Three in historic meth bust facing possible grand jury indictment

Nita Johnson, The Sentinel Echo, London, Ky.
·3 min read

Jul. 27—Three of five people involved in what Laurel Sheriff's officials call "a record-setting narcotics seizure" for their department will face a Laurel grand jury next month.

Christopher Andrew Brown, 43, of Channing Way in Lexington, was arraigned on Friday on charges of first-degree fleeing or evading police in a motor vehicle, reckless driving, first-degree possession of controlled substance and possession/buy drug paraphernalia.

Brown is additionally charged with tampering with physical evidence, possession of marijuana, third-degree possession of controlled substance, prescription controlled substance not in proper container, failure of owner to maintain required insurance/security, license to be in possession, and parole violation for felony offense. A notation on the court document indicates that some of those charges are from Fayette County.

His accomplices in the botched drug buy — Justin Cooper and Travis Jefferson — all of Lexington — appeared before Laurel District Judge John Chappell for arraignment on felony charges involved with an undercover drug buy with Laurel Sheriff's officials.

Cooper and Jefferson are each charged with possession of a handgun by a convicted felon. Their bond was set at $10,000 cash.

The three were in Laurel District Court on Tuesday where a preliminary hearing was held, with Laurel District Judge Wendell "Skip" Hammons determining that probable cause existed. The case was referred to the Laurel grand jury and all three were told to appear in Laurel Circuit Court on Aug. 19 for possible indictment.

The trio were involved in an undercover drug buy with Laurel Sheriff's officials on Monday, July 18 when the driver of the vehicle engaged in a pursuit with officials, ramming one of the Sheriff's cruisers and causing another collision.

The vehicle was stopped at the 49er Fuel Center, a gas station/grocery store at Exit 49 off KY 909. When Sheriff's officials commanded the trio to exit the vehicle, one man pulled a gun on the other two passengers, creating a hostage situation. The situation was eventually taken under control with all three occupants in the vehicle being arrested.

However, nearly a pound of suspected methamphetamine and several hundred pressed Fentanyl pills were taken from the vehicle.

That led Sheriff's officials to a residence in Lexington where they incorporated the assistance of London Police Department, London Drug Enforcement Agency, Lexington DEA Resident Office, FBI London and Lexington Resident agencies, Somerset Police Department, and Lexington Police Department's Emergency Response Unit and Narcotics Enforcement Unit.

At that residence on Cambridge Drive, they arrested Ariadna Lemus-Fuentes and Jose Alberto Valles-Espinoza after finding 43 pounds of crystal meth, 4.7 pounds of cocaine, 30.9 grams of heroin, and 19,000 dosages of Fentanyl pills. They also found three firearms in the residence, according to information on the Laurel Sheriff's Office Facebook page.

Lemus-Fuentes and Valles-Espinoza were both charged with federal drug trafficking. They are housed in the Laurel County Correctional Center with the other three accomplices, although they are listed as federal prisoners with no bond allowed.

Sheriff John Root praised the cooperation between the various law enforcement agencies in this incident.

"The outstanding inter-agency cooperation was vital in the successful conclusion of these seizures and arrests," Root is quoted as saying.