THE UNION Articles on
Meth -- December 2005
Gizmos don't tip off alleged pot growers, Dave Moller, December 31, 2005
Ex-meth addict changes for son, Robyn Moormeister, December 26, 2005
Officers find 'new drug' during bust, Robyn Moormeister, December 21, 2005
Meth user's fate in judge's hands, Trina Kleist, December 9, 2005
Plea is filed on 15 drug charges, Robyn Moormeister, December 8, 2005
Life-long meth addict slips up, Trina Kleist, December 3, 2005
Walking in the shoes of a meth addict, Shirl Mendonca, December 2, 2005
Education key to winning meth war, Lindy Beatie, December 2, 2005
Gizmos don't tip off alleged pot growers
By Dave Moller, davem@theunion.com
December 31, 2005An elaborate set of surveillance cameras and monitors in and around a Peardale home failed to warn suspected marijuana growers that police had surrounded them late Wednesday night.
Despite the electronic gear, the Nevada County Sheriff's Narcotics Task Force nabbed five people on Avery Way for a variety of drug offenses.
According to Sgt. Bill Evans, "They were in the garage" when officers sprung their trap, instead of in the home where the monitors were. "They had a dozen or so surveillance cameras and monitors everywhere in the house."
Evans said Brenda Oldfield, 47, and Dennis McGlynn, 42, appeared to be in charge of the indoor growing site. They were booked into the Wayne Brown Correctional Facility for cultivating marijuana, possessing LSD and methamphetamine.
Oldfield remained in jail late Friday afternoon on an $11,000 bail. McGlynn was also still incarcerated on a bail of $10,000.
Officers also found suspected hallucinogens, such as Ecstasy and psilocybin mushrooms, at the home and a substance that will be analyzed. Evans said the bust was not related to a San Juan Ridge raid just before Christmas that also produced suspected LSD, psilocybin and a new drug called 2C-1.Several pounds of processed, ready-to-sell marijuana were seized, along with 45 plants in various stages of growth, Evans said.
Also arrested at the site on suspicion of possessing a hypodermic needle and syringe were Deeawn Scruby, 26, and Bruce Heaton, 43. Scruby was being held on an out-of-county warrant for $7,500, as was Heaton for $10,000.
Steven Johnson, 46, was arrested on suspicion of possessing drug paraphernalia. Johnson was in jail on a no-bail parole hold.
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To contact senior staff writer Dave Moller, e-mail davem@theunion.com or call 477-4237.
Ex-meth addict changes for son
By Robyn Moormeister, robynm@theunion.com
December 26, 2005Three years ago, Randy Duncan didn't have much to live for.
He was addicted to methamphetamine, had no car and was living in a tool shed.
"I was a product of the '60s," he said. "I smoked my first joint with my dad when I was 9. In the '80s it was alcohol and cocaine. In the '90s it was meth."
When he was sure things couldn't get any worse, they quickly did.
Shortly after Duncan's son Vinnie was born on Christmas morning in 2002, his wife was sent to prison for drug-related crimes.
Duncan couldn't take a clean drug test, so Vinnie was placed into foster care.
Then something powerful happened. To this day, Duncan can't quite explain it.
"I didn't know what I was going to do," Duncan said, "I just knew I wanted the baby. I knew the baby needed me."
Duncan, who had been using drugs most of his life, could have been sent to prison for his drug offenses, but a Nevada County Superior Court judge sentenced him to drug rehabilitation instead.
Duncan said the first time he ever prayed in his life was the night before he went to court.
He knew it was his only chance.
"I'm all (Vinnie) has," Duncan said. "I don't get the luxury of a relapse.
He went through the rigors of drug court and daily Narcotics Anonymous meetings, and he regained full custody of his son.
He began to see that other people believed in him. His landlord gave him a break when he was six months late with his rent. The staff at Community Recovery Resources told him he was going to be a success story.
"They helped me realize I wasn't a bad person," he said. "I have a disease."
Duncan has been clean and sober for 19 months now. It hasn't been easy. There have been rough times when he's thought about using drugs again -he broke his knee in April and a woman broke his heart shortly afterwards.
"I felt like using but I remember praying," he said. "I said please don't let me return to that life. I believe in the power of prayer."
Now Duncan does roofing jobs during the day with his older son, 19, and spend his evenings with Vinnie.
His eyes filled with tears. He looked at his son and beamed.
"These rewards are unbelievable," he said.
"I never could have imagined the kind of happiness I have now. It's a euphoric feeling I've been searching for all of my life."
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To contact staff writer Robyn Moormeister, e-mail robynm@theunion.com or call 477-4236.
Officers find 'new drug' during bust
By Robyn Moormeister, robynm@theunion.com
December 21, 2005Deputies were surprised to find a drug they had never heard of during a pot bust off of North Bloomfield Road Tuesday.
Nevada County Sheriff's Lt. Ron Smith said deputies from the Nevada County Sheriffs Narcotics Task Force discovered "2C-1," a synthetic hallucinogen, during a warrant search of Zachary M. Fisher's property off of North Bloomfield Road.
"We found a new drug," Smith said. "We've never seen it before."
That drug, 2C-1, can come in the form of a white powder and is often found in a pill form, according to information on the Internet. It has some popularity in Europe and has a short history of use.
Deputies also seized 51 marijuana plants grown indoors, several doses of LSD and one ounce of psychedelic, or "psilocybin" mushrooms from the residence.
Fisher, 22, was arrested and booked into the Wayne Brown Correctional Facility on suspicion of cultivation of marijuana, distributing marijuana and possession of a controlled substance.ooo
To contact staff writer Robyn Moormeister, e-mail robynm@the union.com or call 477-4236.
Meth user's fate in judge's hands
By Trina Kleist, trinak@theunion.com
December 9, 2005A life-long methamphetamine user who briefly cleaned up before falling back into addiction faces the possibility of returning to prison after a recent probation violation.
On Thursday, Nevada County Superior Court Judge Robert Tamietti set a date of Jan. 24 to decide the fate of Matthew M. Bandy.
In addition, Bandy will be arraigned on Dec. 12 on a separate felony charge of illegally having a billy club, Deputy District Attorney Clifford Newell said.
However, a drug charge against Bandy, stemming from a March arrest, was dismissed in courtroom procedures that lasted throughout the morning.
As the result of a 2000 drug arrest, Bandy was ordered into Adult Drug Court. He graduated from the intensely supervised rehabilitation program nearly two years later, began five years of probation and stayed clean for another year and a half.
But a work injury and a crushing motorcycle accident in 2004 left him in severe pain and out of a job. Bandy was arrested four times starting in mid-2004 on drug and probation violations.
Those violations could lead to a four-year prison sentence, according to the terms of the 2000 sentencing. Bandy is asking for another chance at rehabilitation.
Defense lawyer Gregory Klein, of Nevada City, said the charges against Bandy are relatively minor, despite his long history of arrests.
"He doesn't belong in prison," Klein said.
To contact staff writer Trina Kleist, e-mail trinak@theunion.com or call 477-4231.
Plea is filed on 15 drug charges
Suspect hopes for rehabilitation, not prison
By Robyn Moormeister
Staff writer, robynm@theunion.com
December 8, 2005Dwaine Frye, who was sitting in jail on a $1.5 million bond, pleaded no contest to a total of 15 drug charges Wednesday, hoping for rehabilitation instead of prison.
By pleading no contest to a slew of drug charges stemming from four arrests since December 2004, the repeat offender has surrendered his bargaining power with the Nevada County District Attorney's Office and is at the mercy of Nevada County Superior Court Judge John Darlington.
"It's quite a gamble," said Nevada County Public Defender Thomas Anderson before Wednesday's hearing. "It's a plea based on hope."
The maximum sentence for the combined charges is 16 years and eight months in prison and a $10,000 fine.
Darlington may impose the maximum sentence, while Anderson is hoping the judge will send Frye to a two-year residential drug treatment program in Fremont.
Frye's latest entanglements with the law began in December 2004, when he was arrested on suspicion of possession, sale and transportation of methamphetamine.
The 43-year-old Frye and his wife, Jeana Lavios Frye, each posted bond on $35,000 bail. They were arrested in April on the same charges and each posted bond on $50,000 bail.
In July, he was arrested again on the same charges. Bail was set at $500,000, and bail for the April arrest also was raised to $500,000. The latest arrest on Nov. 2 was again on the same charges and bail was set at $500,000, bringing his total bail amount to $1.5 million.
Frye's family and several friends were present at Tuesday's hearing, including some people who said he had actually helped them overcome their own addictions.
Amanda Sells, 25, said she has been off of drugs for four years and credits Frye for her ability to stay clean. During the years Frye was off of drugs, he sat in on adult court and interned with the Nevada County Substance Abuse Treatment and Recovery system."He's the only real father figure I've ever had," Sells said. "He's the reason I get to see my kids now."
Frye is scheduled for sentencing at 3 p.m. Jan. 30.
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To contact staff writer Robyn Moormeister, e-mail robynm@theunion.com or call 477-4236.
Life-long meth addict slips up in the transition between Drug Court and probation
by Trina Kleist, trinak@theunion.com
December 3, 2005
Matthew Mark Bandy is what law enforcement people call a "frequent flier."
At the Nevada County Sheriff's Office, records show 28 arrests since 1991, most drug-related. Courthouse records show Bandy has been involved with at least 51 cases going back to 1980, the beginning of computerized records; again, mostly for drugs.
Bandy, 43, has a history with the law going back to age 12. He is now in the county jail awaiting the court process for his latest arrest on Nov. 28 on a minor weapons charge and violating probation.
Despite his lifetime of methamphetamine addiction and dealing, Bandy's story offers insight into how today's local court system helps repeat drug offenders.
It shows how the good stitched together in the courts can unravel when a recovering addict goes from the highly structured environment of Adult Drug Court to the real world of probation and bad old habits.
It shows the power to be found in the community of addicts fighting to stay clean.
And Bandy's story shows that none of that will work until the individual wants to recover and stay sober more than he wants to get high.
A lifetime of dope, prison
At the Wayne Brown Correctional Facility this week, Matthew Bandy wore a jail uniform of orange shirt and trousers that covered faded blue tattoos on his arms and legs. His shaven hair had grown out slightly to a pale fuzz. His blue eyes looked out through the thick glass across the cement visitor's stall and his voice came through a telephone.
"My mom and dad were alcoholics. I could do whatever I wanted," Bandy said. He dropped out of school after 10th grade and first tasted meth when he was 17.
"Meth is a dangerous thing," Bandy said, leaning forward on his thick arms. "I don't care what kind of crisis you have. It puts you in a state of mind that you don't have any problems."
So he learned to solve his problems by getting high, and paid for it by selling dope.
Convicted of dealing, Bandy served time in state prison. He said he couldn't remember them all, but there's San Quentin, Folsom, Solano and Susanville for starters.
"There's no recovery in prison," he said. "It's easier to get meth in prison than on the street."
Convicted of dealing again in 2000 and sentenced to more prison time, Bandy wound up in Adult Drug Court. The rehabilitation program is supported by a network of county agencies and headed by Nevada County Superior Court Judge John H. Darlington. It's an alternative to prison for non-violent drug offenders.
Getting clean
Under the highly structured Drug Court system, Bandy cleaned up and stayed on the wagon. He received counseling and attended 12-Step meetings several times a week. He submitted to regular urine tests. He reported to Darlington every two weeks.
In nearly two years of the Drug Court program, Bandy never missed a court date.
"When he graduated (in late 2002), everybody was so excited because he's had such a hard life," said Denise Clark, a recovering meth addict whose 8-year marriage to Bandy ended in 1991.
Under the terms of his original sentence, Bandy then went on five years of supervised probation. The terms included random drug testing at the request of a law enforcement officer, attending 12-Step program meetings four times a week and showing proof of attendance to his probation officer, whom Bandy was to meet at least monthly.
Work took Bandy out of the area for more than a year. Being far from the old gang, he stayed clean, and called in periodically to his probation officer.
But when Bandy returned to Nevada County in 2004, the wheels started coming off the wagon.
First, he didn't go back to his routine of 12-Step meetings several times each week. In those meetings, fellow addicts work a rigorous program of owning up to their need for the drug and their inability to manage it by themselves.
"I told myself, I didn't have time for meetings because I was wore out" from working so hard with his brother's tree service company, Bandy said.
Then he started "running around."
Then, he injured his sciatic nerve in a work-related accident. Then, his body was twisted and his head banged up in a motorcycle accident.
In pain and idle, Bandy turned to his old problem-solver: meth.
Support key element
Bandy said he realizes his mistake: He didn't turn to the other recovering addicts who could have kept him honest about what he was doing.
"I was all cured," said Bandy, recalling his attitude at the time. "I figured I could handle it. I had gotten more educated now. But meth, it's an evil, evil thing."
Darlington said he generally sees two kinds of people in his courtroom: the ones who understand they need to stay connected to the groups of other recovering addicts, and the ones who think they are done when they graduate from the program.
"The ones that see graduation as a stage of their recovery are the ones with the greatest chance of sucess," Darlington said.
Shelley Rogers, another recovering addict who went through Drug Court during the time Bandy was there, agreed that staying connected is crucial to staying clean. Failure to see that need, Rogers said, is "a common thread among those who fall off the wagon."
Back to dealing
Bandy fell into the common illusion meth addicts nurse: He thought he was in control.
"It's like a comittee upstairs" in his head, he said. "You convince yourself, 'I can do it and get away with it and stop by this date.' Once you're convinced, it's over."
Bandy was arrested for dealing dope in July 2004 and ordered into a stricter mode of probation. His probation officer reported that Bandy's attitude toward complying with the probation terms was "poor."
"It appears that he has not been successful in distancing himself from a drug-related lifestyle," the officer wrote.
Bandy was arrested again in March 2005, and in July, and on Nov. 3 on drug charges. On Nov. 28, he was picked up again. He'll be in court for a hearing on his case at 1:30 p.m. Dec. 8.
Bandy said he hoped Darlington and the Drug Court system would give him another chance to recover. He said he wants to be clean. He said he knows he can't do it alone.
"I want it bad, but prison ain't gonna help. I know what they have there," Bandy said. "The support programs make you feel valued. There's a spot in this world for you."
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Services available
A wide range of services for recovering addicts and their families are available in western Nevada County. For more information, call Community Recovery Resources in Grass Valley at 273-9541.
Numerous 12-Step programs are available in or near Western Nevada County. For a partial list, call CORR or go to www.corr.us/localresourses.htm.
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To contact staff writer Trina Kleist, e-mail trinak@theunion.com or call 477-4231.
Lake Wildwood: Walking in the shoes of a meth addict
By Shirl Mendonca
December 2, 2005
A lot is being written about the local drug problem, especially the devastating effects of methamphetamine. That may be why our bookstores have been sold out of the "Oprah" book club selection, "A Million Little Pieces," in which author James Frey gives a firsthand account of his life on drugs and his rehab experience.
Many years ago, I had offered my home as a safe haven to someone trying to withdraw from methadone. You may remember that back in the '70s, methadone was provided to addicts as a way to get off of harder drugs, but the client was still addicted. At that time, there was not a lot of information about addiction so I did not know what I was getting myself into. This was a very difficult and raw process to watch someone go through, so I was looking forward to reading this book to get a better understanding of what an addict is dealing with.
I finally got my copy and had the opportunity to join a book club discussion earlier this week in LWW. There were 11 other women in the group including Sally Amrein, Terry Andrews, Holly Bennett, Linda Campbell, Gail Emery, Nancy Jensen, Janet Lalli, Kathy Murphy, Doris Ng, Jan Walden, Cheryl Wallington and Marilyn Westrum.
This was a three-hour meeting and not for the faint of heart. The first hour was spent having breakfast, "catching up," deciding how the group would sponsor a family or organization over the Christmas holidays, and scheduling the next two books to be read. Then the serious discussion began.
Sally Amrein is the monthly discussion leader for this group and came well prepared with background on the author and discussion questions. She had obviously done substantial research to be able to lead this group through a lively and thought-provoking two-hour discussion. Several of the women were retired teachers and were familiar with how drugs in families had affected a few of the children they taught. Still others were aware of problems that had occurred in LWW. Others had been to one or more of the recent town hall meetings. I was the only one who had firsthand experience with an addict.
For those who have not read the book, James Frey kept a journal while he was in rehab, and this became the basis for his book. His writing style conveys how he felt at the time so you, as the reader, can feel the chaos going on in his head as he tells his story; it brought back lots of painful memories of what I had witnessed so many years ago. Feeling like you are "in his shoes" may be one of the best ways we have of finding compassion for the addict and finding solutions to the problem we are all being forced to face.
And that is exactly what these women wanted to know. How can they help? What can be done to help addicts and to protect others from being victims. How can we get meth out of our community?
An interesting side discussion that came up was the danger of using coffee makers in hotel rooms. If these coffee makers can be used to cook meth, then sterilizing them with boiling water several times before use is imperative.
While the group did not come up with any "aha" ideas, it was a great discussion and made everyone much more aware of the problem, which is the first step to finding solutions. This book would be a good recommendation for anyone wanting to have a better understanding of what we are up against in Nevada County.
Got a tip about someone or something in Lake Wildwood? Contact Shirl Mendonca at 432-3787 or shirlmentdonca@gv.net via e-mail.
Other Voices: Education key to winning meth war
By Lindy Beatie
December 2, 2005
Over the last few weeks, I have learned much about meth and a few of the many issues surrounding this devastating addiction. I've learned about the challenges of recovery, dealing with children, law enforcement, the court system and health issues.
It's been enlightening, to say the least, for a person like me who grew up in the '60s and '70s feeling fairly savvy about drugs, wondering why this one is so different.
I've learned all this through a series of shows United Way of Nevada County is taping for NCTV called "Community Focus: Moving in on Meth." The program started four weeks ago and features a different topic each week. It will continue through January. The first show reviewed the Grand Jury findings released earlier this year in its report ("The Price You Pay for Meth and What you don't know can hurt you; Methamphetamine in Nevada County"). The costs of incarceration and probation are staggering - over $24,000 to prosecute, defend, incarcerate and monitor probation of one person. Based on the Grand Jury figures, that means approximately $58 per day per inmate.
But that's only the tip of the iceberg. Over the last few weeks, I've interviewed recovering addicts who educated me on the struggle to stay clean; law enforcement officers who repeatedly arrest drug offenders for theft, assault and fraud, in addition to drug use; and grandparents with grandchildren they've raised since they were babies.
I've listened to Child Advocate volunteers talk about children caught in the child protective services systems who deal with judges, lawyers and social workers as a part of their everyday lives. And I've learned about the successes of programs such as Drug Court and the promise of programs in other counties.
But probably the greatest revelation for me so far was learning from law enforcement and health professionals about the social development of a person who takes meth.
An addict's development stops at the age the addiction begins. This means that a 38-year-old recovering addict who started at 17 and who has children may not be prepared to accept the responsibility of parenthood or have any of the other life skills society expects of a 38-year-old. Just this simple fact has huge ramifications for any county.
There is so much more to learn about why this drug is dangerous and highly addictive.
We've all heard about how it only takes once or twice and you're hooked. Meth affects the central nervous system. It results in hyperactivity, aggressive behavior, malnutrition and severe depression. Chronic users develop sores on their bodies, have low-weight babies and may develop fatal kidney and lung disease, brain or liver damage, and permanent mental health problems. Taking into consideration all the additional health-care costs alone to the community, the additional $2 per person per day for inpatient care seems like a bargain.
So my interviews will continue. They will feature many other aspects of this addiction: child addicts, food and housing issues, environmental issues, recovery programs, workplace drug testing programs, mental health issues, solutions from other counties, where to go for help, and finally, what steps we, as a community, can take to secure a safe and healthy community.
Previous shows can be viewed at www.nevadacountytv.org. For current shows, visit NCTV's listing in The Union for weekly show times. If you think of any other topics or have a meth story to tell, e-mail me at director@uwnc.org. Because the better educated we are about this subject, the better equipped we'll be to face the challenges and find solutions.
Lindy Beatie is the executive director of the United Way of Nevada County.