Drug task force makes two arrests
Oct. 13—Two Lauderdale County residents are facing drug charges after search warrants were executed Thursday by deputies with the Lauderdale County Sheriff's Department SWAT team.
Chief Deputy Ward Calhoun said the two warrants came after lengthy investigations by the East Mississippi Drug Task Force with assistance from the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics.
Deputies served the first warrant at a residence in the 5700 block of Omitted Road, Calhoun said, where they arrested 40-year-old Deanna Ruff. Ruff was charged with three counts of sale of a controlled substance-methamphetamine with an enhancement for being within 1,500 feet of a school or church.
The enhancement to the charges can result in more severe penalties than the controlled substance charge alone.
Bond for Ruff was set at $25,000 for each count for a total bond of $75,000. Calhoun said Ruff had posted bond and been released as of Thursday afternoon.
"The investigation is not complete and other charges are possible," he said in a news release announcing the arrests.
The second search warrant, Calhoun said, was served in the 3200 block of Savell Drive, where deputies arrested 40-year-old Lester Landrum. He was charged with two counts of sale of a controlled substance-crack cocaine with an enhancement for being within 1,500 feet of a school or church, trafficking cocaine within 1,500 feet of a school or church while in possession of a firearm, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Deputies also served Landrum with an additional warrant for probation violation, Calhoun said. Bond was set at $50,000 for each of the sale charges, as well as felon in possession of a firearm, and $100,000 for the trafficking charge. His total bond was $250,000.
Contact Thomas Howard at thoward@themeridianstar.com
