Tag: Meth

Sheriff Who Admits Meth Addiction Charged with Stealing Meth

A newly elected West Virginia sheriff who admitted to authorities that he was a meth addict was charged Tuesday with stealing the drug from a police evidence storage area.

A criminal complaint filed by state police in Roane County Magistrate Court says Bo Williams is charged with grand larceny.

Williams made an initial appearance on the charge Tuesday before a magistrate in Calhoun County after two magistrates in Roane County recused themselves. He signed a rights statement informing him that he is charged with a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison upon conviction. He was freed on $50,000 property bond.

Williams was elected as Roane County’s sheriff in November and his term started Sunday. While serving as a police officer in Spencer, Williams was placed on leave and he resigned last month after evidence went missing. The complaint says more than $1,000 in evidence was involved, mainly methamphetamine.

Prosecutor Josh Downey said Williams told him, Spencer Police Chief Greg Nichols and a state police sergeant in November that Williams had been addicted to meth for more than a year.

Downey said Williams admitted removing methamphetamine from a police case file and consuming it.

“I know Bo Williams,” Downey said. “It’s a sad situation.”

A preliminary hearing for Williams was set for Jan. 11.

It wasn’t immediately known whether Williams plans to resign. An attorney whose firm represents Williams declined to comment.

The county commission has started removal proceedings against Williams. Downey said if a circuit judge finds the allegations are sufficient, a three-judge panel would be appointed to hear the removal process and make a recommendation to the state Supreme Court.

A recent court order sought by Downey bars Williams from entering the sheriff’s department’s law enforcement and tax offices at the Roane County Courthouse. Downey said case evidence is stored at the department.

The county commission has appointed former Roane County Sheriff Todd Cole to serve as chief deputy in charge of law enforcement operations. Cole served two terms as sheriff from 2000 to 2008. In 2014 he was appointed to fill the unexpired term of the previous sheriff who left for health reasons. Cole’s term ended last Saturday.

Kanawha Task Force Again Recommends Meth Bill

A Kanawha County task force is again recommending that West Virginia legislators pass a law requiring people to get a prescription for a cold medicine that’s used to make methamphetamine.

The Charleston Gazette reports that the Kanawha County Commission Substance Abuse Task Force is making the recommendation despite a 40 percent drop in meth lab seizures statewide in 2014. West Virginia authorities have seized 290 labs this year, the third highest total in state history.

The commission says meth labs remain a significant danger to children and families.

Last year’s push for legislation requiring a prescription for pseudoephedrine failed. A watered-down version that would have let individual counties impose such a requirement died on the last night of the legislative session.

W.Va. House Panel Limits Cold Medicine Buys for Meth Production

A state bill would no longer change West Virginia law to require prescriptions for cold medicines that are used to make methamphetamine.
 
Instead, lawmakers tweaked the proposal to cut in half how much medicine someone can buy each year.
 
The state House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday amended the proposal dealing with pseudoephedrine medications.
 
The changes would limit customers to 24 grams of products like Sudafed yearly, instead of the current 48-gram limit. The bill would create a meth offender registry and make previous drug offenders get prescriptions for some cold medications.
 
The Senate easily passed the original prescription-only bill on Feb. 18.
 
The House would need to pass the amended bill and the Senate would need to agree on changes for the proposal to become law. The legislative session ends March 8.
 

Pharmaceutical Industry Fighting W.Va. Prescription-Only Pseudoephedrine Bill

The pharmaceutical industry is mounting a media blitz against a West Virginia bill requiring prescriptions for cold medicines.
 
The Consumer Healthcare Products Association argues customers would face higher costs and have less purchasing freedom. The group paid for Internet and radio ads and a study. Pseudoephedrine-based products, like Sudafed and Claritin D, are being used illegally to make methamphetamines.

Authorities busted 533 West Virginia meth labs last year. That is almost twice as many as 2012. Labs were found in 45 of 55 counties.
 
The pseudoephedrine bill passed the Senate, but has a tough road in the House of Delegates. It has until March 8 to pass the Judiciary Committee and the House. Judiciary Chairman Tim Manchin said there is opposition to the bill on his panel.
 

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