Roundup nets 7 arrests so far
For some McMinnville residents, it takes more than one drug conviction before they learn their lesson. That’s why the most recent undercover operation by McMinnville Police Department and the 31st Judicial Drug Task Force targeted repeat offenders.
“This roundup targeted people with previous convictions who we knew were out on the street selling it again,” said District Attorney Dale Potter. “We tried to limit the buys to three per person, but we could have kept going and going with some of the people. Supply was not a problem.”
Eighteen indictments were handed during the most recent session of the Warren County grand jury. As of yesterday afternoon, seven of the 18 indictments had been served and the suspects arrested.
David Wayne Biles is among the suspects facing decades of jail time. He has two prior convictions and was indicted this month on three counts of sale of crack cocaine over half a gram. To compound matters, Biles is currently in Warren County Jail awaiting trial on charges that he had roughly 80 grams of crack at his home.
Michael Eugene Wilkerson was also arrested and faces a variety of charges. In addition to facing three counts of sale of crack over half a gram, Wilkerson was also hit with two counts of theft over $1,000 for stealing two 4-wheelers. The U-Haul he reportedly used to steal the 4-wheelers was taken from Auto Expressions on Chancery Street, which is also where Wilkerson was arrested.
“This has been an ongoing operation for several months,” said McMinnville Police Chief Joe Melton. “We’ve arrested some of the major drug traffickers in our community.”
Also arrested as part of the roundup were:
• Donald Lamar Crisp Jr. for sale of crack under half a gram. He has previously pleaded guilty to sale of a counterfeit substance.
• Jonathan Tony Waddell for sale of meth. He was also arrested for sale of meth in June and is currently on parole for aggravated burglary.
• Tonya Holland Waddell for sale of meth.
• Chad Maurice Taylor for one count of sale of crack over half a gram and one count under half a gram. He has a previous conviction for sale of cocaine in Franklin County.
• Jessie Prince Pease for two counts of felony marijuana and one count of a schedule 4 substance which officers say is valium.
Lawmen say they are in the process of arresting the 11 remaining suspects who were indicted but have yet to be located. And they say there is currently another undercover operation taking place now.
“We’re trying to keep operations going,” said Potter. “This will definitely make a dent in regard to the crack cocaine dealers when we get everybody, but we have to keep going because someone else will be right there to take their place.”