MARTIN COUNTY SHERIFF OFFICE’S NEW K9 POLICE DOG ‘ZOE’ HELPS DEPUTIES MAKE FENTANYL DRUG BUST
AUGUST 16, 2022 – written by WADE QUEEN
DOH!! MICHAEL B. MEADE, 23, OF HAGER HILL, KY., WAS ARRESTED FOR TRAFFICKING THE SUPER DEADLY POTENT ILLEGAL DRUG NARCOTIC FENTANYL IN MARTIN COUNTY, KY., ON SUNDAY, AUGUST 14.
A Johnson County, Kentucky man was arrested in Martin County. KY., on late Sunday afternoon, August 14, after a drug trafficking complaint turned up a substantial quantity of fentanyl, according to a press release statement released by the Martin County Sheriff office .
Martin County deputies were called to a gas station in the Tomahawk area on early Sunday evening. Once they arrived there, they encountered Michael B. Meade, 23, of Hager Hill, KY.
The Martin County Sheriff Office’s recently purchased new police dog, K-9 Zoe was brought in to sniff around Michael Meade’s car, which led deputies to the discovery of more than a grams of fentanyl in his vehicle.
Even though it would seem to most of the citizens that the total amount seized might sound small, Fentanyl is so powerful that a quantity as little as two milligrams can be lethal, and Michael Meade allegedly had more than 500 times that amount.
Michael Meade was arrested and charged with
- TRAFFICKING IN CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE, 1ST OFFENSE (CARFENTANIL OR FENTANYL DERIVATIVES); which is a Class C felony, which carries a potential sentence of 5-to-10 years in prison. And the sentencing guideline was recently changed by a bill that was passed by the Kentucky State General Assembly earlier this year; requiring Fentanyl traffickers to serve at least 85% of their prison sentence became state law.
The bill, which was called HB 215, or Dalton’s Law, was passed by the state legislature in March of this year. Before the bill was drafted, Fentanyl traffickers were only serving 50% of their sentence.
HB 215 saw bipartisan support and Governor Andy Beshear signed it into law on April 8, 2022; and it went into effect in early July 2022.
If an offender were to get a ten-year sentence, which is a Class C felony, which carries a five to ten years in state prison. If any offenders got a ten-year sentence, then they would have to serve eight and a half years of that ten year sentence.
Michael Meade was transported to and lodged in the Big Sandy Regional Detention Center in Paintsville.
