M’field police record largest drug bust in city history
By Michael Banks / Advocate Editor
The Morganfield Police Department recorded the biggest drug bust in city history Friday night, arresting three individuals and seizing some $24,500 worth of cocaine.
Those arrested by the MPD and charged with conspiracy to traffic in a controlled substance within 1,000 yards of a school were 24-year-old Curtis M. "Killer" McGuire, of 704 W. Main St. Lot #1; 21-year-old Czaja D. "Chow" McGuire, of 704 W. Main St. Lot #2; and 23-year-old Willie R. Tinsley, of 736 Carlisle St.
MPD Investigator Jeff Hart said the police recovered pure and crack cocaine with an estimated street value of $24,500 when they executed search warrants Friday night at the two trailer homes that the McGuires rent out at the trailer park located at 704 W. Main St.
"It’s obvious with the amount of weight that we’ve got that these people are major players in the crack business on the west side of town," said Hart, who added, "I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s the largest drug seizure in the history of the Morganfield Police Department."
The trafficking charge is a class C felony punishable by five to 10 years in the state penitentiary. Also, both McGuires were also charged with possession of cocaine, while Czaja McGuire was also charged with felony possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and a misdemeanor charge of obscuring the identity of a machine.
Hart said local police believe that the McGuires are "mid-level dealers" and are "responsible for somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 percent of the crack cocaine that comes into Morganfield."
Ironically, both Tinsley and Czaja McGuire are scheduled to come before Union Circuit Court Judge Tommy Chandler this Monday, April 13 for sentencing on drug trafficking charges stemming from a Kentucky State Police undercover operation in 1996. Also, Curtis McGuire is on probation after being convicted earlier on drug trafficking charges in Henderson County.
Following their arrest Friday night, all three were lodged in the Union County Jail where they remain under a $10,000 cash bond. They are scheduled to make their initial court appearance in Union District Court this Thursday for their arraignment proceedings.
Hart said, "We don’t believe that this solves our crack problem, but we do think it’s a major dent."
Hart said the MPD had received complaints from neighbors in the area about the drug trafficking, and he also said MPD officer Jimmy Lyon had noticed an increase in activity in the area during February.
Hart said police have been investigating the sale of crack cocaine in that area of Morganfield since mid-February. Utilizing newly-hired officer Troy Gossett as an undercover agent, Hart said police were able to obtain the evidence needed to execute the search warrant. He said Gossett had no problems in finding the crack cocaine to buy in the undercover operation.
"We realized we were back to the same situation we were back in 1996... we had a serious crack problem again," Hart said.
On obtaining approval from the department, the MPD set up a surveillance point where they were able to videotape those coming in and out of the trailers that were searched Friday night.
"We documented well over 500 visitors in a period of eight days," said Hart, who noted that while many of those were repeat visitors that was still a large amount of activity in the area. "We knew who lived in these trailers and knew they had a history of drugs."
Hart said police chose Friday as the day to execute the search warrants becase it’s the first day of the weekend and government assistance checks were issued earlier that day.
"We thought they would be well-stocked at that time," Hart said. However, while police found a lot of cocaine (123.83 grams or nearly four ounces of cocaine) they discovered little cash (approximately $30) during their search of the trailers.
Hart said, "I suspect we hit them just a little bit too early."
The MPD was assisted in the execution of the search warrants by a number of area law enforcement agencies including the Uniontown Police Department, Union County Sheriff’s Office, Kentucky State Police, Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife and local probation and parole officers Evans Stewart and Jon Vincent. Also, the K-9 unit from the Evansville (Ind.) Police Department assisted in the search of the trailers.
And the crack cocaine, which is a mix of pure cocaine and baking soda, is "the choice of our harder dope dealers because it’s so lucrative," said Hart.
He pointed out that if a dealer can buy $100 worth of powder cocaine, cook it with baking soda, and then sell $200 worth of crack within an hour, it’s a 100 percent profit. That allows the dealers to hire out low-level dealers to sell three or four rocks for them, and Hart said he believes that is what the McGuires were doing.
"There’s no doubt in our minds that they have people in their employ who are selling rock cocaine on their behalf," he said, adding, "there are others involved in this organization, and we have charges pending against them."
Hart said the crack cocaine is typically being sold on the streets of Morganfield as "a $20 rock", which he said is a tenth of a gram of cocaine.
"The majority of the buys that we’re seeing out here on the street are $20 and $40 rocks... that’s what everybody can afford," he said.
The abuser, seeking a very short but intense high, takes the crack cocaine and smokes it, often using such household items as a hollowed-out antenna or an arrow shaft, tape and a piece of scrubbing pad.
And Hart said he hopes the local community realizes the severity of the drug problems here, and its impact on the entire community.
"If we’ve recovered $24,500 worth of drugs, obviously there are people out there willing to buy those drugs," he said.
And surveillance shows that the abuser has "no racial boundaries," Hart said as the buyers range in age from their mid-teens to early 40s and 50s. He added that the drug use has resulted in an increase in local crime activity, with the number of petty thefts, cold checks and domestic disputes on the rise.
"The people we’re arresting for these offenses are known addicts. They’re using these crimes to furnish their habit," he said. "Drugs affect every aspect of our culture."
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