CHEROKEE COUNTY (KYTX) - A traffic stop in January has ballooned into a 17-count federal indictment involving 11 people suspected in a Cherokee County meth conspiracy. The motorist arrested in the traffic stop that started it all has been indicted on state charges.
A Cherokee County grand jury on July 23 indicted 31-year-old Kevin Wade Gray, also known as "Puddin," on two drug possession with intent to deliver charges. He had bonded out of jail prior to his June 5 arrest by a Cherokee County sheriff's deputy for drug possession. According to the Cherokee County Jail, Gray's bond was set at $50,000, but he was released to U.S. Marshal's custody.
After Gray was arrested by Cherokee County sheriff's deputies on Jan. 18 during a traffic stop, officers found two grams of methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia, assorted packaging material and $1,370 in Gray's vehicle, according to a news release. Federal court records show that Gray also had a 12-guage pump-action shotgun and a .38 caliber revolver. He was arraigned the following day, and his bond was set at $20,000. He made bond Jan. 20, and within an hour of being out of jail, investigators were informed Gray had more drugs at his home, 2209 King St. in Jacksonville, the release stated.
A new search warrant was obtained for the residence, and investigators and deputies arrived at the same time as Gray. Officers reportedly approached him about the other narcotics, which he denied having, and he then left on foot.
In searching the location, investigators and deputies found 26.8 grams of methamphetamines and less than two ounces of marijuana. Authorities also seized a 2004 Ford pickup that Gray drove.
Gray also has a state charge of contempt of court by Cherokee County Court-at-Law Judge Craig Fletcher.
On July 11, federal prosecutors filed in U.S. District Court in Tyler a 17-count indictment against Gray and 10 other defendants, charging then with conspiracy to distribute at least 200 grams of methamphetamine, possession of firearms in connection with drug trafficking crimes, possession of meth and felons in possession of firearms in Cherokee and Smith counties. The defendants - Gray, Terry Ron Yates, Parfidio Ortega aka "Phee," Steven Ray Blaine, James Andrew Fields, Cody Francis Ormond aka "Coco," Randall Matthew Moore, Jesse Lee Mims, Johnathan Mark Adcock, Andrew Willard Tarver and Kayla Breann Tompkins - face anywhere from five years to life in federal prison.
According to a federal indictment, drug informants working for law enforcement purchased meth at a residence off Cherokee County Road 3216 from Moore and Ortega on April 13 and April 16; from Fields in Fields' vehicle on FM 747 near Jacksonville on April 27; from Ormond and Adcock at the Adcock Trailer Park Complex on CR 3301 in Cherokee County on May 9; and from Blaine at Shell Shores Subdivision on Lake Palestine in Smith County on May 24.
Informants also purchased a .357 caliber revolver and two grams of meth from Mims and Tompkins at an apartment complex on Briarwood Drive in Jacksonville on May 1, according to the indictment.
In June 1, a search warrant was executed at Mims' and Tompkins' apartment in Jacksonville. Authorities said the apartment had been equipped with a video surveillance system, and they seized meth and a drug ledger detailing prices and quantities of methamphetamine transactions. Also seized was 12-gauge shotgun, several other firearms stolen during a burglary and thousands of dollars in stolen property from a separate burglary. Mims, Tompkins and Tarver were in the apartment at the time the warrant was executed, the indictment stated.
On July 3, an informant purchased about 32 grams of meth from Yates in the Shadybrook subdivision off FM 346 adjacent to Lake Palestine in Cherokee County, records show.
Prosecution of the 11 defendants is pending in federal court.
