Chad Abshire
Staff Writer
WILLIAMSON — A Mingo County couple was arrested late Tuesday night and charged with multiple accounts of drug trafficking.
Don Arnold, 66, and Wilma Vance, 56, were arrested by Mingo County Sheriff Eugene Crum and Mingo County Drug Task Force Commander and Williamson Chief of Police, C.D. Rockel, at their home in Justice.
Crum told the Daily News that controlled buys had been made from the couple at least three times, and that on other occasions, the pair had conspired to deliver their schedule-II controlled substance of choice, Oxycodone. Rockel told the Daily News that the couple’s suppliers were out-of-state doctors and that information on those doctors would be forwarded to the Drug Enforcement Agency.
Both Arnold and Vance were arraigned before Magistrate Dallas Toler. Arnold was charged with two counts of delivery of a controlled substance, one count of delivery of a controlled substance within 1,000 feet of a school and conspiracy to deliver a controlled substance. His bond was set at $60,000 cash.
Vance was charged with two counts of conspiracy to deliver a controlled substance and one count of delivery of a controlled substance. Her bond was set at $50,000 cash.
Each charge is a felony, with penalties of delivery being 1-15 years and up to a $25,000 fine and conspiracy 1-5 years and up to a $10,000 fine. Both Arnold and Vance were lodged within the Southwestern Regional Jail, in Holden, as of presstime.
Rockel said that since the crimes were facilitated within Vance’s home, a vehicle and an RV, those properties would be confiscated and possibly be subject to asset forfeiture in court. Other items may still be seized as they may have been obtained through, as Rockel put it, “ill-gotten means.” Approximately $1,400 in cash and a quantity of pills were also seized at the scene.
A total of 16 officers participated in the drug bust, including officers from the Williamson Police Department, Gilbert Police Department and the Mingo County Sheriff’s Department.
“We want to thank the mayors of those municipalities in letting us use their officers,” Crum said. “They’re needed.”
Rockel said that, similar to an earlier drug bust this year, members of the community came out and thanked the officers for doing their jobs in arresting drug traffickers.
However, Crum said that he sometimes hears complaints from the public about how rare the drug busts are and accusations that the police aren’t working, but asked for the public’s patience, saying “this isn’t a quick fix.”
But both Rockel and Crum thanked the public for its assistance in this bust, saying that the tips they had received proved invaluable and helped make the arrests possible.
“We appreciate all the tips we get,” Rockel said. “Keep them coming.”
Tips can be made anonymously to the Mingo County Sheriff’s Department by calling 304-235-0300.
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