Two Johnson County men were arrested by Kentucky State Police troopers on drug trafficking charges within four days of one another between Oct. 14 and Oct. 18, according to court documents.
The two men, Eric Matthew Tackett, 45, of Apple Jack Branch, Oil Springs, and Glen Staniford, 43, of Webb Branch, Tutor Key, were both arrested on charges of methamphetamine trafficking, but the cases were not related, according to the citations. In the first arrest on Oct. 14, Kentucky State Police Trooper Logan Layne said he was traveling south on U.S. 23 at East Point when he observed a vehicle parked on the shoulder in the northbound lane. Layne activated his emergency equipment to assist the motorist, who was identified as Tackett.
“Mr. Tackett immediately became nervous while speaking with me,” Layne wrote in the arrest report. “While standing beside him, I noticed a clear glass smoking pipe that was positioned on the ground in a way that could only be explained by the male placing it there upon my contact. Beside that pipe was his vape which he did state was his, however the ‘meth pipe’ he claimed was not his.”
After noting and confirming a previous narcotics arrest on Tackett’s record, Layne requested a K-9 due to Tackett’s denial of a consent to search.
Though Tackett denied any drugs could be his, the K-9 alerted and Floyd County Sheriff’s deputy May who arrived stated it was impossible that the drugs could have appeared after his arrival, the citation said. Once the K9 alerted, according to the citation, Mr. Tackett became partially irate, claiming that Deputy May “did not start where he said he was going to.”
During a search of the vehicle, a magnetic box was located in the center console and contained a large quantity of a crystal-like substance, which Layne suspected was methamphetamine and weighed over one ounce, the report said. The amount of the drug “signifies illegal trafficking of narcotics, due to it being so much more over personal use and 2 grams which is the KRS stated amount,” Layne wrote in the report.
Also discovered were 68 suboxone strips, several assorted pills that were suspected suboxone, several smoking pipes and plastic baggies.
Tackett, after being read his Miranda warning, identified the drugs as methamphetamine and admitted ownership of the pipe, the citation said.
Tackett was arrested and charged with first-degree, first-offense trafficking in a controlled substance (more than 2 grams of methamphetamine), second-degree, first-offense trafficking in a controlled substance (less than 20 dosage units of an unspecified drug) and drug paraphernalia-buy/possess.
The next arrest occurred on Oct. 18, when Kentucky State Police Trooper Mark Spencer was on patrol in the Nippa community when he observed two vehicles pull across the road in front of him from Cave Fork.
The second vehicle, a silver Buick passenger car, pulled across the road in front of Spencer at a slow rate of speed, causing the trooper to almost come to a complete stop on the four-lane highway, the citation said.
Spencer said he turned to observe the vehicle “due to its suspicious nature” and saw it pull into the Marathon station at the top of Hill Top Road. The trooper ran the vehicle’s registration, which had expired on Aug. 31, 2023.
Spencer said that Staniford, who appeared very nervous and was shaking and having difficulty answering questions after Spencer made contact, threw something in the passenger seat and admitted that there was marijuana, methamphetamine and Neurontin in the vehicle. Staniford then told Spencer the drugs were in the Marlboro cigarette pack in the passenger’s seat.
Spencer ran Staniford’s Social Security number through KSP Post 9 dispatch and was advised Staniford’s operator’s license was suspended and he had two active warrants, one for absconding parole and one for fleeing or evading police on foot.
Spencer asked Staniford to step to the back of the vehicle for a series of sobriety tests. Upon the start of the tests, according to the citation, Staniford said, “We don’t have to do this. I’m being honest and shot methamphetamine and used Neurontin.”
Spencer read Staniford his Miranda rights, placed him in custody and asked if he could search his vehicle. Staniford told Spencer that he would “show (the trooper) where the drugs are located” and proceeded to retrieve a pack of Marlboro cigarettes that contained a clear plastic baggie with approximately 16.5 grams of suspected methamphetamine, a plastic baggie with a small amount of marijuana and seven Neurontin pills, the arrest report said.
“I further discovered a rig and small baggie of suspected methamphetamine in the small right pocket of his jeans,’ Spencer wrote in the report.
Saylor’s Towing removed the vehicle from the scene, and Spencer transported Staniford to Paintsville ARH for a chemical test, the report said. Staniford declined an attorney and refused a blood test, saying he had used too many drugs and “was not going to let them stick him to death.” Spencer then transported Staniford to the Big Sandy Regional Detention Center.
Staniford was charged with first-degree, first-offense trafficking in a controlled substance (more than 2 grams of methamphetamine), possession of marijuana, first-offense DUI and numerous other traffic offenses.
Staniford is set to be arraigned in Johnson County District Court on Nov. 25, while Tackett is set for a preliminary hearing on Oct. 23. As of presstime, Tackett had been released from the BSRDC, while Staniford remained in custody.