Drug bust nets eight arrests
Top row (L to R): Linda Neuheisel, Cory McIllwain, Amber Batchelor and Sheena Baker.
Bottom row (L to R): Dewayne Lolley, Anjelica Atchley, Michael Franklin and Randall Baker.
The Franklin County Drug Unit made two separate meth-related drug busts this past week that netted eight different arrests.
Franklin County Sheriff Shannon Oliver said the unit, which is a cooperative effort between the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office and the Russellville Police Department, made the busts on separate days but all occurred at Eastside Plaza Apartments in Russellville.
On May 12, drug unit investigators went to Eastside Plaza to follow up on information they had received about possible meth labs being manufactured in one of the apartments.
According to Oliver, the investigators were granted access to the apartment and when they got inside, they found three one-pot meth labs, two acid generators, two backpacks filled with precursor materials and equipment used to manufacture methamphetamine and a 20 oz. bottle that was filled with a liquid form of meth.
Oliver said there were five people who were arrested as a result of the drug bust on May 12: Linda Neuheisel, 56, 100 Eastside Plaza Apartments, Apt. 142, Russellville; Dewayne Lolley, 34, 227 Mixon Rd., Hackleburg; Amber Batchelor, 31, 280 Nix Rd., Phil Campbell; Cory McIllwain, 28, 111 Ellen Dr., Phil Campbell; and Anjelica Atchley, 22, 1504 N. Jackson Ave., Russellville.
Oliver said all five were charged with first-degree unlawful manufacture of a controlled substance, trafficking methamphetamine, chemical endangerment of a child and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia.
Anjelica Atchley, whose infant child was present in the apartment, was also charged with an additional two counts of attempt to manufacture a controlled substance.
This past Thursday, Oliver said investigators went to a different apartment at Eastside Plaza about 11 a.m. where a woman lived who had allegedly made numerous pseudoephedrine purchases.
Investigators said a man came to the door and reportedly told officers that there were several meth labs in the apartment.
“When officers found out there were meth labs present, they began to evacuate everyone in the apartment,” Oliver said.
“When they went with the woman to get her five-month-old son, investigators discovered there was an active one-pot meth lab that was still in the process of cooking and it was located on the other side of the wall from where the baby’s crib was located.”
Once all occupants were removed from the residence, Oliver said investigators found four one-pot meth labs in the hallways, one meth lab on a table in a bedroom, one active one-pot meth lab on a dresser, a black suitcase filled with precursor materials and equipment used to manufacture meth, and an abundance of drug paraphernalia typically utilized in the personal use of meth.
Oliver said three people were arrested as a result of this second drug bust: Randall O’Deal Baker, 27, 100 Eastside Plaza Apartments, Apt. 121, Russellville; Sheena Baker, 26, 100 Eastside Plaza Apartments, Apt. 121, Russellville; and Michael Hudson Franklin, 20, 2169 Franklin 60, Russellville.
Oliver said all three were charged with first-degree unlawful manufacture of a controlled substance, trafficking methamphetamine, chemical endangerment of a child and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia.
“These two apartments were located less than 50 yards from one another and both of these apartments contained young children,” Oliver said.
“This could have been a very bad situation, and we are thankful that no one was hurt or injured.”
