$40K of pure meth taken off the street

WINFIELD -  Methamphetamine with a street value of $40,000 was taken off the streets after agents with the Alabama Drug Task Force executed a search warrant at a house in Glen Allen in the early morning hours of Saturday, Feb. 9.

The warrant lead to the confiscation of 16.4 ounces of methamphetamine, three handguns, three long guns and various types of drug paraphernalia, including spoons and needles, said Lt. Rusty Hulsey of the Winfield Police Department.

Michael Dwayne Motes, 43, and his wife Tasha Lynn Motes, 36, were taken into custody without incident at about 2 a.m., at 246 Twin Street North. The residence is in Glen Allen near the post office but has a Winfield address, Hulsey said.

Both the Motes were charged with trafficking and a forbidden person possessing a firearm. Michael Motes was also charged with possession of a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia. Both are being held in the Marion County Jail in Hamilton, each on $255,000 bonds. 
Hulsey said the couple was going out of town regularly and returning to Glen Allen. “Each time they returned, they brought back large quantities of meth. They were picking up the meth at a location out of state and bringing it back to this area,” the investigator said.
Also arrested at the residence were Tommy Shane Sprinkle, 40, Winfield, and Tonya Marie Hamilton, 42, Florence. Both were charged with possession of a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia. Sprinkle and Hamilton are being held in the county jail, each on $2,500 bonds.

Hulsey said Hamilton was arrested a week prior in Fayette County and charged with possession of a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia.

Hulsey said the months-long investigation is still on-going and he expects to arrest more suspects from within Marion County and surrounding counties that are connected to the case.

Six agents with the Region E, Alabama Drug Task Force, officers with the Winfield Police Department, and deputies from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office took part on the raid at the residence, Hulsey said.

Winfield Police chief Brett Burleson said he wanted to thank Marion County Sheriff Kevin Williams for allowing him to utilize agents with the Marion County Special Operations Unit to help with the raid.
Hulsey and Burleson said they consider the case one of the biggest they have ever been a part of in the Winfield area since the scourge of meth began in the late 1990s.

Burleson said the meth recovered was meth in its purest form.
“It’s a really big case. Getting this off the street is good for us and good for the city,” the chief said.