Austin Hill
Juan Sanchez
Deputies with the Bradley County Sheriff’s Office responded on Saturday to a local motel to investigate a complaint of a suspicious vehicle in the parking lot.
Deputies made contact with two males in a Mercedes, later identified as Juan Sanchez Jr.
and Jimmy Ogle. It was determined that Ogle had an arrest warrant for failure to appear and he was asked to step out of the car. Upon exiting the vehicle, deputies observed in plain view items commonly used in the sale of narcotics.
The driver, Sanchez, advised the deputies that he had stopped by the motel to visit his friend “Reyes” in room 120. A narcotics detection K-9 was deployed around the vehicle and gave a positive alert for the odor of drugs coming from the Mercedes and a Toyota Camry parked to the left of it.
Upon searching the Mercedes, deputies found over two pounds of methamphetamine under the driver seat and a loaded 9mm handgun in the center console. At that time, Sanchez was also handcuffed and detained.
Deputies then made contact with the occupants of room 120, identified as Austin Lee Hill and Lluvia Selene Reyes. Ms. Reyes identified herself as the owner of the Toyota Camry which was parked next to the Mercedes.
A search of the Camry was then conducted based on the K-9’s positive alert. Inside the car, deputies found methamphetamine and marijuana. BCSO detectives were contacted and responded to the scene.
After speaking with both occupants of the motel room, a search warrant was applied for and granted. During the search of the room, detectives located approximately a half ounce of methamphetamine and a .22 revolver with the serial number filed off. The incident led to the arrest of Ogle, Sanchez, Hill, and Ms. Reyes on drug related charges and all were transported to the Bradley County Justice Center.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigations is also assisting in the investigation.
At the time of the encounter, Ms. Reyes was out on bond after being arrested two days earlier on April 4, by agents with the 10th Judicial Drug Task Force after an investigation led to a traffic stop on Water Street in Charleston, Tn.
On the traffic stop, agents found over 30 grams of methamphetamine in her possession and charged her with possession of methamphetamine for resale.
10th Judicial District Attorney General, Steve Crump said, “This case represents great teamwork and cooperation between the agencies involved. I appreciate the leadership of Sheriff Steve Lawson and the diligence by his patrol officers and investigators. While much of the recent attention has been on the opioid crisis, methamphetamine remains a serious threat to our community. Changes in the law have eliminated most of the local manufacturing of methamphetamine. However, the sale of the purer and more potent “Ice” methamphetamine has become common.”
“I applaud the good work by all the agencies involved, and along with them, our office will continue to relentlessly pursue drug dealers who seek to profit off the poisoning of our community.”
Bradley County Sheriff Steve Lawson said, “This was an operation in which several agencies were involved over a period of time. I believe these arrests indicate the type of accomplishments we can achieve when we all work together for a common goal.”
“I commend our patrol officers for being on top of their game at 4am in the morning and recognizing the indicators which helped develop a case. It is apparent these individuals decided to attempt to do their drug business in our area, and our deputies were up to the task of putting them out of business.”
“I recognize the commitment of the Bradley County Sheriff’s Patrol Division, the Criminal Investigations Division, the 10th Judicial Drug Task Force, and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation for their extensive and thorough work on this case.”