Monday, November 29, 1999

County authorities have arrested three of nine men who were indicted Nov. 19 on drug-related charges.

The Ironton Police Department arrested two Nov. 23 and the other Nov. 24. All were lodged in the Lawrence County Jail, said Tim Sexton, chief investigator for county prosecutor J.B. Collier Jr. and Lawrence County Drug Task Force director.

Charles Jenkins, 47, of Hanging Rock was charged with one count of trafficking in marijuana, a fourth-degree felony; one count trafficking in drugs (oxycodone), a third-degree felony; and theft by deception (welfare fraud), Sexton said.

William "Billy" Bryant, 33, of Ironton was charged with two counts of aggravated trafficking in drugs (prescription pills), a third-degree felony, and two counts trafficking in marijuana, a fourth-degree felony, he said.

John Burns, 20, of 718 Buckhorn St., Ironton, was charged with one count of trafficking in drugs (phentermine and hydrochloride tablets), a five-degree felony; and two counts trafficking in marijuana, a fourth-degree felony, a Lawrence County Prosecutor’s Office official said.

The offense levies against Jenkins, Bryant and Burns occurred within 1,000 feet of a school, which increases the degree of the felony charge, Sexton said.

Jenkins and Bryant were arraigned Wednesday in Lawrence County Common Pleas Court, where bond was set at $25,000 each. Burns continues to await arraignment.

The cases resulted from a seven-month-long investigation by the Lawrence County Drug Task Force.

Seven others netted charges from the investigation, and were indicted by the Lawrence County Grand Jury Nov. 19. The indictments were kept secret so police could locate those charged, Sexton said.

A fourth person the Grand Jury indicted on similar charges was Roger D. Burress.

Burress, 41, of 764 County Road 3, Chesapeake was arrested in October and booked into the Lawrence County Jail Oct. 12.

Burress was one of 13 indicted during a previous undercover investigation. He was arrested on charges of aggravated trafficking in drugs, a fourth-degree felony; and conspiracy to commit kidnapping, a first-degree felony.