Magistrate Staples arrested, indicted on drug charges
By Joe Redmon Magistrate Jamie Staples was among those arrested and indicted in a recent drug bust. On Sept. 7, elements of the Meade County Sheriff’s Office, working in conjunction with a Kentucky State Police drug eradication task force and helicopter discovered and seized a large plot of marijuana near Andyville on land owned by James (Ralph) Staples, 64. Magistrate Staples was among several individuals discovered in a trailer on that site. A search of the premises was conducted and evidence gathered having a street value of over $600,000 dollars. An irrigation system was discovered on that premises and more evidence was found in an adjacent barn. The Staples denied any knowledge of this to investigators. Subsequent to this incident, Magistrate Staples was charged with cultivating marijuana, five or more plants and tampering with physical evidence. At the time of this report, the Messenger is only able to confirm information publicly available, as the investigation appears to be ongoing. We have been unable to contact Magistrate Staples for comment, in spite of numerous attempts. His arraignment occurred on Sept. 21. Magistrate Staples pleaded not guilty and his pretrial conference is scheduled for Oct. 19 at 1 p.m. In an interview with Sheriff Cliff Wise and his lead investigator, Detective Ron Eckart, the following information is known. Sheriff Wise has asked his counterparts in the state police for use of their aerial drug eradication assets for some time; however, they have been most often utilized on higher priority missions, including hurricane duty in Mississippi. When contacted early in September that they could dedicate some flying time to Meade County, Detective Eckart acted as a liaison with the flying element and coordinated a ground team of sheriff’s deputies to “work” cases pursuant to the state police’s aerial reporting. As evidence was gathered on the farm near Andyville, units were dispatched to the home of Ralph Staples where a consent to search was given. Upon arrival, elements of the sheriff’s office found recently burned marijuana residue and evidence linking the two sites. Evidence continued to be seized and a case built throughout the day Sept. 7, culminating in a grand jury indictment on Monday, Sept. 11. Arrest warrants were issued and executed on Sept. 12. When asked whether it was “standard procedure” for arrests to not be made at the time of the seizure of evidence, both the sheriff and commonwealth’s attorney, in separate interviews, commented this was done “all the time.” Evidence in such drug eradication cases is routinely seized and processed to determine later whether arrests are warranted. Detective Ron Eckart is a special addition to the sheriff’s office. Working jointly with Sheriff Wise and the state police drug eradication task force, Detective Eckart concentrates his duties in Meade County. Eckart was hired with the use of special funding available through the state legislature for drug eradication purposes. Meade County is one of only 10 counties participating in this program statewide. Concurrently, Sheriff Wise commented there were “multiple” sealed indictments covering separate drug cases within the county. These sealed indictments have nothing to do with this particular case. It is routine procedure for such indictments to be sealed – to protect ongoing investigations, to protect the welfare of law enforcement officials serving such warrants, and to protect against the risk of suspects fleeing the county and/or state.
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Photo courtesy of the Meade County Sheriff’s Department