Two men arrested in drug bust

Parker Wright news-herald.net

Two local men were arrested after a multi-agency drug bust Feb. 11 in Lenoir City that recovered marijuana, boxes of ammunition and drug paraphernalia.

Ivan Enrique Melian, 38, and Eric A. Stegall, 44, both of Lenoir City, are facing multiple charges related to the raid.

Loudon County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Jimmy Davis said the investigation started after law enforcement received tips of drug activity involving Melian.

Melian was under “probationary status with the state on the felony level for past drug charges and things of that nature,” Davis said. After receiving the tips, the 9th District Judicial Drug Task Force and Lenoir City and Loudon police departments began conducting undercover surveillance.

Law enforcement found Melian in a back bedroom, where he was seen breaking a cellphone in half, LCSO Deputy Jamie Ketner wrote in a report. Another phone was already broken on the floor. After being told to put his hands behind his back, Melian resisted arrest and ran to the back corner of the bedroom.

“Mr. Melian resisted arrest from his bedroom to the hallway,” Ketner wrote in a report. “It took several agents to gain control of Mr. Melian.”

Agents then searched the bedroom.

“Agents recovered approximately 3 grams of marijuana in the floor,” Ketner wrote in the report. “Throughout the house agents also recovered one 7.62X39 round, four boxes (50 count) 45 ammo, two empty magazines, three broken cellphones, digital scales and one box (100 count) of 12 gauge shells.”

Melian admitted to intentionally tampering with evidence “during a mirandized interview,” saying “that he purposefully broke the phones so agents could not go through his phone,” according to the report.

Stegall was in a locked vehicle when officers approached him with a warrant. He refused to come out of the vehicle, resulting in a resisting arrest charge, Brendan DeBor, 9th DTF lead agent, said.

Stegall was charged with resisting arrest and released on $3,000 bond. Melian was charged with resisting arrest, simple possession/casual exchange and tampering/fabricating with evidence and released on $7,000 bond.

Knoxville women intoxicated at restaurant

Two Knoxville women are facing multiple charges after law enforcement responded to reports of a person under the influence.

Lenoir City Police Officer Jordan Samuels found Cindy Elaine Dotson, 41, “asleep at a dining table” Thursday at a fast food restaurant on U.S. Highway 321. Samuels reported Dotson had “pinpoint pupils, slurred speech and was unsteady on her feet.” She spilled the contents of her purse onto the floor while looking for her identification.

“I then administered horizontal gaze nystagmus (HGN),” Samuels wrote in a report. “... While administering HGN, Cindy kept falling asleep during testing. I then determined Cindy to be under the influence of an intoxicating substance in a public establishment and was a danger to herself and others.”

A search of Dotson’s belongings revealed a plastic baggie containing 16 Gabapentin pills, 25 Alprazolam 1 milligram pills and 17 Diazepam 5 milligram pills. Samuels placed Dotson under arrest.

“While speaking with Cindy, I observed a female sitting with her and identified her as Penny Cox,” Samuels wrote in a report.

Penny Kay Cox, 59, said that she drove herself and Dotson to the restaurant. She said she had taken nothing and that she was sober when Samuels asked if she could operate a vehicle.

Samuels administered HGN to Cox and determined her “to be under the influence of an intoxicating substance in a public establishment and was a danger to herself and others.” Samuels placed Cox under arrest.

Dotson was charged with public intoxication, two counts of simple possession/casual exchange and possession of a legend drug and released without bond.

Cox was charged with public intoxication and released on $2,000 bond.

Man tells deputy to arrest him

Loudon County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Austin Parton responded to a wreck Feb. 11 and found George Alexander Dukes, 55, Loudon, in the driver’s seat of a white Honda Civic.

“I could smell the odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from Mr. Dukes person,” Parton wrote in a report.

Dukes denied he had anything to drink. He fumbled with his insurance and registration and handed Parton the same paper twice.

“I then asked Mr. Dukes if he had anything to drink and he stated, ‘Yes’,” Parton wrote in a report. “I asked him how much he had to drink; he stated too much. Mr. Dukes then stated that he shouldn’t have been driving. I asked Mr. Dukes if he would perform a field sobriety test and he stated I should take him to jail.”

Dukes was charged with driving under the influence and released on $1,500 bond.

Feb. 10

• Stephen David Blake, 49, New Market, was charged with simple possession/casual exchange and driving on revoked/suspended license and held on $2,000 bond.

• Robert Bryan Dishman, 62, Kingston, was charged with violation of probation and released without bond.

• Karen Sue West, 60, Lenoir City, was charged with driving under the influence and released on $1,500 bond.

• Kevin Lee Wood, 52, Loudon, was charged public intoxication and released on $1,000 bond.

Feb. 11

• Julie L. Davis, 47, Lenoir City, was charged with theft of property and theft of motor vehicle and held on $7,500 bond.

• Cody Hunter Haun, 23, Philadelphia, was charged with driving under the influence and released on $1,000 bond.

• Stanley Trey Ingram, 30, Maryville, was charged with violation of probation and released on $1,000 bond.

• Rustin Lynn Key, 34, Lenoir City, was charged with failure to appear and held on $3,000 bond.

• Shannon Nicole Quickel, 47, Lenoir City, was charged with driving under the influence and released without bond.

• John N. Rebori, 37, Lenoir City, was charged with manufacture, possession for resale over one pound, maintaining a dwelling drugs sold and possession of drug paraphernalia and released on $21,000 bond.

• Ashley Rosetta Smith, 21, Maryville, was charged with theft of property and released on $2,500 bond.

Feb. 12

• Dalton Glenn Blevins, 23, Lenoir City, was charged with violation of probation, simple possession/casual exchange and released on $3,000 bond.

• Nathaniel Wayne Crass, 35, Lenoir City, was charged with failure to appear, tampering with evidence and possession of drug paraphernalia and held on $16,000 bond.

• Ashley Lynn Dison, 23, Knoxville, was charged with attempted possession of drug paraphernalia and held without bond.

• Cynthia Blair Ferguson, 68, Loudon, was charged with failure to appear and released on $1,000 bond.

• Amy Lynn Gonzalez, 33, Philadelphia, was charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor and released on $1,000 bond.

• Ivan Enrique Melian, 38, Lenoir City, was charged with resisting arrest, simple possession/casual exchange and tampering/fabricating with evidence and released on $7,000 bond.

• Eric Shane Montgomery, 29, Maryville, was charged with failure to appear general sessions and held on $1,000 bond.

• Rafael M. Rodriguez, 51, Lenoir City, was charged with driving while license suspended and released without bond.

• Angel Marie Smith, 35, Heiskell, was charged with a juvenile court attachment and released on $100 bond.

• Eric A. Stegall, 44, Lenoir City, was charged with resisting arrest and released on $3,000 bond.

• Melody Leann Wiggins, 40, Loudon, was charged with aggravated burglary and theft over $1,000 and held on $7,500 bond.

• Malachi Isaiah Williams, 23, Lenoir City, was charged with violation of probation and held on $3,000 bond.

Feb. 13

• Kelsey M. Barrett, 21, Sevierville, was charged with a Sevier County warrant and held without bond.

• Valerie Lynn Gardner, 36, Heiskell, was charged with failure to appear and held on $2,000 bond.

• Kamarun King, 25, Sweetwater, was charged with failure to appear and released on $4,000 bond.

• Gabriel Ray Russell, 41, Philadelphia, was charged with failure to appear and held without bond.

• James Blakley Varner, 28, was charged with public intoxication and released without bond.

• Shawn Desmond Williams, 31, Loudon, was charged with general sessions capias and released on $2,000 bond.

• Jana Michelle Woody, 36, Knoxville, was charged with general sessions capias and released on $2,000 bond.

Feb. 14

• Johnathan Mitchel Luttrell, 45, Louisville, was charged with violation of probation and held without bond.

• Matthew Nathaniel Nowlin, 34, Sweetwater, was charged violation of probation and held on $10,000 bond.

• Joshua Leon Thomas, 37, Lenoir City, was charged with domestic assault-misdemeanor and released on $2,500 bond.

• Jonathan Scott Flynn, 30, Lenoir City, was charged with violation on probation and held without bond.

• Ivan Enrique Melian, 38, Lenoir City, was charged with capias and held without bond.

Feb. 15

• Hubert Eddie Bennett, 45, Loudon, was charged with aggravated assault and released on $5,000 bond.

• Samuel Douglas Branum, 25, Philadelphia, was charged with failure to appear and released on $1,000 bond.

• Isaiah Jordan Christian, 23, Lenoir City, was charged with general sessions court capias and held without bond.

• Brandon Thomas Deaton, 29, Lenoir City, was charged with domestic aggravated assault and interfering with a 911 emergency call and held without bond.

• Anthony Louis Desola, 28, Lenoir City, was charged with manufacture, delivery, sale or possession of Schedule II substance and released on $1,000 bond.

• Jessica Nichole Kittrell, 33, Clinton, was charged with possession or casual exchange of meth and released on $20,000 bond.

Feb. 16

• Jennifer Leigh Bennett, 44, Loudon, was charged with public intoxication, simple possession/casual exchange and contraband in a penal institution and released on $17,000 bond.

• Regina Ann Eskew, 55, Lenoir City, was charged with failure to appear and released on $2,000 bond.