By Lori Ehde
It was a busy 48 hours for local law enforcement officers who made two drug arrests Thursday and Friday.
In the early morning hours of Friday, July 26, officers executed a search warrant at the rural Hills residence of 49-year-old Donald Frederick Wilson.
At about 1:30 a.m., 12 members of the regional Emergency Entry Team entered Wilson's home. They were accompanied by seven Rock County deputies, three Minnehaha County deputies, two highway patrolmen and two South Dakota Drug Enforcement Agency officers.
According to Rock County Sheriff Ron McClure, the warrant didn't yield a substantial seizure of drugs, but all the evidence of a methamphetamine lab was there, including paint thinners, lithium batteries and drug paraphernalia.
Wilson, who has a history of drug-related offenses, was arrested for conspiracy to manufacture meth, possession of controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Also in the home but not arrested were Wilson's wife and adolescent son.
McClure said the search warrant was prompted by numerous tips to Rock County and Sioux Falls law enforcement of suspected meth production in Wilson's home.
In another drug arrest Thursday night, July 25, 42-year-old Kevin Dale Smiens, Luverne, is in custody in the Nobles County Jail, Worthington.
He was pulled over at 6:30 p.m. in Luverne on a moving violation when officers found 3 grams of meth in his 1992 blue Chevy Beretta.
Also found in his possession were large quantities of Suphedrine, a cold medicine that contains pseudoephedrine, which is commonly used in the manufacture of meth.
McClure said drug arrests like these two and investigations into countless other suspected cases are keeping his office busy.
"I really want to commend my staff - including the dispatchers," McClure said. "They put in a lot of hours. The guys really pull together and do a good job."
The Rock County Sheriff’s Department continues to seek local support in its drug control efforts.
"We do work with other agencies in Sioux Falls and Iowa, but if you see something out in the county that's abnormal, let us know," he said.
For example, if there's suddenly traffic on a dead-end road, or if there's activity at an abandoned farmhouse, residents should call the Sheriff’s Department at 283-5000.
"It may be nothing, but you never know," McClure said. "The more eyes we have out there watching, the better our chances are of catching them."