By Barry Porterfield
Staff Writer
May 08, 2008 10:24 am
—
A routine traffic stop and a surprise phone call a short time later has Garvin County authorities believing the two area men inside the vehicle had been in the process of delivering prescription drugs when they were stopped.
In the end felony charges of drug possession and distribution were filed against both Frederick Lee Barnes, 41, of Elmore City and Donnie Lewis Cates, 50, Davis.
County deputies believe the men had been “doctor shopping,” which they described as an effort to acquire prescription drugs from as many different physicians as possible.
To support this belief deputies said that among the medication bottles found in the vehicle the names of doctors from three different area counties were listed.
Also found was an almost grocery-like list of the drugs, which officials said were different types of pain medications.
Adding to the scenario was a call on the confiscated cell phone of Cates after both he and Barnes had been taken into custody Monday.
Unknown to the female caller was the person answering the call was Sgt. Jim Mullett.
The woman proceeded to list the number of pills and types of drugs she wanted to purchase, which combined with various denominations of cash found in the vehicle, led officers to conclude the two men had been caught selling the drugs.
A filed affidavit shows the case got started Monday when Mullett was traveling southbound on U.S. Highway 77 between Pauls Valley and Wynnewood.
As a vehicle approached from the opposite direction he saw two male subjects inside with neither one wearing a seat belt. Turning his patrol car around the deputy caught up and pulled over the vehicle.
Smelling a marijuana odor Mullett ordered a K-9 dog to the scene. The dog then alerted on the possibility that illegal drugs might be present.
The alert led to a search of the vehicle as a sheriff’s office report shows a plastic bag was found underneath the driver’s seat.
In the bag were three medicinal bottles containing pills, loose tablets in a smaller bag and in one bottle was a small amount of methamphetamine.
Other bottles were found with the names of both Cates and Barnes listed.
In all, three different prescription drugs were found, along with the meth.
The men were then taken into custody on the complaint of drug possession with the intent to distribute, which later turned into formal charges.
Barnes also received an additional count for meth possession.
After the two subjects had been booked into county jail Mullett was in the process of inventorying the items found in the vehicle when Cates’ phone rang.
A woman on the other end wanted to know if “Cates still had the stuff.”
After putting in a request for drugs, the woman was later called back by deputies and brought in for questioning, reports show.
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