By KAREN CAMPBELL
Staff Writer
Twenty-four area residents were arrested last week for trafficking drugs after a lengthy investigation by the Auglaize County-Mercer County Grand Lake Drug Task Force.
Seven of those arrested are from Wapakoneta, with others from St. Marys and Celina. They were all incarcerated at the Auglaize County Jail awaiting hearings, Sheriff Al Solomon said this morning. They face 77 counts.
The sheriff said the arrests, which were the result of multiple drug purchases by undercover officers in St. Marys, Wapakoneta and Celina began Dec. 2 and continued through the weekend.
The investigation continues and several more arrests are anticipated, Solomon said.
Drugs purchased and seized during the investigation include cocaine, crack cocaine, heroin, morphine, Oxycotin, LSD and marijuana.
A number of transactions also involved prescription medications, with more than 900 prescription pills recovered.
Nine vehicles, seven guns and $1,641 in cash also were seized as part of the investigation.
Street value of the drugs purchased and seized by Task Force agents alone during the investigation exceeds $13,000.
Task Force Commander Deputy Mike Vorhees said those drugs include, 3/4 pound of marijuana, 31 grams of cocaine, 23 grams crack cocaine, 6 grams heroin, 43 hits acid-LSD, 96 pills of Vicodin, 28 morphine pills, 18 Percocet pills, 40 Klonopin pills, 32 Oxycotin pills, 34 Darvocet pills, 10 Xanax pills and 63 Soma pills.
“This is a large one but I don’t believe it’s the largest number of arrests we’ve had out of one investigation,” Solomon told the Wapakoneta Daily News today.
“It was a very complicated investigation because of the number of people and the number of different drugs involved,” he said.
Those arrested include:
• Daniel Peters, 42, Wapakoneta, trafficking in cocaine.
• Heather Grandstaff, 21, Wapakoneta, trafficking in drugs.
• Joshua Eads, 19, Wapakoneta, trafficking in cocaine.
• Erica Floyd, 21, Wapakoneta, trafficking in drugs.
• Shawn Metzger, 21, Wapakoneta, possession of cocaine and trafficking in drugs.
• David Christian, 43, Wapakoneta, trafficking in drugs, trafficking in heroin and trafficking in cocaine.
• Jeffrey Christian, 24, Wapakoneta, trafficking in drugs and trafficking in cocaine.
• Sherman Henderson, 58, St. Marys, aggravated trafficking.
• Johnny Chiles, 25, St. Marys, trafficking in marijuana, drugs and cocaine.
• David Hecker, 33, St. Marys, trafficking in LSD and cocaine.
• Richard Dixon, 23, St. Marys, trafficking in marijuana, cocaine and crack cocaine.
• Thomas Moyar, 51, St. Marys, trafficking in drugs.
• Mark Zumbroegel, 40, St. Marys, trafficking in drugs and marijuana.
• Robert Mabry, 29, St. Marys, sale of dangerous drugs, trafficking in drugs and trafficking in heroin.
• Natasha Pruitt, 20, St. Marys, trafficking in marijuana.
• Michael Bonifas, 29, St. Marys, trafficking in marijuana.
• Alvie Herzog, 38, St. Marys, trafficking in drugs.
• Connie Derr, 41, St. Marys, trafficking in drugs.
• Kevin Overley, 32, St.Marys, trafficking in drugs and cocaine.
• Tori Shroyer, 37, St. Marys, sale of dangerous drugs and trafficking in cocaine.
• Brian Whittemire, 46, St. Marys, trafficking in marijuana and sale of dangerous drugs.
• Garrett Whetstone, 22, St. Marys, trafficking in marijuana.
• Danny Williams, 38, Celina, trafficking in drugs.
• Chad Coble, 32, Celina, trafficking in marijuana and drugs.
Several of those charged from Wapakoneta already have appeared in court.
Eads, 812 Magnolia Dr., posted a $5,000 deposit on his $500,000 bond, with a 10 percent cash provision. Eads is charged with two counts of trafficking in drugs, fourth-degree felonies. No hearing dates have been scheduled. If convicted, Eads faces a maximum sentence of three years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
Floyd, 516 Ruby St., submitted a written plea of innocence Monday. Floyd is charged with two counts of aggrivated trafficking in drugs, third-degree felonies. If convicted, Floyd faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine. No hearing dates have been scheduled.
Metzger, 516 Ruby St., made bail and was released from jail on Friday. Metzger is charged with one count of possession of cocaine, a fifth-degree felony, trafficking in drugs, a fourth-degree felony, and three counts of aggravated trafficking in drugs, third-degree felonies. If convicted, Metzger faces a maximum sentence of 17 1/2 years in prison and a $37,500 fine.
David Christian, 506 Ruby St., was arraigned Monday on two counts of aggravated trafficking in drugs, third-degree felonies, and two counts of trafficking in drugs, fourth-degree felonies. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 13 years in prison and a $30,000 fine.
Several suspects from St. Marys also appeared in court.
Solomon said everyone involved in the investigation, from members of the Task Force and law enforcement to the Auglaize County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office and Auglaize County corrections officers who handled the influx of arrests did a great job helping.
“We may never be able to stop the drug problem, but as long as they want to continue playing, we’re playing, too,” Solomon said. “We keep winning. We keep putting a dent in it. There may be some more surprises here in the next couple months.”
The Task Force, formed in 1991, is necessary with smaller departments in an area like this, the sheriff said.
“I don’t know that we could do the job the Task Force does to assist these type of investigations,” Solomon said. “Mike (Vorhees, the commander) and deputies and officers work close together. They do a heck of a job, often donating their own time to get the job done.
“We’re not done and we won’t quit,” he said.
Vorhees thanked all officers involved in the investigation and arrests. He said members of the Grand Lake Task Force spent between six to nine months on the investigation prior to the arrests.
Members of the Task Force, deputies from Auglaize County and Mercer County sheriff’s offices, and officers from the St. Marys, Wapakoneta, Minster, Cridersville, Buckland, Waynesfield, Celina, Fort Recovery and St. Henry police departments assisted with the arrests
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