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Agencies cash in from drug busts

The Tyrone Police Department and Pike County Sheriff's Department coffers are fatter thanks to their work in helping Fayette County Sheriff's Drug Task Force agents sew up three drug cases.

Tyrone Police Chief Johnny Hay and Pike County Sheriff Jimmy Thomas beamed as they filed into the Fayette County Sheriff's Department meeting room Wednesday to pick up their checks from Fayette County Sheriff Randall Johnson.

All told, Tyrone received $32,050.82 and Pike County received $12,764.53.

"We just want the people to know where the money is going," Johnson said. "The cooperation of the agencies working together made this possible."

The monies given to Tyrone and the Pike County today reflect monies shared between the task force, the Food and Drug Administration and the federal Drug Enforcement Administration for their participation in several drug cases, which resulted in seizures of assets from drug offenders.

The first case the agencies assisted in involved Alvin McDowell, a pharmacist who ran a prescription drug fraud operation in Fayette County.

"The pharmacist would obtain narcotics from wholesale distributors and then dispense the drugs to persons without prescriptions," Johnson said. "This investigation led to several search warrants, the seizure of numerous pills, two arrests and the seizure of profits obtained illegally by the pharmacist for the past eight years."

Narcotics agents working with the DEA seized McDowell's $850,000 house in the North Ridge subdivision and $600,000 in mutual funds, Task Force Commander Capt. Mike Pruitt said.

In June, McDowell pleaded guilty in federal court to health care fraud, misbranding of drugs, possession of a controlled substance with an intent to distribute and filing a fraudulent income tax return. He was sentenced to serve 41 months in prison.

For their participation with the task force and the FDA, Tyrone received $29,600.12 and Pike County received $12,685.77.

On an unrelated case, Tyrone and Pike County each received $78.76.

Additionally, Tyrone also received $2,371.94 for their help in a traffic stop and the seizure of $1,061,541 conducted with the DEA and the task force.

The task force recruits officers from surrounding cities and counties. In the past, Pike County, the Peachtree City Police Department and Fayetteville Police Department had officers assigned to the task force. Pike County has since started their own task force.

Today, Tyrone is the only outside agency that has an officer assigned to the Fayette County Drug Suppression Task Force.

"The Tyrone Police Department continues to be a dedicated member of the Fayette County Sheriff's Drug Suppression Task Force in the fight against drugs within the county and surrounding areas," Johnson said.