http://www.mustangpaper.com/v2/content.aspx?module=ContentItem&ID=225971&MemberID=1586
In the event the link above does not work, here is the story as published by the Mustang Times on October 26th, 2011:
Based on intelligence information gathered by Canadian County Sheriff Randall Edwards from a confidential informant, Deputies of the Canadian County Sheriff’s Office and Agents from the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics busted “one of the largest meth labs seen in recent years in Canadian County” said Captain Kevin Ward, Chief Investigator for Canadian County Sheriff’s Office.
Sheriff’s Deputies allege Methamphetamine was being manufactured at the time of the bust, in a garage west of Calumet on Wednesday, Sept. 28. at 10 p.m. located on the property of Dustin Stokes.
Three suspects were arrested on the Stokes property located at 19917 West Highway 270. Alisha Stokes, 34, of Calumet, Lonnie Craighead, 36, and Karri Craighead, 41, both of Geary were arrested for their involvement in the meth lab.
Alisha Stokes was arrested for manufacturing drugs, child endangerment, use of a firearm while in the commission of a felony, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. The Craigheads were both charged with manufacturing drugs.
A fourth suspect, Dustin Wade Stokes, 36, who lives on the property and is the husband of Alisha Stokes, was not present at the time of the arrests, however he surrendered to the Sheriff’s Office on Oct. 17 after an arrest warrant was issued for his role in the alleged methamphetamine production.
Dustin Stokes and Lonnie Craighead both have previously spent time in prison for charges involving the manufacturing of methamphetamine drugs.
Canadian County Sheriff’s Deputy Sgt. Doug Gerten was called to the scene when it was learned that there were five children residing in the house where methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia was found.
Deputy Gerten was recently assigned to DHS by Sheriff Edwards as a Investigator to assist DHS in the investigations of neglected and abused children in Canadian County.
“That position is entirely paid for by the Canadian County Juvenile Justice Center” Edwards said. “Deputy Gerten removed all five children from the home and turned them over to DHS, they are still in DHS custody. The youngest of the five was only 20 months of age. The chemicals involved in the manufacturing of methamphetamine are extremely toxic and deadly and this is Mr. Stokes second time to be charged with child endangerment.”
Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics assisted Canadian County in the dismantling and disposing of the lab.
“I believe this is going to dry up a lot of the Meth supply that is being sold in Canadian County to our youth,” Edwards said.
Our Thoughts and Opinions on the Story:
First off, congratulations to the guys doing the job and working the long hours necessary to gather the facts to conduct strong criminal investigations. Knowing some of the details of this case, the people involved and their background, then reading the news article left me amazed for a lack of better description. From the perspective of one involved in gathering the facts, why is it necessary to take a good piece of investigative work and embellish it. Therefore, I would like to share some information and facts I found related to the published article.
The article began with the following paragraph: “Based on intelligence information gathered by Canadian County Sheriff Randall Edwards from a confidential informant, Deputies of the Canadian County Sheriff’s Office and Agents from the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics busted “one of the largest meth labs seen in recent years in Canadian County” said Captain Kevin Ward, Chief Investigator for Canadian County Sheriff’s Office”.
I went to the Oklahoma Supreme Court Network and looked at the arrest warrant affidavit filed on Dustin Stokes, under case number CF-2011-456 (charged with eight counts of Unlawful purchase of pseudoephedrine and one count of conspiracy to manufacture a controlled dangerous substance-Methamphetamine). The affidavit actually listed the “confidential informant” as an “anonymous source” along with the details the source provided. While to some this may be splitting hairs, the truthfulness or veracity of the information can be and is often weighed differently in our court system based on the proven reliability of the source of information. The listed details provided insufficient information for obtaining a search warrant but would be a useful tip to investigate further. No details were provided as to the “intelligence information gathered” other than a general tip that I have heard not even being employed at the Sheriff’s Office.
As I have explained over the years to a number of people, just because someone provides us (law enforcement) information, often it is insufficient in order to arrest a person or search a particular location. Most competent law enforcement personnel can tell you persons engaged in criminal activity in their communities but with our system of justice specific facts are almost always necessary. This requirement is a cornerstone of criminal investigation which is grounded by our United States Constitution and particularly in our Bill of Rights.
The arrest warrant affidavit also indicates Edwards provided the information on September 6th and the visit to the residence was made on September 28, 2011. Edwards is not even endorsed by the State of Oklahoma as a prosecution witness (four listed) in the criminal case against Stokes. If he had served such an important role in the investigation, I can assure you, he would be listed as a witness for the State of Oklahoma. The affidavit also shows interviews of the suspects were conducted by a law enforcement person from Elk City, not someone working in Canadian County. In reality, the actual reason for the visit was related to an investigation by the Elk City investigator and not the alleged anonymous tip. Hence, the criminal charge filed for eight counts of unlawfully purchasing pseudoephedrine.
In regards to the second portion of the paragraph and the claim it was “one of the largest meth labs seen in recent years” at face value this is a true statement. However, over the last several years, we have seen a significant decline in the number of clandestine methamphetamine laboratories statewide. I was actively working in drug enforcement, when we began experiencing the first clandestine laboratories in this county in the late 1990’s. I participated in the investigation in a number of these cases and saw them go from more elaborate processes down to soda pop bottles. Having seen fewer and fewer the last few years, discovering the evidence of clandestine manufacturing makes this the largest lab by default for the last year or so, but not necessarily by significance.
This type of clandestine laboratory is often referred to as a “Beavis and Butthead” laboratory where the production is for the persons own use and is usually in small amounts. Based on guidelines adopted by the U.S. Sentencing Commission (mentioned in USA v. Graham, Sixth Circuit, 05-5004), a two-to-one ratio of pseudoephedrine to methamphetamine is recognized in the Federal Court system. Therefore, one box of 2.40mg pseudoephedrine would yield approximately 1.4 grams of methamphetamine. To understand how much one gram is, consider the Sweet and Low packets seen in most restaurants, the total amount of powdered material inside is one gram. The most common dosage unit is ¼ gram so therefore in general terms, one box would equal four doses of finished methamphetamine in a perfect drug manufacturing endeavor. In the court filing (CF-2011-456), Stokes was charged with conspiracy to manufacture and not for manufacturing a controlled dangerous substance. Conspiracy is a deliberate act in furtherance of committing the illegal act not the actual crime itself although the criminal penalties are the same.
In regards to the suspects of the crime, I know both the male suspects well having spoken with, interviewed, questioned and arresting the pair in the past. In fact, on December 12, 2002, I prepared and served a search warrant at the exact same residence for doing the exact same thing. When we entered the residence that particular night, a fog hung in the air of the home from the active production of methamphetamine inside the residence. Several small children were in the home at that time as well and they too were turned over to the custody of DHS. We did not have a specific person to handle the DHS matter but the results proved to be the same.
On December 23rd, 2002 the Canadian County District Attorney’s Office filed the criminal charges against Stokes which were and resulted in the following:
CF-2002-570 Child Endangerment, in which he pled to 4 years in the custody of the Oklahoma Department of Corrections (DOC) which ran concurrent with his other charges;
CF-2002-571 Unlawful Manufacture of CDS (Meth.), in which he pled to 12 years with DOC, that ran concurrent to his other charges;
CF-2002-572 Unlawful Possession of CDS (Meth), in which he pled to 10 years with DOC, that ran concurrent with his other charges;
CF-2002-573 Unlawful Possession of CDS (Marijuana), in which he pled to 10 years with DOC, that ran concurrent with his other charges;
CM-2002-1042 Possession of drug paraphernalia, in which he pled to 1 year in the county jail, that ran concurrent with his other charges;
Knowing these men as well as being involved in their past imprisonments along with my drug enforcement experience in this county, I am extremely happy this group was caught once again and will be facing criminal charges. I spoke with Stokes shortly after his return from prison and he expressed his thanks for putting him in prison and for the ability to change his life. As many in the community and law enforcement knew, I was aware he was back to his old ways of life and would eventually be facing criminal charges once again.
I am not attempting to minimize this great investigation but to claim this arrest will “dry up a lot of the Meth supply that is being sold in Canadian County to our youth” is nothing short of ridiculous. Knowing and investigating this group over the years, tells me they do nothing more than produce enough methamphetamine for themselves. It has always been the same circle of people that we handle doing the same criminal activity. In fact after reviewing the arrest affidavit, there is no evidence provided to indicate the group was even selling methamphetamine to anyone, much less children.
At the time of the recent incident, Stokes was at work in the oilfield and was hardly enjoying the luxury of profits from manufacturing methamphetamine. In fact, the majority of methamphetamine that we currently see is “crystal methamphetamine” which has no known domestic production and is often most frequently imported from areas south of the United States. These people are not the Pablo Escobar’s of the world, they were as their lab suggests, Beavis and Butthead along with the apparent financial abilities of the famous pair.
I have no idea whether the interviewer or the interviewee was the embellisher to this story but facts are what we deal with and search for. I have been in the crack houses and the methamphetamine laboratories of this county and intend to wage a strong campaign against crime and particularly illegal drugs. This aggressive enforcement approach will be grounded on extensive knowledge of techniques and applying the necessary available resources in order to address our problems. The public has always been a strong partner in keeping our communities safe and in our efforts to properly enforce the laws. Having to rely strongly on the public for their help, I believe the public (as well as the courts) should know the truth and I do not intend to stretch the truth in order to shape the opinion of the public.
