Resolution of drug case results in bonus for Meade County
By SANDRA STONE U.S. Attorney General David L. Huber met with a group of federal, state and local officers at Doe Run Inn Aug. 31 to express his gratitude for a job well done. “This is probably the best thing the U.S. attorney gets to do,” said Huber of the purpose of the gathering, which was to distribute money forfeited as part of a drug case. “The wonderful thing about this program is that we can sometimes give money, vehicles, assets, back to the local agencies who assisted us or brought cases to our attention,” said Huber, who added that approximately 20 percent of the U.S. attorney general’s cases are brought to them by local law enforcement agencies. The case began with the discovery of marijuana growing on the Fort Knox installation. Elmer Mason, the lead investigator for Army CID, kept the area under surveillance for many months while he gathered evidence regarding the subject’s identity and purpose for illegally entering a federal reserve to grow and harvest marijuana before taking it back to his home in Meade County. Local law enforcement agencies – the Meade County Sheriff’s Department and Kentucky State Police – supported Mason’s investigation. When all was said and done, 72 pounds of marijuana were seized from the Fort Knox post. The Meade County Sheriff’s Department assisted with the execution of search warrants on the home of Charles Mudd where a kilo of processed marijuana in packages of various sizes, additional marijuana plants, drug paraphernalia, nine weapons and $140,000 in financial assets were found. Mudd was tried in federal court. In recognition of the continued support local law enforcement agencies provide, Huber announced funds disbursed as follows: $5,000 to Commonwealth Attorney Kenton Smith’s office, $15,000 to the Meade County Sheriff’s Department, and $20,000 to the Kentucky State Police.
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Photo by Sandra Stone