DeKalb deputies make three fentanyl busts in two days
DEKALB COUNTY, Ala. (WDEF) — The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office is warning the public of the dangers of fentanyl. This follows three separate drug busts with arrests this week.
Warning from the sheriff’s office
The sheriff’s office warned that there are two kinds of fentanyl: pharmaceutical and illegal. Physicians prescribe pharmaceutical fentanyl to patients for severe pain. The illegal fentanyl can be liquid or powder and is often mixed with other drugs.
They say fentanyl is often made into pills that look like other prescription drugs as well.
“Parents, please talk with your children of all ages, please express the dangers of this highly potent drug, advise them to pay attention when going out with friends, to watch their drinks and do not take any kind of medication, no matter what it is, from anyone you don’t know,” the sheriff’s office advised.
If you know of anyone using fentanyl, they ask that you call the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office at 256-845-3801.
Fentanyl Arrests
The first drug bust happened on Monday, October 2.
DeKalb County narcotics agents arrived at a home on Bailey Chappel Road after receiving a tip of drug use at this location. Agents said they found meth on the front porch when they arrived.
They then went inside the home to find more than 30 pressed fentanyl pills, according to the sheriff’s office.
At this location, authorities arrested four people on drugs charges.
The sheriff’s office said they arrested 25-year-old Kansas Shay Wilkerson, 25-year-old Justin Dewayne Gilbreath, 59-year-old Bruce Dewayne Rowland, and 45-year-old Paula Marjorie Edwards.
Authorities charged Wilkerson with trafficking in any illegal drug, unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia, and three warrants of failure to appear.
They charged Gilbreath with two counts of trafficking in any illegal drug and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia. Gilbreath had been out on bond for fentanyl for less than a month.
Authorities charged Rowland and Edwards with unlawful possession of a controlled substance, unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia. They also charged Rowland with bondsman off bond.
The sheriff’s office also made two separate fentanyl busts on Tuesday, October 3.
Deputies arrested 20-year-old Blayden Lane Woodall on Airport Road and found pressed fentanyl in his vehicle. DeKalb deputies said they then searched Woodall’s home to find 271 pressed fentanyl pills. They charged him with trafficking in any illegal drug and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia.
Also on Tuesday, deputies arrested 32-year-old Shane Thomas Wright, Jr. They had obtained a search warrant on his vehicle after a K-9 had a positive alert on the vehicle for synthetic marijuana.
Authorities charged him with disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, harassment, public intoxication, unlawful possession of controlled substance and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia. Wright had previously been in the DeKalb County Detention Center.
Sheriff Nick Welden’s statement on the arrests:
“Any opioid use is risky, but Fentanyl is a whole new level of risk. Even in the smallest of dose, fentanyl can be deadly. Other drugs you may be addicted to could be laced with deadly levels of fentanyl and you would never know it, until it was too late. Opioid addiction is a disease that does not discriminate but affects people from all economic classes and all walks of life. We will be posting more helpful information on Fentanyl abuse next week.”
