his four fellow supervisors concurred.
"Methamphetamine is a crisis," Supervisor Sue Horne said.
She approved of the letter - with a slight addition, that the Bush Administration should be lauded for directing additional money toward the drug war - but took a stronger stand on marijuana than her colleagues, pointing out its users are "heading down a wrong path."
Marijuana is a "gateway drug," the supervisors agreed, but "marijuana is considered a lot more lackadaisically here in Nevada County," said Supervisor Robin Sutherland said.
Lobbying for additional federal money is a worthwhile strategy, Sutherland said, but it is also important to focus local efforts on the problem.
"I don't think we have done that seriously in the past," Sutherland said.
The supervisors' letter, which politely requests the administration to shift its priorities, will be enhanced with the testimony of Jill Curtis, a south county woman who has battled the addiction's grip on her family.
Her son's father is currently in a convalescent facility, enfeebled by meth, she said.
"Unfortunately, my kids are paying the price," Curtis said.
"God help us, this is the terrorist in our county. It's not just in Nevada County, it's everywhere."
Curtis said she plans to start a chapter of Mothers Against Methamphetamine in Nevada County. For more information, contact cjilllyc2004@yahoo.com via e-mail.
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To contact staff writer Becky Trout, e-mail beckyt@theunion.com or call 477-4234.
Supervisor urges Bush to focus on meth
By Becky Trout,
beckyt@theunion.com
August 22, 2005
Nevada County Supervisor Nate Beason believes that curbing the use of methamphetamine, not marijuana, should be the federal government's top target in the war on drugs.
Know and Go
What: Nevada County Board of Supervisors consideration of a letter asking President Bush to focus on fighting methamphetamine abuse.
When: 10 a.m. Tuesday
Where: Rood Administrative Center, 950 Maidu Ave., Nevada City.The former Naval officer and first-term elected supervisor plans to introduce a resolution Tuesday meant to encourage President George W. Bush to shift his administration's priorities and tackle meth.
Marijuana is a popular drug that can lead users to other, more dangerous drugs, Beason said. But "the real immediate danger is meth."
That opinion is not shared by the Bush administration, which plans to focus on controlling the use of marijuana next year while slashing the amount of money states will get to combat meth."We believe the problem of methamphetamine use is a higher priority and the wide range of financial, social and economic impacts it is having on our community must be immediately addressed," states the letter Beason proposes sending to Bush.
beckyt@theunion.com or call 477-4234.
With the support of area law enforcement officials and social workers, Beason thinks his effort will find favor with his fellow supervisors.
At least one other member of the elected panel - Sue Horne - is on board with Beason.
"I absolutely would support more resources at the federal level being put into this crisis," Horne said Friday.
To contact staff writer Becky Trout, e-mail
Hearings held for Penn Valley meth raid suspects
Trina Kleist
trinak@theunion.com
Staff writer,
August 22, 2005
Court hearings were held recently for several people arrested in a July 28 raid in Penn Valley. They are facing various charges related to methamphetamine possession and sale:
• Felony child endangerment charges against Shilo Wells, 25, of Penn Valley, were reduced to a misdemeanor endangerment charge on Aug. 11. However, the judge denied her request to reduce her bail, previously set at $150,000. A preliminary hearing is set for Aug. 30.
• Leslie Schofield, 25, also of Penn Valley, had a preliminary hearing set for Aug. 30. He is the father of Wells’ 3-year-old son, who was in the apartment at the time of the raid. Drugs, related items and weapons were found within reach of the two children found in the residence on Broken Oak Court, county narcotics officers said.
• Bradley Stewart, 25, also of Penn Valley, had misdemeanor child-endangerment charges added to his case. A pretrial conference was set for Aug. 25 and a preliminary hearing for Aug. 30.
• Gregory Liddle, 30, of Grass Valley, was expected to have a pretrial conference today and a preliminary hearing Aug. 30 on charges of possession and possession for sale.
Liddle also faced unrelated charges involving an alleged theft of $100 from the Grass Valley Jack in the Box on June 19. Those charges were dismissed during a preliminary hearing, also on Aug. 11.
To contact staff writer Trina Kleist, e-mail trinak@theunion.com or call 477-4231.
Woman pleads guilty in meth raid
By Trina Kleist,
trinak@theunion.com
August 12, 2005
A Penn Valley woman arrested in a recent methamphetamine raid pleaded guilty Thursday to one count of felony drug possession and will enter a drug-rehabilitation program.
Jenelle Clark, 32, also pleaded guilty to child endangerment at a hearing at the Nevada County Courthouse. Superior Court Judge Robert Tamietti set Clark's sentence at 30 days.
Clark is being held at Wayne Brown Correctional Facility. When released, she will be required to return to Drug Court every two weeks to check in.
"I'm OK with it," Clark said about the plea deal.
Clark also said she was not a major dealer in the apartment on Broken Oak Court, where county narcotics officers reportedly found drugs, paraphernalia and weapons within reach of two children living there. One of the children is Clark's 12-year-old son.
The child-endangerment charge was reduced from a felony to a misdemeanor. A felony charge of possession with intent to sell was dismissed.The sentencing deal allows Clark to receive treatment instead of going to prison. Voters approved this approach with Proposition 36 in 2000, but its effectiveness remains debated. About one-third of those who participate in the program complete their treatment, according to a study by the University of California, Los Angeles.
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To contact staff writer Trina Kleist, e-mail trinak@theunion.com or call 477-4231.
Drug court success story praised
Former addict now helps others recover
By Trina Kleist, trinak@theunion.com
August 9, 2005
During his 30 years of drug addiction, Bob Rogers said, he used and sold a lot of methamphetamine.
But on Monday, people applauded him in Nevada County Drug Court for 28 months of sobriety and for helping some of the people he used to turn on to drugs.
"I've become part of something I once despised. I've joined the human race," the 48-year-old Nevada City resident read from an essay he had written for the occasion.
"Thank you, drug court," said the burly Rogers as he choked back tears. "Thank you for life."
Judge John Darlington handed Rogers a certificate for completing the drug court's treatment program - an alternative to the state criminal justice system for less serious drug offenders. Darlington praised Rogers for "becoming engaged in treatment as a lifelong process."
The packed gallery gave Rogers boisterous applause and the testimonials began, a kind of impromptu Narcotics Anonymous meeting.
"I'm Richard, and I'm an addict," said one man.
"Hi Richard," the entire courtroom chorused in reply.
The man named Richard said he considers Rogers a role model. "Without you thinking you're helping me, you are helping me."
A much younger man in an orange jail jumpsuit and handcuffs fought back tears.
"Phew, I'm scared," the young man said. "Watching you and how you've changed, being in a courtroom that hasn't given up on me - it makes me think recovery's possible for me."
Sheriff's Deputy Jim Cascii, the former narcotics officer whose arrest of Rogers in 2002 sparked Rogers' recovery, shook his hand.
"You give me in criminal law enforcement the renewed faith that programs like this can work," Cascii said.
Rogers' journey from addict to recovery poster boy is unusual, mostly for the happy ending.
A Brooklyn boy, Robert Rogers was a straight-A student until he first smoked marijuana.
"I got high when I was 14 and didn't stop until I was 46," he said.
After a stint in the Air Force, he moved to Nevada County and fell right in with the drug crowd. He began using and selling meth around 1985.
His first wife, Virginia Hall - now a drug-rehab mentor - said she started calling him 'Bob-noxious.'
He was the kind of guy who wore leather and chains and rode a motorcycle. He packed at least two loaded guns everywhere he went, and sometimes as many as nine, Rogers said.
He popped in and out of state prison for convictions on forgery, burglary, armed robbery, weapons and meth.
The last time Rogers got paroled, he came straight back to Nevada County and got high. That's when he met Shelley Hayes, who was out on parole on a meth possession charge. She was supposed to be in the drug court's recovery program, but they'd get high together. It was part of the relationship.
They got married. The legal brushes continued.
"I remember when it was the beginning of the end," Shelley Rogers, 43, said. "Jim Cascii was on our heels. I said, 'Honey, we've got to stop. We need to at least try.' But neither of us could stop."
Cascii busted the two of them on Thanksgiving Eve in 2002. In pictures from that period, Rogers looks old and gaunt. Eventually, they both got into treatment.
They went to Narcotics Anonymous meetings. They received intense individual counseling and marriage counseling - both crucial elements in their recovery, Shelley Rogers said.
Rehabilitation counselors, probation officers and former drug addicts turned mentors supported them.
"They listened. They were always there checking on us, wanting to know what we were doing on a daily basis," Shelley Rogers said.
Through NA's 12-step program, Rogers learned from scratch to deal with his emotions, to care for the feelings of others, to take responsibility for his actions and to seek help from a higher power.
"I've learned I'm not a bad man. I just did bad things because of my addiction," Rogers said.
Now, the Rogers welcome other recovering addicts into their home; four people live with them now. They receive no government money for what they do, which they started a year and a half ago.
They want to form an alumni association for people who have gone through drug court. The planning meeting will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday at Memorial Park in Grass Valley, followed by a barbecue.
"There's a gap between treatment and life," Shelley Rogers said. "We want (the association) to be a buffer because a lot of people fall through the cracks."
Mother claims innocence on multiple charges
By Trina Kleist,
trinak@theunion.com
August 3, 2005
A Penn Valley woman pleaded innocent Tuesday in Nevada County Superior Court to felony drug and child endangerment charges in connection with a methamphetamine laboratory that sheriff's deputies raided last week.
Jenelle J. Clark, 32, is the mother of a 12-year-old boy, one of two children found at the residence. Clark had been arrested on a felony charge of endangering a child, but county narcotics officers and the Nevada County District Attorney's Office added charges of drug possession, possession for sale, having drug paraphernalia and taking drugs into the county jail.
Clark is being held on $150,000 bond.
Arresting officers and prosecutors often add charges as they process a case and find evidence of criminal activity that was not apparent at the time of arrest, Detective Bill Smithers Jr., senior investigator with the county Narcotics Task Force, said.
Clark is among six people arrested July 28 at the apartment on Broken Oak Court. Four of those arrested are scheduled to be arraigned at 1 p.m. Thursday in Superior Court. A fifth person, Jessica M. Hoppis, 18, of Penn Valley, was charged with being under the influence and released on her own recognizance.
Information regarding the two children taken into custody could not be released due to privacy concerns, CPS program manager Rachel Pena said. The second child is a 3-year-old boy.
The arrests last week mark the first time different agencies have worked together in a concentrated effort under the new Drug-Endangered Children program, Smithers said. Several people from the Sheriff's Office and Child Protective Services have attended training in the statewide program to help agencies work together in cases involving children found in drug environments.
"In the past, CPS has been included in all of our cases," Smithers said. "But with this, we're really trying to push it and get the child endangerment charges."
Police typically call CPS when they suspect children are present at a meth lab. A social worker normally goes with officials making the arrests and takes custody of the children.
The children often are not allowed to take clothes or familiar toys because they are usually covered with the highly volatile compounds used to make meth, CPS social worker Kitty Vaars said.
Children are usually taken to a private room at the hospital where their blood and urine are tested for the presence of drugs. That information is returned to officials within 24 hours. If drugs are found in their system, the children would receive appropriate medical care. That information would also be used in later court proceedings, Pena said.
Social workers will look for an appropriate relative to take the child, or may have to send the child to a foster family. Even before court proceedings, social workers start working with the children and their parents to find out what services they need. That could include drug treatment, medical services and psychiatric or psychological services. Parents may also receive parenting training.
"The whole process is geared toward getting the family the services they need so the child can be safely returned home," Pena said.
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To contact staff writer Trina Kleist, e-mail trinak@theunion.com or call 477-4231.
Meth devours our small-town life
By Jeff Ackerman,
jeffa@theunion.com
August 2, 2005
I hate to keep bringing this up, but it seems we all have a purpose in life, and mine seems to be methamphetamine. As most of you know by now, I don't much care for it because it's destroying the fabric of Small Town America, and I happen to like Small Town America.
And every time I write about the synthetic and pathetic poison, I learn something new.
Last week, for example, I received an e-mail informing me that there's a company in Great Britain that sells some of the meth chemicals on the Internet. The company is called Raw Chemical International, Ltd., and the Web site is www.kno3.com.
According to the Web site, the company sells red phosphorus, commonly used to manufacture large quantities of meth. There's even a photo of the container, complete with a flame decal to indicate that it's not something to fiddle with. "Buy today we ship today!" boasts the Web site. They also offer "Fast Discreet Delivery" in the event you're wondering if your mommy will find out and start asking stupid questions.
"Billy. A package came for you today, and it's got a big, giant flame decal on it."
"Don't worry, mom. It's a science project."
If you would have ordered some red phosphorus before midnight July 31, you could have gotten one free container for every five you purchased. If you'd rather blow something up, the company also sells plastic igniters (complete with slow-burning cords).
"All information for order is completely confidential and will not be released to anyone," boasts the site. If you don't believe them, they encourage you to call them on the phone because, as they say, "We love to talk!"
What a coincidence. Meth addicts also love to talk. You can usually tell when someone is high on crank (which is easier to spell than methamphetamine) because they never shut up. At least not until their teeth fall out. The chemicals generally used to cook meth also work to unclog toilets and launch model rockets. "Clean it, peel it, snort it!" claims the marketing slogan. "Got a toilet that just won't flush? Want to give that home of yours a new shine? Tired of the same old teeth?"
The Oregon Legislature recently sent a memo to President Bush and Congress declaring that methamphetamine use in that state is "fracturing families, adversely affecting state and local resources and costing taxpayers millions of dollars for health care, treatment programs, police and fire protection." It urged the president to "encourage the president of Mexico to examine the issue of the manufacture of methamphetamine and the importation of methamphetamine and its precursor ingredients ..."
Oregon's lawmakers were pretty much reacting to an investigation by the Oregonian newspaper, which found that Mexico appears to be importing inordinate amounts of pseudoephedrine, which is destined for conversion into methamphetamine in "superlabs" in Mexico and smuggled into the United States. Which is why we are seeing the meth problem spread south to north and west to east faster than an urban sprawl.
A recent survey by the National Association of Counties found that meth is the No. 1 drug problem for law enforcement agencies in nearly 60 percent of responding counties, and that 87 percent of the responding law enforcement agencies report an increase in meth use over the past three years.
That's enough with the numbers. I think we're pretty much all convinced we have a crank problem right here in River City.
What to do? Great question. Maybe we start by paying a lot more attention to the daily meth-related arrests our law enforcement folks are making. We'll start with the most recent ones that appeared on page one of The Union Saturday (link to article in GJ Web pages). Six adults were arrested (two children were discovered living in the alleged crank house, as well) in Penn Valley on suspicion of selling methamphetamines. Additional charges of child neglect were also filed because there reportedly were syringes and crank materials within reach of the children.
We are keenly interested in how those suspects will be dealt with from beginning to end, wherever that leads. For various reasons (lack of evidence, etc.), the district attorney's office does not always agree with the arresting officer's recommendations. All too often we see charges reduced from sales to possession, or from manufacturing to simple possession, pretty much guaranteeing that the suspects will at best be sentenced under Prop 36 guidelines that don't happen to work for crank addicts. That might explain why we see a lot of the same mugs in our drug bust stories. At least they all have the same hollow faces and lifeless eyes.
There are no pharmacological treatments for meth dependence. The most effective treatment, according to experts, is "cognitive behavioral interventions, which modify a patient's thinking, expectations and behavior." You don't do that in 90 days, which is pretty much the standard Prop. 36 treatment plan. It's taken them 54 years to modify my thinking, and they're still working out the bugs.
Fortunately, I have lots of time on my hands. At least I hope so. I also have lots and lots of ink in my warehouse. I plan to keep this problem at the forefront until I get a sense that we are really trying to address this problem that threatens to tear us apart.
And maybe when we've done that, I'll turn my attention to ... I don't know ... dead skunks that litter our highways, forcing otherwise good citizens to cross a double yellow line to avoid the stink ...
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Jeff Ackerman is the publisher of The Union. His column appears on Tuesdays. Contact him at 477-4299, jeffa@theunion.com, or at 464 Sutton Way, Grass Valley 95945.
Traffic stop leads to $50K drug find
By Renée Shadforth
Sierra Sun
August 2, 2005
When California Highway Patrol officers pulled over a man and woman for speeding on Interstate 80 on Friday, they had no idea they would find a pound of speed in the couple’s car on Saturday.
Officers stopped Lacie Rogers, 19 of Carson City, for speeding near the Prosser Village exit, and they found she had a suspended driver’s license. Rogers was cited and her vehicle was towed to a storage yard in Truckee.
Rogers and her passenger, Victor Mediola-Serrano, 26 of Carson City, were given a ride into town to arrange for transportation home. On Saturday, a witness saw Rogers and Serrano poking around the auto storage yard, according to police reports. Truckee police and CHP officers responded to the yard and detained Rogers. Serrano fled into the woods, according to reports.
Police found Serrano after an extensive search. Following some investigation, officers determined that Serrano had been in the storage yard, attempting to remove something from the air duct of the stored vehicle.
The item was one pound of crystal methamphetamine, with a street value of more than $50,000, police said.
Truckee police obtained a search warrant for the stored car and the second vehicle Rogers and Serrano drove to the lot. Drug detection dogs indicated that there were several spots inside both cars that indicated the presence of drugs, but nothing was found, police said. Both vehicles had hiding spots built in for drugs, said Truckee police Detective Robert Womack.
Both Rogers and Serrano were booked in the Nevada County Truckee jail on charges of transportation of controlled substances, transportation across county lines, conspiracy, burglary and Serrano was also booked on resisting arrest.
The suspects haven’t been cooperative in interviews with police and are under investigation by the US Drug Enforcement Agency, said Truckee Chief of Police Scott Berry.
The suspects have been connected to several west coast distribution outlets of crystal methamphetamine, Berry said.