By RACHEL C. DOVE
Staff Writer
WILLIAMSON - A Mingo County resident who had managed to evade capture since being indicted in 2010 on drug related charges discovered his luck had come to an end on Monday, when he was taken into custody on two outstanding felony counts.
According to information received from Williamson City Police Chief C.D. Rockel, McKinley Workman, 45, of Stepptown, had been part of a drug-roundup sting that included “sealed indictments” from April of 2010.
The charges of two counts of delivery of a controlled substance, one schedule III and one schedule two offense (hydrocodone and diazepam), both counts taking place within 1,000 feet from a school (Williamson High School), stemmed from a Sept. 2009 investigation.
Chief Rockel stated that in Sept. 2009, Workman allegedly was selling the prescription drugs from a Joseph Avenue location that was situated in close proximity to the Williamson High School campus. The evidence was presented to the grand jury in April 2010, and the defendant was indicted on the charges.
“The defendant knew he had been indicted, and left town at that time,” said Rockel. “His name was then entered in the NCIC (National Crime Information Center). Approximately one-and-a-half years ago, we received notification from federal marshals that Mr. Workman was at a pawn shop in Inez, Ky., attempting to purchase a handgun. I immediately contacted the Martin County Sheriff’s Department, but by the time an officer arrived at the location, he was nowhere to be found.
“This morning, we once again were contacted regarding the whereabouts of Mr. Workman, after the federal government flagged his name when he applied for SSI (Supplemental Security Income),” said the chief. “He was using an address in Stepptown, near Kermit. I contacted Kermit Police Chief Ernie Chambers and informed him of the situation. Although Stepptown is outside his jurisdiction, he made contact with the defendant by phone and Workman agreed to go to the Kermit Police station and turn himself in.
“What is concerning about this case is that while I was conducting an interview with the defendant following his arrest, he relayed to me that about six months ago, he was arrested in Martin County, Ky., on a battery charge. Evidently, his name wasn’t run through the NCIC computer because he was told he had no outstanding warrants for his arrest from other states,” said Rockel.
That, of course, definitely wasn’t the case.
“If a search had been performed, his name would have been flagged for the capias warrant here in Mingo County.”
The chief stated that there are still a few fugitives “at large” who were indicted during the 2010 Mingo County drug-roundup, but said that sooner or later, they will either get caught or will simply get tired of running.
“Sometimes it takes longer than we’d like, of course, but justice will eventually prevail. They will be located and they will go to jail,” said Rockel.
“We never stop searching. We work these cases every time we get the slightest of leads. In the end, the hard work and continued dedication pays off.”
Workman was booked and transported to the Southwestern Regional Jail at Holden, where he will await an arraignment hearing before Circuit Judge Michael Thornsbury. No bond has been set at this time. Additional information regarding this case will be released as it becomes available.
Post a Comment
