8 arrested in drug raid on Sand Mountain property

FORT PAYNE, Alabama (WDEF) – The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office makes eight arrests following a raid in the Blake Community on Sand Mountain on Thursday.

Narcotics officers, deputies and even an Aviation Unit hit the residence on County Road 515 near Rainsville to serve a search warrant.

The Sheriff says they found around 70 grams of meth, cash and four firearms.

Several of the suspects at the home had active warrants out for their arrest.

James Monroe Lee (48 of Rainsville) was charged with Trafficking in Any Illegal Drug – Methamphetamine, Unlawful Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, Resisting Arrest, and Attempting to Elude.

Cory Michael Coots (31 of Rainsville) was charged with Possession with Intent to Distribute – Methamphetamine and Unlawful Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.

Andrew Lee Gonzalez (29 of Rainsville), Bryan Lee Burt (31 of Rainsville), Andrea Nicole Liles (27 Rainsville) and Bradley Shane White (48 of Rainsville) were all charged with Unlawful Possession of a Controlled Substance and Unlawful Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.

Catherine Chyanne Wells (37 of Rainsville) and Austin Taylor Wagner (24 of Rainsville) were both arrested on existing warrants with our agency.

DeKalb County Sheriff Nick Welden said “This was truly an amazing team effort. The property in question was large, and it took all hands-on deck to maintain control of the situation and conduct a thorough search. Added precautions had to be taken due to there being a large amount of methamphetamine and firearms on the property. Those two things don’t mix.”

“This is a great example of what we’ve put together in the last several years. We had corrections officers, transport officers, Special Response Team members, aviation assets, K-9 deputies, and the Narcotics Unit all working together to stop the flow of this poison in the community. We also had multiple skilled medical professionals on scene in case of a critical incident,” said Sheriff Welden.