Officers arrest four on drug charges

By By William F. West / community editor
Aug. 23, 2002
Three of four Lauderdale County residents remained in jail Thursday after being arrested and charged in connection with a crystal methamphetamine lab and authorities need help finding a fifth suspect.
Lisa Ann Fox of Collinsville, Shannon Moore of Collinsville, Claudia Ren Quinn of Meridian and John T. Steed of Meridian were arrested Wednesday. Moore, Quinn and Steed remained in jail Thursday night.
Fox was released on $90,000 bond.
Fox, Moore, Quinn and Steed were each charged with possession of two or more ingredients used to manufacture crystal methamphetamine.
Fox, Moore and Steed were each charged with conspiracy to manufacture the drug. Fox and Quinn also had small amounts of methamphetamine when arrested and were charged with possession.
Law enforcement officials on Thursday said they were still looking for John Dunn, described as white, 6 feet, 2 inches tall, with brown-to-blonde hair and a large build.
Dunn had previously been in the area but "our information and surveillance timed it to where we had missed him," said Warren Cox, an agent with the East Mississippi Drug Task Force.
Cox said the four suspects were arrested after authorities received a CrimeStoppers tip Wednesday about a possible methamphetamine lab on Skyland Drive.
Methamphetamine is the most potent form of speed available and goes by such names as "crystal" or "crank." It's often cooked in makeshift labs and sold on the street as a powder or smokable form of crystal.
Cox said officers conducted surveillance for about an hour and 30 minutes to about an hour and 45 minutes Wednesday. At about 5 p.m., he said, authorities swarmed a stopped vehicle at Highway 145 and 22nd Avenue Heights.
The vehicle had a majority of the methamphetamine lab loaded in the trunk, Cox said. From there, he said, agents traced the chain of evidence back to the house.
He said that agents from the federal Drug Enforcement Administration destroyed the lab equipment early Thursday.
Cox said he believed the four suspects were moving the methamphetamine lab equipment to another location in the county. He said they probably believed they couldn't be caught if the entire lab wasn't in one place.