GRAFTON -- Taylor County Prosecutor John Bord said Tuesday that an increase in drug arrests by local and state authorities contributed to a higher than usual number of indictments returned Monday and Tuesday by the grand jury.
Grand jurors met for a day and a half, he said, and returned 29 indictments. Recent grand juries have returned a little less than 20 indictments, typically.
The increase in drug-related indictments -- there were seven returned by the grand jury -- point to a need for county law enforcement officials to become involved with a drug task force, Bord said, echoing the sentiments of Taylor County Sheriff Clark Sinclair and Grafton Police Chief Jeff Leach.
"It's just so hard for a uniformed officer to make a (drug) buy. It just doesn't happen," Bord said. "They may stop a car and get some that way, but we need something a little more organized. We've had the benefit of the state police doing some drug investigations, and there's a definite thrust there."
Leach and Sinclair have both said that either forming a task force with other counties or joining an existing task force would be beneficial to county and municipal law enforcement.
Of the 29 indictments returned, eight were sealed, Bord said. The remaining indictments were:
Rodney K. Spencer, possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver; Tabitha Freeze, fraudulent schemes; Donald Getz, malicious assault; Daylene Jones, three counts of forgery, three counts of uttering; Ronald Myers, possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, delivery of a controlled substance; Gerald Williams, burglary, grand larceny; Mary Moats, burglary, grand larceny; Keith McAndrews, delivery of a controlled substance; Jennifer Jenkins, conspiracy to commit delivery of a controlled substance; Clinton Beavers, escape, attempted breaking and entering, burglary, grand larceny, breaking and entering, petit larceny; Roger Hoffman Jr., breaking and entering, petit larceny; Amber Summers, two counts of attempting to obtain a controlled substance by fraud, forgery, uttering; Henry Hartley, burglary; Shawn Johnston, breaking and entering, petit larceny, escape; Lewis Ingold, failure to meet obligations of child support; Charles Criss, failure to meet obligations of child support; Peter Todd Phillips, third-offense driving under the influence; Sherri Burrows, third-offense driving under the influence.
Regional writer James Fisher can be reached at 626-1446 or by e-mail at jfisher@exponent-telegram.com.
