Three people passing through Columbus on their way home to Missouri Tuesday were arrested on charges of manufacturing methamphetamine.
Officers with the Columbus-Lowndes Narcotics Unit — a cooperative task force made up of officers from the Columbus Police Department and deputies from the Lowndes County Sheriff”s Office — made the arrests after being tipped off. The tipster told authorities three individuals were going from store to store purchasing pseudoephedriene.
Pseudoephedrine is the active ingredient in methamphetamine.
The ingredient also is used in several over-the-counter cold and allergy medications. State law requires drug stores obtain drivers” license information from anyone who purchases medication containing the drugs, and from this information authorities discovered purchases of the controlled substance had been made from six different stores. Law enforcement also noted Missouri drivers” licenses were used to make all of the purchases.
“We started checking the stores and everything; then we started checking motels,” said Capt. James Peavy of the CPD. “At the Holiday Inn parking lot we saw an older model Camaro with Missouri plates, and we stayed on it.”
Peavy said officers watched the car for several hours until they noted an individual sitting in the driver”s seat.
“We got to talking to him, and I guess he thought we were interested in the car because he told us it wasn”t his,” said Peavy. “We asked him who it belonged to and low-and-behold the name he gave us was on the list. We got to talking to him some more and he admitted he had a meth problem and they were on their way home to Missouri. They had been to Tuscaloosa, (Ala.,) for some reason we don”t know and were staying at the Holiday Inn.”
Police investigated the room in which the trio were staying and found methamphetamine.
Nathan James Obannon, 25, of 6770 North Wagon Trail Road, Christopher William Pritchard, 28, of 107 Fourth Ave., and Sara Helenlina Richey, 25, of 251 Apple Tree Court, all in Columbia, Mo., were each charged with two counts felony possession of a controlled substance and one count each of felony manufacturing methamphetamine.
Peavy gave all credit for the arrests to the Columbus-Lowndes Narcotics Task Force.
“Because we”ve got more manpower we can accomplish a whole lot more than we were able to back in the old days,” he said. “We”re able to work better and communicate a lot better and everyone pretty much knows exactly what to do.”
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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