McMinn County Sheriff Deputies Guy McGill and Doug Benton process meth lab components discovered on County Road 177 during the "Wipeout" Crime Suppression Operation Tuesday.MCMINN COUNTY, TN (WRCB) - Thirty McMinn County Sheriff's officers participated in a county-wide crime suppression event called "Wipeout", resulting in four arrests and the seizure of three meth labs and 22 marijuana plants.
"The purpose of this effort was to respond to information our office has received from citizens about suspected criminal activity," said McMinn County Sheriff Joe Guy. "We compile that information into a list of people and places involved that we visited tonight."
Guy said that his officers attended a briefing session at 4:00 p.m. that outlined the operation's guidelines. The teams were given assignments with locations and suspects' names. Other issues such as professionalism and legal issues were addressed. At 5:30 p.m., the five teams of five to six officers each left the Justice Center on their specific assignments. The operation concluded at midnight.
"McMinn County doesn't have the severe crime problems that some other areas have," said Sheriff Guy. "And I want to keep it that way. But meth and other drugs continue to be a problem. So we want to be proactive, and let the criminals know we are actively pursuing them, and thereby further reducing our crime rates."
Two meth labs were discovered on County Road 177: James Spurling was charged with Initiation of Manufacturing Meth, Possession of Legend Drugs and Drug Paraphernalia. Another lab was found on County Road 482 (charges pending), and 22 marijuana plants with a value estimated at over $20,000 were seized near Highway 68 (charges pending). Three suspects were arrested on outstanding warrants from a local motel: Ricky Charles for Failure to Appear and Violation of Community Corrections, Manuel Brady for Child Support Attachment, and Steve Borden for Child Support Attachment.
