RICHARDSON, Ky. — Police called to a possible domestic dispute Sunday in Lawrence County ended up finding a variety of narcotics and arresting three people for drug trafficking.

Two state troopers and a sheriff’s deputy responded to the call, and after questioning some people at the scene, were given permission to enter the home. Inside the home, they immediately spotted some drug paraphernalia, so they obtained a search warrant, which resulted in the discovery of meth, fentanyl, cocaine, pills, marijuana and paraphernalia.

Following the discovery, the home’s three occupants, 44-year-old William Blackman Friend, 51-year-old Brandi Annette Meade and 38-year-old Jonathan Andrew Meade, were all arrested. Each is now charged with four counts of first-degree drug trafficking, two counts of possession and one count of possession of drug paraphernalia.

Each is being held on a $25,000 cash bond.

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LONDON, Ky. — A Floyd County woman is facing a potential life sentence, after once again being indicted on federal drug charges.

Gretchen Bevins, 46, of David, also known as Gretchen Woodruff, now faces charges of distributing meth and possession of meth and fentanyl with the intent to distribute.

The charges result from her arrest in Pikeville back in April, when police raided her hotel room as part of an ongoing drug investigation. At that time, police reported finding meth, fentanyl, cocaine and a variety of pills, along with cash and paraphernalia.

Bevins now faces the possession with intent charge for that raid, as well as the distribution charge for an unspecified incident back in December.

She faces an enhanced sentence because she pleaded guilty in 2018 to conspiracy to distribute meth. She was sentenced to 45 months in that case, and picked up an additional 10 months for a violation after her release.

Because of the enhancement, she now faces up to 30 years for the distribution charge and between 10 years and life in prison for possession with intent.

Bevins is scheduled to appear Monday in Frankfort federal court for arraignment.

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LEXINGTON, Ky. — A Huntington, W.Va., man has entered a guilty plea to a federal drug charge, after he was caught bringing a shipment of fentanyl to Pike County.

Donte Hendricks, 30, pleaded guilty Tuesday in Lexington federal court to one count of possession of more than 40 grams of fentanyl with the intent to distribute.

The case arose out of a traffic stop last year. Pikeville Police had received a tip that Hendricks would be bringing a large amount of fentanyl to the area. The tip included a description of the man and his car, so police were able to locate him and pull him over on Ratliff’s Creek Road on Feb. 26, 2025.

After he was stopped, Pikeville Police asked the Floyd County Sheriff’s Office to bring in a K-9 to sniff around the car. That resulted in the seizure of 103.6 grams of fentanyl and $917 in cash.

Hendricks had asked that the evidence from the stop should be tossed out, arguing that police did not have reasonable suspicion to stop him or to extend the traffic stop to allow the drug dog to be brought to the scene.

The court ruled against that request in December, but Hendricks’ plea agreement leaves open the door for him to appeal that denial. If an appeals court agrees to suppress the evidence, he will be allowed to withdraw his plea.

Hendricks will be sentenced Aug. 6 in Lexington, when he will face 5-to-40 years in prison.

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BELFRY, Ky. — A complaint about squatters resulted in two people being arrested on burglary charges.
And one of them was later charged with drug trafficking after being found with meth and fentanyl at the jail.

Police were called to Cow Branch Road at Belfry Wednesday evening over a report of people staying in a vacant home without permission.

There, they encountered Vangie Thacker, 52, on the front porch and could hear a man and woman arguing inside. When they went inside to investigate, the man and woman ran away and couldn’t be located.

Thacker told police she had been staying in the home a few days because she had nowhere else to go and she had been told it was owned by someone in her family. She was arrested on a charge of third-degree burglary.

Police went back to the house early Thursday morning to see if the two people who had fled had returned and found Donique Mitchem, 41, hiding in a closet.

She told police she and her boyfriend had fled earlier because they thought someone was coming to kill them. She also said Thacker had said the home was hers and was letting them stay there. She was also arrested for third-degree burglary as well as fleeing police.

During a search at the jail, she was found with two bags containing an ounce of fentanyl each and another bag containing half an ounce of meth. She was additionally charged with meth and fentanyl trafficking and promoting contraband.

Both women remain in the Pike County Detention Center.

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PIKEVILLE, Ky. — Efforts by Pikeville Police to find an Ohio fugitive resulted in officers finding the suspect as well as an assortment of drugs.

Pikeville Police and a U.S. Marshals Task Force had a information that Dennis Washington, 51, of Columbus, Ohio, could be located at an apartment on Hambley Boulevard and went to locate him April 14. Washington was wanted in Columbus for multiple counts of drug trafficking and possession.

When they arrived at the apartment, they found Daryl Adkins, 58, of Pikeville, sitting outside. When they showed him a picture of Washington and asked if he knew where he was, he said he didn’t recognize him but would let them know if he saw him.

Police later learned from the apartment owner that Washington was in the apartment and officers soon placed him under arrest. While doing so, they spotted a glass pipe nearby, and used that information to obtain a search warrant for the apartment.

That search turned up two gallon-size plastic bags of meth hidden in the washer and dryer, multiple bags of fentanyl, some crack cocaine and six oxycodone tablets.

Washington also let the officers know that Adkins had let him know that police were looking for him.

Washington, Adkins and Lashawn Walker, 51, of Columbus, who was also in the apartment, were all arrested and charged with meth and cocaine trafficking, aggravated fentanyl trafficking and drug possession. Adkins was also charged with hindering prosecution for lying to police, as well as promoting contraband and fentanyl possession when jail staff found a bag of the drug hidden in his jeans.

All three remain in the Pike County jail.

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HARDY, Ky. — A man was arrested Wednesday on drug charges in Pike County, as well as an outstanding warrant for drug charges in Dickenson County.

A state trooper had pulled over a car for expired tags on Toler Road just after 8:30 Wednesday night. One of the passengers in the vehicle identified himself as Shane Bowman, but another trooper recognized that name as an alias used by William Bowman, 48, of Hardy, who was wanted on a number of warrants.

Bowman was asked to get out of the car, at which time he was spotted putting something in his pocket.
When asked about it, he said it was “dope.” Police then found a bag of about 12 or 13 grams fentanyl in his pocket, as well as two other bags of a powder which he also called “dope,” and another bag, which he identified as cocaine.

Bowman was arrested and charged with fentanyl trafficking and cocaine possession. He is also being held on a Virginia extradition warrant, due to being wanted for delivery of drugs to an inmate and possession of a controlled substance in Dickenson County.

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BANNER, Ky. — A Johnson County woman is facing multiple drug trafficking charges, after she was pulled over for not using her turn signal.

A Floyd County sheriff’s deputy spotted a 2004 Lincoln Navigator turning onto Prater Creek from U.S. 23 without signaling, so he pulled it over. When he spoke to the driver, Kimberly Marie Osborne, 46, of Tutor Key, he spotted a used meth pipe in the vehicle.

The deputy then searched the vehicle and found vacuum-sealed bags of meth, marijuana and psychedelic mushrooms, a bag of fentanyl, and more than $1,100 in cash.

Osborne was arrested and charged with four counts of drug trafficking. She is being held on a $10,000 cash bond.

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PIKEVILLE, Ky. — Two Floyd County women have been arrested for drug trafficking, after police raided their hotel room in Pikeville.

Early Wednesday morning, Pikeville Police served a search warrant for room 321 at Comfort Suites as part of a drug investigation. They reported finding fentanyl, meth, cocaine and a variety of pills, along with cash, packaging materials and cutting agents.

The occupants of the room, Gretchen Bevins, 46, of David, and Monica Hall, 49, of Teaberry, were arrested. They are charged with aggravated fentanyl trafficking, meth and cocaine trafficking, possession of a variety of drugs and other charges.

They are each being held Pike County jail on $15,000 cash or property bonds.

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SALYERSVILLE, Ky. — One man has been arrested, but deputies are on the hunt for another, following a drug raid at a Magoffin County home.

Magoffin County sheriff’s deputies served a search warrant at a Lakeville home of Eddie McFarland, 34, on Sunday. Sheriff Bill Meade tells Mountain Top News the raid was the culmination of a long drug investigation that resulted in several undercover buys.

Meade said McFarland and another man, Anthony Darrell Saylor, 38, of Salyersville, fled when they saw police coming.

During their search of the home, officers reported seizing a substantial amount of meth, fentanyl and heroin, along with guns, methadone and trafficking paraphernalia.

Monday night, deputies arrested Saylor during a traffic stop. He is being held in the Big Sandy Regional Detention Center on charges of meth and heroin trafficking and receiving stolen property.

Sheriff Meade said his office is still looking for McFarland. He anticipates that the case will ultimately result in federal charges.

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ABINGDON, Va. — A Wise County man has been sentenced to 16 years in prison after pleading guilty in a federal drug case.

Eric Bud Mullins, 34, of Big Stone Gap, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess more than 500 grams of meth with the intent to distribute, conspiracy to possess fentanyl with the intent to distribute, and possession of more than 50 grams of meth with the intent to distribute.

Prosecutors had asked the court for a sentence of more than 24 years, citing Mullins’ long criminal history and the fact that when he committed his crimes, he was under supervision after completing a 30-month sentence for Covid unemployment fraud.

Mullins’ attorney asked for a shorter sentence of 15 years, however, saying his crimes were a result of his own lifelong battles with addiction.

The judge agreed with the defense, sentencing Mullins to 15 years for the drug charges, plus an additional year for violating his supervision on the fraud charges. Following his release from prison, he will be on supervision for an additional five years.

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