BLOUNTVILLE — Between March 1 and Aug. 1, 22 people died in Sullivan County as the result of drug overdoses, often from using heroin laced with other drugs, with fentanyl having become a common lethal additive.
That startling figure was among information shared on Friday by District Attorney General Barry Staubus, 2nd Judicial District (Sullivan County), and other members of the Sullivan County Drug Related Death Task Force.
Knoxville, Tenn. – A federal jury returned a guilty verdict against four defendants for their roles in running “pill mills,” announced Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowksi of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U. S. Attorney J. Douglas Overbey of the Eastern District of Tennessee.
GREENEVILLE, Tenn. – On June 3, 2019, Brandon Lee Alexander, 36 of Morristown, Tennessee, was sentenced by the Honorable J. Ronnie Greer, U.S. District Judge, to serve 216 months in federal prison for possession with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine; possession with the intent to distribute five grams or more of methamphetamine; possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime; and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Alexander was also denied his request for a new trial.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – On April 16, 2019, a federal grand jury in Knoxville returned an eight-count indictment against Damion Knox, 34, Darnez Turner, 30, Jeremiah Johnson, 23, and Papa Diop, 23, all of Detroit, Michigan; Joshua Cooper, 37, Virgil Crawford, 45, Jessica Bouvier, 30, Stephen Bouvier, 38, Jama Collier, 23, and Tina Berry, 55, all of Knoxville, Tennessee; and, five individuals not yet in federal custody at the time of this release. This case has been set for trial on July 1, 2019.
CHATTANOOGA – Special Agents with the Drug Investigation Division of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation were part of a multi-agency arrest round-up in Franklin County this week that resulted in the arrest of 12 people on a variety of drug-related charges.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – On April 30, 2018, Maximino Contreras, 47, of Tollison, Arizona, was sentenced by the Honorable Pamela L. Reeves, U.S. District Judge, to serve 210 months in federal prison for his role in a methamphetamine distribution conspiracy.
A Florida pilot and a California woman face prosecution after police say they found them at the Crossville airport with about 150 pounds of "pharmaceutical grade" marijuana.
The TBI identified the pair as Dennis Howard Bonneau, 47, of Weston, Fla., and Erin Elizabeth Reed, 34, of Arcata, California.
They were being held in the Cumberland County Jail in lieu of $500,000 bond each. They each face a count of manufacturing, sale or delivery of a schedule VI (marijuana) drug.
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – On June 28, 2017, Darius Jermaine Blakemore, a.k.a. Tank, 28, of Chattanooga, Tennessee, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute heroin resulting in death, distribution of heroin resulting in death, possession with intent to distribute cocaine, possession with intent to distribute crack, and possession with intent to distribute heroin. He entered this guilty plea during the second day of his trial for the same offenses.
A multiple-agency drug bust in the parking lot of a Holiday Inn Express in Tiftonia on Tuesday night led to one of the largest meth seizures ever in the Hamilton County area.
The Hamilton County Sheriff's Office Narcotics and Special Operations Division, along with Tennessee Bureau of Investigation personnel, the Chattanooga Police Department and the DEA arrested Chattanooga's Mathew Turner after a search of his vehicle revealed a pound of crystal meth and two hand guns.
As the rate of overdose deaths continues to skyrocket across the state, the Knoxville Police Department announced Wednesday the formation of a special task force to target the drug dealers responsible.
There have been 17 prospective overdose deaths in Knox County so far in 2017, and there were 237 prospective overdose deaths in 2016, according Knox County District Attorney General Charme Allen. If confirmed, 2016's figure will mark a sizable increase from 2015's number of 170 deaths.