By Adam S. Sulfridge / Staff Writer
A seemingly simple traffic stop on I-75 by Williamsburg Officer Shawn Jackson turned into yet another arrest of those returning to Kentucky from a Florida pain clinic — and federal officials say more agencies should follow the Williamsburg Police Department’s lead.
Officer Jackson was watching traffic from the median just south of Exit 11 when he spotted a driver who didn’t appear to be wearing his seat belt.
“I followed, and noticed he was weaving in and out,” Jackson said. “Upon stopping the vehicle, I interviewed each passenger, and each showed signs of being under the influence.”
As one suspect tried to retrieve his operator’s license, Jackson said he noticed a pharmacy card from Florida in the man’s wallet. While most of those arrested on I-75 have visited the American Pain Clinic in Boca Raton, Fla., two of the four arrested Friday had visited Universal Pain Clinic in Ft. Lauderdale.
While interviewing the suspects, Jackson said Tina M. Spears, 34, of Eubank, Ky. cooperated.
“She admitted she had OC 80’s (OxyContin 80mg) hidden in her crotch area.” Jackson said such pills sell locally for $100 each. He added, “This female got prescribed by one doctor during a single visit about $16,500 worth of pills in street value.”
Spears was arrested for first-degree possession of a controlled substance.
“I learned, as I read her oxycodone prescription labels…she was prescribed 18 of those pills a day,” Jackson explained. “That’s one oxycodone 30 milligram pill nine times a day, and one oxycodone 15 milligram pill nine times a day….They’re prescribing her 405 milligrams of that a day... I’m not a doctor or medical professional, but it seems amazing a body can handle that much — but in today’s society, thanks to the ‘doctors’ in Florida, it happens.”
Also arrested was 24-year-old Joshua Webb, of Waynesburg, Ky., who allegedly failed multiple field sobriety tests and admitted to taking Xanax before driving. He was charged with careless driving, driving under the influence and failure to wear a seatbelt. According to his arrest citation, Webb refused to give a urine sample.
Two other passengers, 30-year-old Larry Brent and 20-year-old Wesley Swinson, both of Eubank, were arrested for public intoxication. According to Jackson, Swinson also admitted taking Xanax during the trip.
“(Chief Wayne) Bird and his officers, I think, have done an excellent job,” said Frank Rapier, director of the Appalachia High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA). “Unfortunately, we have some departments which think ‘as long as it’s on the interstate, it doesn’t affect my community.’”
HIDTA is a federally-funded program designed to enhance and coordinate drug control efforts in various regions across the nation by providing extra funding, supplies and training to local law enforcement agencies.
Bird has previously praised his officers’ success intercepting thousands of pills along I-75, but he also voiced his frustration about the burden highway interdiction work places on small-town departments.
Rapier agreed, saying funding was a problem his agency was “very much aware of.
“It’s a pull on the budgets of small communities,” Rapier said. “That’s no question. We’re looking at expanding (funding), and we hope to bring Williamsburg on board.”
With 45 years of law enforcement experience, Rapier understands Kentucky’s drug problem.
“It’s amazing, the pipeline which takes place between Kentucky and South Florida. It’s absolutely amazing when you look at the number of people dying here…it’s alarming…and we know we’re not stopping it all on the highway,” he said.
Rapier said HIDTA was currently working on its 2011 budget, and while there have been proposals to cut spending, he said, “I anticipate we’ll still have money to do highway interdiction.”
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