WINFIELD POLICE DEPARTMENT

Five arrested after hotel drug binge 

Article contributed by The Journal Record

By Michael E. Palmer
Staff Writer

WINFIELD- Five people were arrested on numerous drug possession charges after a hotel maintenance man discovered two people asleep in a Hampton Inn hotel room on Monday, July 15.

Winfield Police Chief Brett Burleson said hotel management contacted police after two people were discovered asleep in a room they should not have been in.

“They had paid for one room and had told the front desk that the air conditioner wasn’t working,” Burleson said. “So the hotel gave them another room and they just kept both rooms and had them a little party in both rooms.”

Two of the suspects were discovered by a maintenance man the next morning laying in the bed of the room that allegedly had air conditioner problems, Burleson said.

“The maintenance man knew the people weren’t supposed to be in the room at all, so he didn’t know what was going on and so the hotel called us. When the officers got in the room they saw some of the drugs and paraphernalia that was in plain view.”

The three other individuals were discovered in the other room that hotel management had relocated the guests to.

Burleson said a variety of narcotics and paraphernalia was found in both rooms, including pipes, scales, methamphetamine, clonazepam, alprazolam, lyrica (R), tramadol, suboxone strips and other pain and nerve pills. “We also found some liquid codeine and some marijuana,” Burleson said.

Those arrested were:

Steffany Cochran, 29, Hamilton, charged with six counts of possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and second-degree possession of marijuana. She remains in the Marion County Jail in Hamilton on a $13,000 bond;

J.D. McCracken, 29, Hamilton, charged with six counts of possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and second-degree possession of marijuana. He remains in the county jail on a $13,000 bond;

Kayla Estes, 27, Hamilton, charged with possession of drug paraphernalia, second-degree possession of marijuana and seven counts of possession of a controlled substance. She remains in the county jail on a $15,000 bond;

Kelly Morrow, 27, Hodges, charged with six counts of possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and second-degree possession of marijuana. She was released from the county jail on July 17 on a $13,000 bond; and

Cody Barnes, 28, Spruce Pine, charged with possession of drug paraphernalia and four counts of possession of a controlled substance. He was released from the county jail on July 23 on an $8,500 bond.

Burleson, along with Winfield Police Lt. Gary Hamlett and Officer Dustin Webb, responded to the hotel and began the investigation. Burleson said it took three hours to process the scene.

Burleson and his officers were all familiar with the suspects, he said.
“We knew all of them, absolutely,” Burleson said. “This is not the first time they have been in the illegal realms of narcotics.”

Burleson said Marion County Sheriff’s Deputy David Oliver assisted in transporting the suspects to the county jail.

”I’d like to send a big ‘thank you’ to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office and to the Hampton Inn for the quick response to let us know what was going on so we could make an arrest in the case,” Burleson said.

(When a defendant is charged with a crime, the charge is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.)