Drugs in a Small Town Pt.4

I finally got my chance to sit down with Prosecutor Lee Reberger and Chief Deputy Prosecutor Kim Jackson and what a fantastic interview they gave! I was impressed with just how personable they both were. Before we "rolled tape" I made my intention clear. I was there for answers. I want to teach and learn at the same time. Both Prosecutor Reberger and Chief Deputy Prosecutor Jackson were in agreement that the public has the right to know why some things are done and why others are not.

I started by asking Prosecutor Reberger if he thought there was a drug problem in Clay County and Brazil? The Prosecutor asked me specifically for a timeframe and I chose the span of a decade.

Reberger: "Well, I'm going to have too basically limit my answers to what I've noticed in the time I've been up here in this capacity. I was in private practice for several years before coming up here in (January 2005) so my experience has been in the last four years and has there been a drug problem throughout? Yes. We have seen that drug problem basically coming into the media front and then disappearing based on how investigations are going in the community. People think that when we have a large drug bust "day" (motions fingers in air quotes) where we net 20 or 22 arrests that there was no drug problem for a period of time and then all of a sudden, cops who maybe hadn't been doing anything for a long period of time decided to do their job, put these arrest warrants together and arrest a lot of people in one day and that there must not have been a drug problem and now there is!"

"The reality is drugs are in the community EVERDAY and law enforcement is out there working to combat this EVERYDAY. Investigations can take a lot of forms and shapes and can sometimes take a long time to build too the point where the Police can present me with a report that is sufficient to get an arrest warrant. Sometimes due to manpower or other issues of the people involved, its easier or safer to do them all in one day. I'm not sure statistically we can say it is growing, diminishing or staying the same. What we can say is, we are trying to keep up and maybe even make ground on the "creativity" being shown by the individuals breaking the law. The one thing I have noticed, over the last couple of years, we have tried very hard to track, find, and stop the individuals who are making methamphetamine. Law enforcement was doing a very good job of doing that and we would see a drop in arrests involving meth labs. So what that did then was create a new outlet to bring it here. If you cannot make it in Clay County because law enforcement is tough on that... Bring It In. It then caused law enforcement to take an entirely different approach to their investigations. We don't have nearly as many labs, which is a good thing. Labs are so very dangerous, we don't have the labs, what we do have now is people bringing it in from other areas. We are seeing different kinds of meth, we are seeing connections of meth being brought in from Mexico, some of the southern states, southwestern states, and things like that. So it is a constant challenge for law enforcement to address their investigations to whatever things are happening in the community, whether it is meth or marijuana usage. The one phenomenon that is happening that I have noticed is, if you're not able to make the meth here, and make some cash or you cannot afford to buy your drugs, we have people occasionally using other crimes as a way to come up with the money to buy their drugs. We have seen some increases in thefts, car break ins, garage break ins. Where my assumption is they maybe stealing items that are easily pawned or "hocked" to come up with the cash to buy the drugs."

C.D. Prosecutor Kim Jackson interjects: "Also stolen four wheelers as well."

Reberger stated he didn't blame it simply on the economic downturn. He sees this rise in thefts as a way for young people to fund their habits.

Chief Deputy Prosecutor Kim Jackson states: "One of the things historically we are seeing here is we're perfectly suited to be in an area where methampetamine can be manufactured. Many of the houses in the county in particularly are far apart and anhydrous ammonia is somewhat more available to the community due to the agricultural situation."

"Unlike Vigo county where the houses are somewhat closer together where you can smell the manufacturing and you know that it's going on. Here the houses are farther back and farther apart, it's not exactly a tool law enforcement has as available to them."

"The Federal Government has informed us that meth production is burgeoning everywhere that you can grow corn because you need anhydrous to grow corn. I understand now that Missouri is the epicenter and it spreads out from there. We, I don't know, if we're on the crust of it or not, but certainly for manufacturing we were hit hard in the last few years. I think Police now have the training and experience and know what to look for and hopefully in the ways to combat it and are becoming more successful. The meth is brought in, the "red P," "Ice" that sort of thing, you can combat the same way we have always combated is the same tools we have used with marijuana and cocaine. They are in some ways going back to the ways they used before, but they also have new ways and are using them effectively."

I am going to break this interview up in parts as they both provided me so much information and get used to it folks! We haven't even scratched the surface! Next we get into how the system works from their end and you will finally get that answer you have all so eagerly wanted to know....

"Why are there so many plea bargains?!!!!!"

Stay tuned.....

Karen Meister can be contacted at: ksframeofmind@yahoo.com.